Yes, you can, in every state. But “yes” comes with fine print, and the fine print changes the second you cross a state line. There’s no federal home bakery law. Each state decides whether you need a permit, how much you’re allowed to sell, which foods qualify and where you can sell them. New Jersey was the last holdout and finally legalized home baking in October 2021.
The range is wide. In some states you can start selling cookies this weekend with nothing to file. In others, you’ll need an inspected kitchen, a $355 permit and a $35,000 ceiling (that’s Washington). Roughly half of all jurisdictions set no annual sales cap on standard cottage foods, though the exact count depends on how you count (more on that below).
What cottage food laws actually are
Cottage food laws are state-level exemptions from commercial kitchen rules. They let you make certain foods at home and sell them directly to customers, without renting a licensed kitchen. The upside is obvious: lower startup costs, a way to test recipes before you spend real money, and the option to keep your day job while you build a customer list.
The catch? Short product lists, sales limits and rules about where and how you sell. Think of it as a trade. You get low overhead, and the state gets to limit the risk.
Learn the term “TCS”
You’ll see this acronym everywhere. TCS food means time/temperature control for safety. It covers foods that can grow harmful bacteria if they sit out: fresh cream, custard, cheese-based fillings, meat, cut produce. Cottage laws are built mostly around non-TCS foods, meaning things like bread, cookies and fruit pies.
Here’s where it gets tricky. States don’t all draw that line the same way:
- Some publish an approved product list. California’s CDPH list is the best-known example.
- Some say “any non-TCS food is fine” and let the definition do the work. Texas moved this direction with SB 541 in 2025.
- Some ask for recipe review, pH testing or water-activity testing on borderline items.
- A growing number open a separate, conditioned path for limited TCS foods (Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado’s new law).
So “it keeps fine on a counter” isn’t a legal test. Your state’s definition, list and testing rules decide what counts.
Five settings that make every state different
When you compare states, you’re really comparing five settings: permission (nothing to file, free registration, or a permit with an inspection), sales cap, product scope, sales channels and training requirements.
A state can be generous on one and strict on another. Massachusetts has no cap, but it inspects your kitchen. Texas has a high cap and no local permits, but it requires a food handler course. Oklahoma doesn’t require a license, but it limits sales to in-state customers. For example, a state with no sales cap can still limit you to selling in person, or ban online orders entirely.
That’s why it’s important to look beyond the headline number. A $250,000 cap doesn’t help you if your state doesn’t allow the sales channel you actually plan to use.
Cottage food laws by state (all 50 states plus DC)
How to read this table. Rows with a link were checked against that government source. The other rows summarize a June 2026 multi-state compilation, so confirm them with your state’s health or agriculture department before you act. A dash means nothing was documented, not that no requirement exists. States marked ⚠ have conflicting figures across published compilations.
| State | Registration / permit | Annual cap | Other documented rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama ⚠ | No permit (county review form) | None | Some compilations list a $20,000 cap and a required course; confirm |
| Alaska | None | None | Online sales with shipping inside the state |
| Arizona | Free registration | None | — |
| Arkansas | None | None | Carrier shipping in-state; interstate only if federal law is satisfied |
| California | County permit (Class A or B) | $75,000 / $150,000 by statute, inflation-adjusted (see below) | Training within 3 months; Class A direct sales only; Class B adds indirect sales |
| Colorado | None under the old law | $10,000 per product type (old law); $150,000 under HB26-1033 | New law adds annual registration and a limited TCS path; effective date reported inconsistently, so confirm with CDPHE |
| Connecticut | $50/yr license | $50,000 | — |
| Delaware | $30/yr registration | None | Pre-operational home inspection; online sales banned |
| DC | $50 registration | None | Manager-level food protection certificate; Home Occupancy Permit; sales limited to the District |
| Florida | None | $250,000 | Internet and mail-order sales allowed within the state |
| Georgia | None (license abolished 2025) | None | Online sales in-state; no shipping across state lines |
| Hawaii | None | None | Wholesale allowed since August 2025 |
| Idaho | None | None | Law rewritten March 2026 for direct-to-consumer sales |
