Updated 2026-09-12. This page is not legal advice.
You can sell cookies, cakes, bread, and candy from your own kitchen in most of the United States. The law that allows it is a cottage food law, and every state writes its own.
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from home?
In most states, no. A cottage food law lets you bake at home and sell direct to customers. It asks for no food license and no health inspection.
Four states on this site ask for something first. New Jersey issues a Cottage Food Operator Permit for $100 that lasts two years. Illinois requires annual local registration, a fee of up to $50, and a certified food protection manager. California requires a Class A registration or a Class B permit from the county. North Carolina requires a home processor inspection.
Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin require no permit for baked goods. Georgia dropped its state license and fee on July 1, 2025. Texas adds one exception: an operation that sells refrigerated foods must register with DSHS. Several of these states still require a food handler card. Read the cottage food law for your state first.
What is a cottage food law, and does my state have one?
A cottage food law is a state law. It exempts a home kitchen from the commercial food rules for a listed set of low-risk foods. In exchange you accept limits on what you make, where you sell, and how much you earn.
The name changes by state. California calls it a Cottage Food Operation. Wisconsin has no single program: court orders allow home baked goods, and a pickle bill covers pickled foods.
This site verified thirteen states on 2026-09-12. They are California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. If your state is not listed, read your own state agency page. Do not copy another state’s rules.
What foods can I sell from a home kitchen?
Sell shelf-stable foods that need no refrigeration for safety. Cookies, breads, cakes without cream fillings, candy, jams and jellies, dry mixes, and granola sit on most state lists.
Foods that need time and temperature control are usually out. Cheesecake, cream pies, custard fillings, buttercream that needs refrigeration, meat, and low-acid canned vegetables fall in that group. Texas allows some time and temperature controlled foods when the operation registers with DSHS. California lists baked goods without cream or custard, jams and jellies, candy, dried fruit, granola, nut butters, and coffee.
Each state publishes its own list, and the list is the rule. If your product is not on it, the cottage food law does not cover it. The Shelf Life Calculator gives typical shelf lives for cookies, cakes, breads, candy, jams, and granola. Use it to set a best-by date.
Where can I sell, and can I ship or sell online?
Every state on this site allows direct sales. That covers home pickup, farmers markets, farm stands, fairs, festivals, and craft shows. Most also let you take the order online. Shipping is where they split.
Florida allows mail order and delivery by USPS or a commercial carrier. North Carolina allows shipping by USPS or FedEx. Illinois allows shipping only for food that needs no temperature control, only in a tamper-evident package, and only inside Illinois. Michigan allows internet and mail order to Michigan customers only. Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, and Ohio also stop at the state line. New Jersey is the strictest: hand to hand inside New Jersey, no mail, no common carrier.
These are state laws. They do not authorize a sale into another state. Wholesale is separate. Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio allow some sales to licensed retail businesses. California allows them with a Class B permit. Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Virginia bar resale.
Is there a limit on how much I can earn?
Some states cap gross annual sales and many do not. A cap counts gross sales, not profit.
Florida caps cottage food sales at $250,000 across all locations. California caps a Class A operation at $75,000 and a Class B operation at $150,000. Michigan caps sales at $50,000 through October 1, 2026. The Michigan cap is $75,000 if the operation sells its products at $250 or more per unit. New Jersey caps sales at $50,000 before any deduction. Wisconsin caps pickled goods at $5,000 a year. Virginia caps pickles and acidified vegetables at $9,000 a year. Neither caps baked goods.
Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri state no cap. Missouri removed its $50,000 cap on August 28, 2022. Track gross sales from the first order. Florida requires the operation to show its gross sales on request.
What has to be on my label?
Six items cover most states. The first three are the product name, the ingredient list, and the allergen statement. The rest are your business name and address or registration number, the net weight, and the state disclaimer.
The ingredient list runs in descending order of predominance by weight, measured as the ingredients go into the recipe. That rule is 21 CFR 101.4. Read how to write an ingredient statement for sub-ingredients and common names. The allergen statement names any of the nine major allergens, either inside the ingredient list or on a Contains line. Read how to write the allergen statement for the exact form. The net weight rule is 21 CFR 101.105, and the net weight statement guide covers placement and type size.
