warebycottage food laws by state.
what you can sell from your home kitchen in all 50 states and washington, d.c., in plain english. every fact checked on the state’s own pages.
every state and washington, d.c. lets you sell some homemade food. by our count in october 2026, 46 of the 51 let you take orders online, 31 allow shipping within the state, 32 have no yearly sales cap, and 24 don’t ask you to register with the state at all. 11 have a food freedom law that allows far more than baked goods. tap a state for its rules in plain english: what you can sell, who you register with, where you can sell and what the label says.
cottage food laws in every state
the main rules side by side. tap a state for the details and sources.
| state | register? | sales cap | online orders | ship in state | ship out of state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alabama | yes | none | yes | yes | no |
| alaska | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| arizona | yes | none | yes | limited | no |
| arkansas | no | none | yes | yes | limited |
| california | yes | $88,878 | yes | yes | no |
| colorado | no | $10,000 per product | yes | yes | no |
| connecticut | yes | $50,000 | yes | no | no |
| delaware | yespermit | none | no | no | no |
| florida | no | $250,000 | yes | yes | yes |
| georgia | no | none | yes | yes | yes |
| hawaii | no | none | yes | yes | unclear |
| idaho | no | none | yes | unclear | no |
| illinois | yes | none | yes | yes | no |
| indiana | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| iowa | no | none | yes | yes | unclear |
| kansas | no | none | yes | yes | limited |
| kentucky | yes | $60,000 | yes | no | no |
| louisiana | no | $100,000 | yes | unclear | unclear |
| maine | yespermit | none | yes | yes | yes |
| maryland | yessometimes | $100,000 | yes | yes | no |
| massachusetts | yespermit | none | yes | yes | unclear |
| michigan | no | $50,000 | yes | yes | no |
| minnesota | yes | $78,000 | yes | no | no |
| mississippi | no | $35,000 | no | no | no |
| missouri | no | none | yes | unclear | no |
| montana | yessometimes | none | limited | no | no |
| nebraska | yes | none | yes | yes | unclear |
| nevada | yes | $100,000 | limited | no | no |
| new hampshire | yessometimes | none | limited | limited | unclear |
| new jersey | yespermit | $50,000 | yes | no | no |
| new mexico | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| new york | yes | none | yes | yes | no |
| north carolina | yespermit | none | yes | yes | unclear |
| north dakota | no | none | yes | yes | yes |
| ohio | yessometimes | none | unclear | unclear | no |
| oklahoma | no | $75,000 | yes | limited | limited |
| oregon | no | $52,700 | yes | yes | unclear |
| pennsylvania | yespermit | none | yes | yes | limited |
| rhode island | yes | $50,000 | yes | no | no |
| south carolina | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| south dakota | no | none | no | no | no |
| tennessee | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| texas | yessometimes | $150,000 | yes | no | no |
| utah | yessometimes | none | unclear | no | no |
| vermont | yes | $30,000 | yes | yes | unclear |
| virginia | no | none | yes | yes | no |
| washington | yespermit | $35,000 | limited | no | no |
| washington, d.c. | yes | none | yes | unclear | no |
| west virginia | yessometimes | none | yes | yes | limited |
| wisconsin | no | none | yes | unclear | unclear |
| wyoming | no | $250,000 | yes | unclear | no |
what is a cottage food law?
a cottage food law lets you make certain foods in your own kitchen and sell them without a commercial kitchen or a food license. in exchange, you follow a short list of rules: usually a registration or permit, a label that says the food was made at home, a limit on which foods, and sometimes a yearly sales cap.
the foods are usually ones that are safe at room temperature: breads, cookies, cakes without cream fillings, candy, jams and dry mixes. foods that need to stay cold, like cheesecake, cream pies and meat, are almost always out.
what’s the difference between cottage food and food freedom?
a food freedom law goes further. it lets you sell a much wider range of homemade foods, sometimes including meals and foods that need refrigeration, straight to the person who’ll eat them, usually with fewer rules. 11 states have one. see the food freedom states.
which states allow what?
how do you start selling food from home?
check your state’s page here, register if it asks you to, label your food, and pick where people will order. then hand orders over the way your state allows. our step-by-step guide walks through it, and here’s how to price what you make.
questions people ask
can i sell food from home in every state?
yes, some foods. every state and washington, d.c. allows cottage food sales in some form, though what you can sell, where, and how much varies a lot.
which states let you sell cottage food online?
by our october 2026 count, 46 of 51 let you take orders online, with some limits in several states. tap the online orders view on the map, or check your state’s page.
which states allow shipping cottage food?
31 of 51 allow shipping within the state and 9 allow shipping to other states. see the full list.
do i need a license to sell baked goods from home?
in most states, a registration or permit. 24 don’t require one at the state level. see which.
is this legal advice?
no. it’s general information, checked on each state’s own pages. laws change, so confirm with your state’s agency, linked on every state page, before you sell.
sources
every state page lists the laws and agency pages it’s based on. for the bigger picture:
- institute for justice: state reforms for homemade food businesses
- institute for justice: flour power, a survey of cottage food producers (2017)
general information, not legal advice. checked october 14, 2026. laws change, so confirm with your state before you sell. spot something out of date? email hello@shopwareby.com.
we sold cinnamon rolls from home as minnesota cottage food producers before we opened a licensed kitchen and built wareby. our story
sell your baking to your own town.
on wareby, neighbors within 25 miles find your shop, order ahead and pick up from you, or get it delivered by you. free to open in about 10 minutes.