| Illinois | Annual local registration | None | — |
| Indiana | None under the homestead vendor law | $1,500,000 (homestead vendor, since July 1, 2026); the old home-based vendor law had no cap | HEA 1424 (P.L. 163); bill summaries report in-state shipping with a food handler certificate and no shipping out of state |
| Iowa | None (cottage path) | None | Separate path exists for certain TCS foods |
| Kansas | None | None | — |
| Kentucky | $50/yr registration | $60,000 | — |
| Louisiana | None | $30,000 | — |
| Maine ⚠ | $20/yr license (most sellers) | None | Some compilations list a $20,000 cap; confirm |
| Maryland | None (direct sales) | $100,000 (since Oct 1, 2026; was $50,000) | HB 535, Chapter 320 |
| Massachusetts | Local board of health permit | None | Kitchen inspection; only household members help; in-state shipping allowed, out-of-state not; wholesale needs a state license |
| Michigan ⚠ | None | $50,000 ($75,000 for high-priced items) | Conditional online sales since March 2026; third-party delivery reported |
| Minnesota | Annual MDA registration | $78,000 | Training before registering; fee falling to $30 |
| Mississippi | None | $35,000 | — |
| Missouri | None | None | Online sales allowed |
| Montana | None | None | Food freedom–style statute (Local Food Choice Act): direct, in-state sales to informed consumers; read the statute for exclusions |
| Nebraska | Free registration | None | — |
| Nevada | Local registration | $35,000, rising to $100,000 from July 1, 2027 | Online sales added with the 2027 change |
| New Hampshire | None in person; $150 license for online/wholesale | None | — |
| New Jersey | $100 permit, 2-year term | $50,000 gross (before taxes and expenses) | Manager-level course; label shows permit number |
| New Mexico | None | None | — |
| New York | Free registration | None | Home delivery and internet sales inside NY; no out-of-state shipping |
| North Carolina ⚠ | Free kitchen inspection approval | None | Some compilations list a $20,000 cap; confirm |
| North Dakota | None | None | Interstate shipping expressly legal since March 2025 |
| Ohio | None | None | — |
| Oklahoma | No license | $75,000, rising to $250,000 on Nov 1, 2026 | HB 3720; meat and poultry excluded; sales within Oklahoma |
| Oregon | None | $52,700 (2026, inflation-adjusted) | Food handler card; online sales with mail shipping |
| Pennsylvania | Registration plus inspection | None | One compilation says state law allows interstate sales; confirm |
| Rhode Island | $65/yr registration | $50,000 | Accredited training and annual affidavit reported |
| South Carolina ⚠ | None | None | Some compilations list a $25,000 cap; confirm |
| South Dakota | None | None | Training reported only for canned goods |
| Tennessee | None | None | — |
| Texas | No permit; registration for TCS producers and vendors | $150,000, inflation-adjusted | Food handler course; local permits and fees barred; internet sales tied to delivery rules (see channels) |
| Utah | Registration on the cottage path; none on the food freedom path | None | Food freedom path: in-state, direct to consumer, no meat or raw milk; city business license still required |
| Vermont | Free annual attestation | $30,000 | Training required |
| Virginia | None | None ($9,000 for acidified foods) | HB 402 (Acts of Assembly 2026, Ch. 605, effective July 1, 2026): online/phone sales, mail or delivery service within Virginia |
| Washington | $355 WSDA permit, 2 years | $35,000 | Home inspection and training; no shipping, mail order or sales outside the state |
| West Virginia | None ($35 permit for acidified foods) | None | Online sales with mail shipping; no sales outside the state |
| Wisconsin | None | None on baked goods | — |
| Wyoming ⚠ | None | $250,000 in one compilation; others say none | Food Freedom Act (W.S. 11-49-101 to -104): sales only inside Wyoming to an “informed end consumer”; meat has special rules; confirm the cap |
For states without a link, start with the state’s own health or agriculture department. The National Agricultural Law Center also tracks yearly changes.
California’s caps. The statutory limits are $75,000 (Class A) and $150,000 (Class B), and they adjust for inflation every year. CDPH’s 2025 table lists $86,206 and $172,411. Some 2026 compilations cite about $88,878 and $177,756. Use CDPH’s table for the year you’re actually selling.
So how many states have no cap? In the table above, 31 jurisdictions show no annual cap. Four of those (Alabama, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina) are disputed across compilations, which leaves 27 with no conflict. That matches a separate 2026 compilation that counts 27. The number moves depending on whether DC counts, what “standard cottage food” means, and how you treat caps that apply only to one product path (Utah’s cottage path, Virginia’s acidified foods) or per product type (Colorado’s old rule).