The disclaimer changes by state. California requires “Made in a Home Kitchen” in 12-point type on the primary display panel. The permit number and the county go on the label too. Texas requires the sentence “THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.”
The Ingredient Label Maker prints the ingredient list in order, the allergen line, and your state disclaimer from your ingredient weights. To print at home, read printing food labels at home.
Do I need a Nutrition Facts panel?
Usually no. Federal rule 21 CFR 101.9(j) exempts small businesses from nutrition labeling. No state on this site requires a panel on cottage food unless the label makes a nutrient claim.
A nutrient content claim or a health claim cancels the exemption. Phrases like “low sugar”, “high protein”, and “good source of fiber” are claims. The word “homemade” is not. Make a claim and you owe a full Nutrition Facts panel with accurate values.
Read do cottage foods need a nutrition label for the two federal small business exemptions. If a wholesale buyer asks for a panel anyway, the Nutrition Label Maker prints the 2020 FDA format for free. It formats the numbers you type; it does not compute them from your recipe. The Serving Size Calculator turns batch totals into per-serving amounts first.
Do I need an LLC, insurance, or a sales tax permit?
This answer is general guidance. These rules vary by state and by city. Check your secretary of state, your revenue department, and your city clerk.
An LLC is a business structure, not a food permit. No cottage food law on this site requires one. If you sell under your own name, you are a sole proprietor. Your personal assets sit behind any business claim. An LLC separates them. Costs and annual fees vary by state.
The cottage food law itself usually does not require product liability insurance. Farmers markets, craft fairs, and venues often do, and they ask for a certificate before they give you a booth. A homeowner policy usually excludes business activity.
Sales tax depends on your state and your city. States treat bakery items and prepared food differently from grocery food. Where sales tax applies, you register for a seller’s permit before the first sale. Your city may also require a home occupation permit, a business license, or zoning approval. New Jersey states that a cottage food applicant must meet local municipal law, including zoning.
How do I price a batch?
Add your ingredient cost per unit, then labor and overhead, then a markup. A guessed price loses money on every order.
Work in this order. Price each ingredient by the unit you buy, not the unit you use. Divide the batch cost by the number of units. Add packaging and the label. Add your hourly rate times the hours you work, including decorating and cleanup. Add overhead: utilities, market fees, card fees, and insurance. Apply your markup last.
The Recipe Cost Calculator runs that math. It returns cost per batch, cost per unit, and a selling price with your markup. For cakes, the Cake Pricing Calculator prices the whole cake and the slice. The Recipe Scaler resizes a recipe when an order runs larger than your test batch. The Grams to Cups Converter converts 45 baking ingredients, so your costing matches your recipe.
How do I take orders and payments?
Start with the simplest system you will use every week. One order form, a set of pickup slots, and one payment method carry most bakers through year one.
Take orders in one place. A page on your own site, a form, or a single social account all work. Orders spread across texts, comments, and messages go missing. Record the customer name, the item, the pickup time, the allergens to avoid, and the price. Take a deposit on custom cakes.
A phone card reader covers markets and a payment app covers pickups. Card fees take a few percent, so put them in your overhead. Keep a running total of gross sales. That number feeds your state cap and your tax return.
Texas adds an online rule worth copying anywhere. Post all the label information on your website before you take payment.
What happens when I outgrow the cottage food limit?
You move production into a licensed kitchen. The exemption covers a home kitchen only.
Three paths are common. Rent time in a commissary or shared commercial kitchen. Get your own processing license: Wisconsin, for example, requires a food processing plant license under Wis. Stat. 97.29 or a retail food license under Wis. Stat. 97.30 past the exemptions. Or hire a co-packer.
Licensed production changes the label. You may sell wholesale and across state lines, and federal rules then require you to register the facility with FDA. The Nutrition Facts exemption in 21 CFR 101.9(j) depends on your employee count and unit volume. A growing business eventually needs a panel. The state disclaimer comes off once you leave the cottage food program.
Plan the move before you reach the cap. Check the limit on your state cottage food page and review gross sales monthly.