Selling homemade baked goods, jams, or candy is legal in every state, but the rules range from "just start selling" to a registration, an inspection, and a manager-level food safety certificate before your first cookie crosses the table. We verified the cottage food law in all 50 states plus DC against each state's statutes and health or agriculture department, and the differences are bigger than almost any other corner of small business law. Here is where homemade food is easiest to sell, where it is hardest, and the full comparison table.
This is general information, not legal advice. These laws are changing fast (more than a dozen states rewrote theirs since 2021); each linked guide shows its sources and verification date.
The food freedom states: easiest in the country
A handful of states have moved past the traditional cottage food model entirely, with no permit, no registration, no sales cap, and a food list that includes refrigerated items most states ban:
- Wyoming has the broadest law in the nation. No license, no inspection, no training, and nearly any homemade food or drink qualifies, including cream-filled baked goods, refrigerated items, raw milk, and eggs. The only limit is a generous one: $250,000 a year.
- Montana is nearly as open. No paperwork of any kind, no sales cap, and perishable foods like cheesecakes and fermented foods are fine, sold direct to consumers at farmers markets and community events.
- Alaska joined the club in 2024, eliminating its old $25,000 cap. Cheesecakes, cream pies, kombucha, and even frozen casseroles can now be sold with no permit, including online with shipping anywhere in the state.
- North Dakota has no license and no cap, and since March 2025 it is one of the only states where shipping cottage food to customers in other states is expressly legal.
- Idaho rewrote its law effective March 2026 into one of the broadest direct-to-consumer statutes anywhere, and Hawaii quietly became the rare state that allows homemade food to be sold wholesale (August 2025).
Beyond those, a long list of states ask for nothing at all for standard shelf-stable foods: no permit, no registration, and no sales cap. Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia all fit that description, and Georgia joined them in July 2025 when it abolished its old $100 annual license.
The strictest states
- Washington runs the heaviest permitting regime: a WSDA Cottage Food Operation Permit at $355 for two years, a home inspection, training for everyone involved, and a $35,000 cap.
- Washington DC requires registration with DC Health, a Certified Food Protection Manager credential, a Home Occupancy Permit from a second agency, and certified scales from a third if you sell by weight.
- New Jersey charges $100 for its Cottage Food Operator Permit and is the only state besides DC demanding a manager-level food protection certificate.
- Delaware requires registration with a preoperational home kitchen inspection, and it is one of the few states that still bans online sales outright.
- California routes everyone through county health departments with two permit classes, and Massachusetts has no state permit at all, which sounds friendly until you learn each local board of health licenses (and prices) home kitchens its own way.
Sales caps: from $10,000 to no limit at all
Most states (over 30) now have no annual sales cap for standard cottage foods. Among those that do, the spread is wide. Florida allows $250,000 a year, Wyoming $250,000, Texas $150,000 with annual inflation adjustment, and California $88,878 to $177,756 depending on permit class (2026 figures, adjusted annually). At the other end, Vermont and Louisiana cap sales at $30,000, and Colorado's unusual rule caps each product type at $10,000 (every muffin flavor gets its own cap) until a new framework arrives in 2027.
The online sales divide
Whether you can sell over the internet is the sharpest dividing line in these laws. Oregon and West Virginia allow online sales with mail shipping. Alaska allows online sales with shipping anywhere in the state. North Dakota even allows out-of-state shipping. Michigan added conditional online sales in March 2026. But Delaware bans online sales entirely, DC limits everything to the District, and New Hampshire requires a $150 license the moment you sell over the internet, even though in-person sales need nothing.
Watch these dates
Verified changes already scheduled: Indiana replaces its home-based vendor law with a broader homestead vendor framework on July 1, 2026. Oklahoma's cap jumps from $75,000 to $250,000 on November 1, 2026. Colorado's new registration framework with a $150,000 gross cap arrives January 1, 2027. Nevada's cap rises from $35,000 to $100,000 with online sales on July 1, 2027. Minnesota moves to a flat $30 fee with carrier shipping allowed on August 1, 2027. Maryland has a pending bill to double its $50,000 cap.
The full table
| State | Permit or registration | Annual sales cap |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No permit (county review form) | None |
| Alaska | None | None |
| Arizona | Free registration | None |
| Arkansas | None | None |
| California | County permit (Class A/B) | $88,878 / $177,756 (2026) |
| Colorado | None (registration starts 2027) | $10,000 per product type (to 2027) |
| Connecticut | $50/yr license | $50,000 |
| Delaware | $30/yr registration + inspection | None |
| Florida | None | $250,000 |
| Georgia | None (license abolished 2025) | None |
| Hawaii | None | None |
| Idaho | None | None |
| Illinois | Annual local registration | None |
| Indiana | None | None |
| Iowa | None (cottage path) | None (cottage path) |
| Kansas | None | None |
| Kentucky | $50/yr registration | $60,000 |
| Louisiana | None | $30,000 |
| Maine | $20/yr license (most sellers) | None |
| Maryland | None (direct sales) | $50,000 |
| Massachusetts | Local board of health permit | None |
| Michigan | None | $50,000 ($75,000 for high-priced items) |
| Minnesota | Annual MDA registration | $78,000 |
| Mississippi | None | $35,000 |
| Missouri | None | None |
| Montana | None | None |
| Nebraska | Free registration | None |
| Nevada | Local registration | $35,000 ($100,000 from July 2027) |
| New Hampshire | None (license only for online/wholesale) | None |
| New Jersey | $100 permit | $50,000 |
| New Mexico | None | None |
| New York | Free registration | None |
| North Carolina | Free kitchen inspection approval | None |
| North Dakota | None | None |
| Ohio | None | None |
| Oklahoma | None | $75,000 ($250,000 from Nov 2026) |
| Oregon | None (food handler card required) | $52,700 (2026, inflation-adjusted) |
| Pennsylvania | Registration + inspection | None |
| Rhode Island | $65/yr registration | $50,000 |
| South Carolina | None | None |
| South Dakota | None | None |
| Tennessee | None | None |
| Texas | None (food handler course required) | $150,000 |
| Utah | UDAF registration (cottage path) | None |
| Vermont | Free annual attestation + training | $30,000 |
| Virginia | None | None ($9,000 for acidified foods) |
| Washington | $355 WSDA permit | $35,000 |
| Washington DC | $50 registration + manager cert | None |
| West Virginia | None ($35 permit for acidified foods) | None |
| Wisconsin | None | None on baked goods |
| Wyoming | None | $250,000 |
Each state name links to our full guide with allowed and prohibited foods, labeling rules, training requirements, where you can sell, and official sources.
Selling crafts too?
Most cottage food sellers also sell at craft fairs, where a different set of rules applies. See our companion comparison, craft fair permits by state, and the state permit guides.
How we verified this
Every state guide was checked against primary sources only: state statutes, health and agriculture department pages, and administrative rules, never third-party blogs (which are wrong about these laws remarkably often; we found incorrect cap figures, repealed laws cited as current, and vetoed bills reported as enacted in over a dozen states). Each guide lists its sources and a last-verified date, and we re-verify annually. Spot something out of date? Tell us.