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Old articles will hand you wrong numbers. States have been rewriting these laws almost every session, so here’s what’s verifiable right now:
| State | Law | Change | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | SB 541 | Cap $50,000 → $150,000 (inflation-adjusted); local permits and fees barred; new cottage food vendor wholesale channel; registered path for some TCS foods | Sept 1, 2025 |
| Indiana | HEA 1424 (P.L. 163) | Homestead vendor framework replaces the home-based vendor law; $1.5 million cap; local agencies can’t add licenses beyond federal law | July 1, 2026 |
| Virginia | HB 402 | Internet and phone sales; mail or delivery service within Virginia | July 1, 2026 |
| Maryland | HB 535 (Ch. 320) | Cap $50,000 → $100,000 | Oct 1, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | HB 3720 | Cap $75,000 → $250,000; conditions for perishable direct sales and third-party delivery; meat and poultry excluded | Nov 1, 2026 |
| Colorado | HB26-1033 | $10,000-per-product cap → $150,000 annual (inflation-adjusted); annual registration; limited TCS products | Reported as August 2026 or Jan 1, 2027; confirm with CDPHE |
| Michigan | HB 4122 | Cap raised to $50,000; online sales | March 24, 2026 (confirm with MDARD) |
| Nevada | AB 352 | Cap $35,000 → $100,000 | Reported as July 1, 2027 |
If you run a cottage business, keep your own version of this list: bill number, effective date, and the agency page that confirms it. Don’t rely on memory.
Work through these eight steps to find your rules
The state table gives you the map. This sequence gets you to your own answer:
- Pin down your jurisdiction. Your state sets the law, but your county or city may issue the permit. Zoning, HOA rules and your lease sit outside cottage law entirely.
- Write out your product list. Include fillings, frostings and toppings, not just the cake.
- Run each item through your state’s definition. Check the approved list or the TCS definition. If something’s borderline, ask the agency in writing and keep the reply.
- Choose your sales channels. Home pickup, markets, online with local delivery, carrier shipping, wholesale. Each one is a separate legal question.
- Check your cap against your plan. Use the math further down.
- Find the paperwork. Permit or registration, food handler or manager course, kitchen inspection, local business license.
- Build the label from your own state’s rules. Don’t copy a template from another state.
- Set up the money side. Insurance, income tax, sales tax, and a separate bank account so your gross receipts are easy to total.
Later on, you might build a full operations binder with recipes, supplier records and batch logs. For now, getting these eight right is enough.
Check your products against your state’s definition
Instead of a one-size-fits-all verdict that may not match your state, here’s what a regulator typically asks about common products:
| Product | The question a regulator asks | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies, brownies, muffins, quick breads, yeast bread | Is it baked, non-TCS, and on the list or within the definition? | Confirm there are no perishable add-ins |
| Fruit pies | Are they named on the list? (Many states name “fruit pie.”) | Your state’s list wording |
| Pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato pie | Is the filling a custard-type or egg-and-dairy filling that counts as TCS? | One of the most state-specific calls; check the list and ask the agency |
| Cheesecake | Does it contain cream cheese, dairy or eggs that need refrigeration? | Excluded in most cottage regimes; a few states open a conditioned path (see below) |
| Powdered-sugar buttercream | Is it high-sugar, low-moisture and free of fresh dairy? | Many states accept it; others require testing or exclude it |
| Cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, custard | Is it a perishable dairy or egg product? | Typically excluded |
| Ganache | What’s the water activity, and does it contain fresh cream? | State- and recipe-specific |
| Filled or glazed donuts | Is the filling shelf-stable (jam) or perishable (cream)? | Jam fillings are treated differently from custard |
| Savory baked goods (quiche, meat pies) | Do they contain meat, egg or dairy that must be held cold? | Excluded in most states |
The TCS paths are narrower than they look
Here’s a common mistake. Having no sales cap, or no permit, doesn’t mean you can sell any perishable product. The states that do allow some perishables attach real conditions:
- Texas lets operators who sell TCS foods register with DSHS, with conditions on labeling and sales.
- Oklahoma’s new law allows direct-to-consumer perishable sales under conditions, including training and delivery rules. It excludes meat and poultry.
- Colorado’s HB26-1033 allows limited TCS sales by registered producers once it applies.
- Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act covers sales only inside Wyoming to an “informed end consumer,” requires telling buyers the food isn’t inspected, and treats meat separately. Montana and Utah follow the same direct-to-consumer idea with their own exclusions, and Utah’s food freedom path bars meat and raw milk.
Whether a cheesecake qualifies, how it has to be stored and how it can reach the customer all depend on the statute text. Read the conditions, not the headline.
If your product is borderline, expect questions about your recipe and maybe a pH or water-activity test. A lab test costs money, but it turns a “maybe” into a documented yes.
Pick your sales channels carefully
“Online sales” sounds like one thing. In law, it’s several. Pickup, personal delivery, apps, carriers and wholesale are each treated differently, and it’s easy to be legal on one and not another.
| Channel | What the law asks | How states differ |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup at home | Is selling from the residence allowed? Does zoning allow customer traffic? | Many states explicitly allow it; some limit venues |
| Personal delivery | Is delivery by you, an employee or a household member a “direct sale”? | Texas ties internet orders to delivery by the operator, an employee or a household member (SB 541) |
| Markets and events | Is the venue approved? | Utah’s food freedom path requires direct-to-sale locations; permit states often restrict venues |
| Online order, local pickup or delivery | Does the state allow remote sales at all? | Delaware bans online sales; New Hampshire requires a $150 license for internet sales; Michigan added conditional online sales in 2026 |
| Third-party delivery apps | Does a platform break “direct to consumer”? | Oklahoma’s new law sets conditions for third parties; most states are silent, so ask |
| Carrier shipping inside the state | Does the statute allow mail or parcel delivery? | Allowed in Alaska, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Oregon, West Virginia and Virginia (since July 2026); Indiana reports it with a food handler certificate; barred in Washington; Texas removed its mail-order language in 2025 |
| Wholesale or indirect sales | Can a café, shop or reseller carry your product? | California Class B and Texas cottage food vendors allow it; Hawaii opened wholesale in 2025; Massachusetts requires a wholesale license |
| Interstate sales | Does state law allow it, and do federal rules apply? | See below |
Selling across state lines is three questions, not one
- Does your state’s law allow it? A few say yes: North Dakota (since March 2025) and Arkansas (if federal laws are met). Many limit sales to in-state customers: Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming and Oklahoma.
- Do federal requirements attach? Selling across state lines can bring FDA rules (facility registration under the Food Safety Modernization Act, labeling) and USDA rules if meat or poultry is involved. Whether a home kitchen can meet those depends on the facts, so get a specific answer instead of assuming.
- What does the destination state require? The buyer’s state may have its own rules about what can be sold into it.
In practice, most home bakers who want national shipping move to a commissary kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen or a co-packer.
Label it the way your state wants
Label rules come from your state’s cottage food regulations, and they vary by regime. Typical items include your name or business name, an address or permit number, ingredients, allergens and a home-kitchen or “not inspected” statement. Some states also want a date or net weight. Wording is often prescribed, so don’t improvise.
Federal rules matter when federal food law applies to your sale. The FDA recognizes nine major allergens, including sesame since January 1, 2023 (FDA food labeling). Most state cottage label rules build in allergen disclosure, but whether federal labeling law reaches a specific in-state home sale depends on the facts.
Two examples show how different the regimes are. These layouts follow the documented elements. Use the exact wording your agency requires.
New Jersey (permit regime). The state’s rules call for the operator’s name, business name, permit number and the municipality where the food is prepared, plus ingredients, major allergens and a home-kitchen disclosure.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients: [descending by weight]
Contains: [major allergens]
Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the State of New Jersey.
[Operator name] / [Business name] - NJDOH CFO Permit #[number]
Prepared in: [Municipality]Utah (food freedom path). Producers must tell buyers the food isn’t certified, licensed, regulated or inspected by the state, county or city. The state agriculture department also describes a “Not for Resale” disclaimer.
Sourdough Loaf
Not for resale.
Made in a home kitchen not under state or local inspection.Even in a lighter regime, list your ingredients and allergens anyway. A customer with a peanut allergy won’t read your state statute.
Do the cap math before you hit the cap
Think of your sales cap like a speed limit. It matters, but most people never reach it, because something else slows them down first. For home bakers, that something is usually labor.
The numbers below are a model with stated assumptions, not industry statistics. First, how many orders you’d need at three average order sizes:
| Annual revenue | $25 orders | $38 orders | $60 orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | 1,200 (23/wk) | 790 (15/wk) | 500 (10/wk) |
| $50,000 | 2,000 (38/wk) | 1,320 (25/wk) | 830 (16/wk) |
| $75,000 | 3,000 (58/wk) | 1,970 (38/wk) | 1,250 (24/wk) |
| $150,000 | 6,000 (115/wk) | 3,950 (76/wk) | 2,500 (48/wk) |
Now add labor, over 52 weeks. Assume a $25 order takes 40 minutes from baking through packing and messages, a $38 order takes 45 minutes and a $60 custom order takes 90 minutes. That works out to roughly $37.50, $51 and $40 in gross revenue per labor hour. Reaching each cap then takes about:
| Cap | $25 orders | $38 orders | $60 orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | about 26 hrs/week | about 19 hrs/week | about 24 hrs/week |
| $150,000 | about 77 hrs/week | about 57 hrs/week | about 72 hrs/week |
Within this model, a $50,000 cap equals a part-time job’s worth of baking, so it can pinch if your business works. A $150,000 cap is out of reach for one person at these prices. For solo bakers, the lever is revenue per hour: pricing, product mix and batch sizes.
Gross isn’t income, either. With ingredients at about 30%, packaging at about 8% and payment fees at about 5%, a $38 order leaves roughly $22 before insurance, permits, mileage, marketing and taxes. That’s about $29 per labor hour.
What the model leaves out: equipment depreciation, utilities, cleaning supplies, failed or spoiled batches, accounting fees, and time spent on sourcing and customer messages beyond the per-order minutes. The time-per-order figures are assumptions, not measurements. Time 20 real orders from start to finish before you build a plan on these numbers.
Two practical rules. The cap counts gross receipts from every channel combined, and New Jersey’s rule is explicit that gross means before taxes and expenses. Seasonal sellers should track sales weekly from early fall, because holiday volume arrives fast. What happens when you go over depends on the state, but New Jersey’s rules allow summary suspension of a permit and cease-and-desist orders.
Sort out taxes and other obligations
Cottage food law says nothing about taxes. A few separate things can apply, and they’re easy to mix up:
- Federal income tax on your net business profit.
- Self-employment tax, generally 15.3% of net self-employment earnings, with a deduction for half.
- State income tax, where your state has one.
- Estimated quarterly payments if your liability is too big to cover through withholding from another job.
- Sales tax, which is its own system. States differ on whether baked goods are taxable, whether a home bakery has to collect, and whether marketplaces collect for you.
- Local business license or home occupation permit. Some cities require one even where the state asks for nothing. Utah’s food freedom law, for instance, keeps business license requirements in place.
- Liability insurance. Rarely required by statute, but markets and event organizers often ask for it.
Treat this as a list of questions for your state revenue department and an accountant, not as tax advice.
Six common situations, and what to do in each
1. You sell cookies by pickup only
Check whether your state requires registration or a course even for pickup, whether zoning and your lease allow customer visits, and what your label needs. Next step: confirm the permit and training on your state agency’s page, then compare your plan with your cap.
2. You want to ship by USPS or UPS
Find out whether the statute allows carriers at all, only inside the state, or only personal delivery. Virginia, Alaska, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Oregon and West Virginia permit in-state carrier shipping. Washington doesn’t. Texas removed mail order in 2025. Next step: get the agency’s answer in writing before you buy shipping supplies.
3. A café wants to buy from you
Check whether indirect or wholesale selling is allowed. California requires Class B. Texas requires the café to register as a cottage food vendor. Massachusetts requires a wholesale license. Some states don’t allow it at all. Next step: confirm your tier allows resale and what the café has to do on its end.
4. You want to sell cheesecake or other TCS foods
First figure out which of three situations you’re in: a conditioned TCS path (Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado once its law applies), a food freedom statute with perishable provisions (Wyoming, Montana, Utah), or neither. In the first two, read the exact conditions: registration, training, storage, delivery method, labeling, in-state limits. Next step: if neither applies, a commissary or shared commercial kitchen is the legal route, often rented by the hour.
5. You’re close to your cap
Check whether the cap counts every channel, whether a higher tier exists (California Class B), and whether an increase is coming (Oklahoma on November 1, 2026). Next step: raise prices or drop low-margin work before you turn away your best customers. And plan any move to a commercial kitchen early, because permits take weeks.
6. Your customers are in the next state
Check whether your state allows out-of-state sales (North Dakota does, and Arkansas does with federal compliance) and what the destination state requires. Next step: in most cases, plan on a licensed commercial kitchen or co-packer for out-of-state orders, and keep home production for in-state sales.
Know when your home kitchen isn’t enough
It may sound premature, but plan your next step before you need it. Typical triggers: TCS products your state won’t allow, wholesale demand your tier doesn’t permit, a cap you’re about to hit, or customers in other states.
Common stepping stones include:
- Shared commissary kitchens. Rent by the hour, often with storage and equipment included.
- Church or community kitchens that already hold commercial approval.
- Co-packers for a single product while you keep the rest at home.
- MEHKO permits in some California counties, which let you sell freshly cooked meals from a home kitchen under separate limits. Legislation introduced in 2026 would require every county to allow them by July 2027, so check its status.
