Can I sell food from home? The state-by-state answer.

01The short answer

Yes, you can — with limits.

If you have baked something good enough that a friend tried to pay for it, you have probably wondered whether this could be a side hustle, and whether you would need a license to start. The honest answer is: in most cases, no license is required to start. Every U.S. state and Washington, D.C. now has what is called a Cottage Food Law (I will write that as CFL the rest of the way). A CFL is a state-level rule that lets you make certain low-risk foods in your home kitchen and sell them to the public without becoming a licensed food business.

I should say up front: I run a CFIA-licensed mushroom-production facility in Brantford, Ontario. CFIA stands for Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the federal regulator in Canada. I went the full commercial route in 2023 after three years of selling direct to customers. Looking back, if I had been in the U.S. instead of Canada, my first three years would have looked completely different — I could have done all of that early validation under a cottage food exemption, in my own kitchen, without ever talking to a health department. That is the gap most new operators do not know exists. This article is the map.

What surprises most new operators is how wide the range is. Pennsylvania has no cap at all and is the one state that has long allowed shipping across state lines. North Dakota became the second one to allow interstate shipping in March 2025. Texas raised its cap to $150,000 in September 2025. Wisconsin still caps you at $5,000 a year. Same country, completely different rules.

02What a CFL actually is

The carve-out you are using.

Under federal rules at 21 CFR Part 1, Subpart H, every "food facility" that makes or holds food for sale in the United States has to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But the same rule says a private residence is not a food facility. That is the gap your state's CFL fills. The state writes a rule that says: as long as you stay inside these limits, your home kitchen is not a regulated facility, and you do not need a commercial license.

That is the whole legal idea. Federal law gives a door. Each state decides how wide to open it.

The other thing a CFL is not: a federal exemption. The FDA does not recognize state cottage food rules for shipments that cross state lines. The moment your package leaves your state, federal interstate-commerce rules apply, and FDA does not exempt your home kitchen. That is the single most important sentence in this article. I will come back to it twice.

03The four questions

The four questions that define your state's law.

Almost every CFL can be described by answering four questions. Get these four facts about your state and you have 90% of what you need to start.

1. 01

   What foods can I sell?

   Most states stick to non-TCS foods. TCS stands for Time/Temperature Control for Safety — foods that have to be kept cold or hot to stay safe. Cheesecake, custard, cream pies, meat, raw milk are TCS. Cookies, jam, bread, hard candy are non-TCS. Every state allows non-TCS baked goods at minimum. Nine states now allow some TCS foods.

2. 02

   How much can I earn?

   Annual revenue caps. Wisconsin caps you at $5,000. Texas at $150,000. Florida and Wyoming at $250,000. Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, Utah, and Oklahoma have no cap at all. Almost every cap is measured in gross sales, not net profit. That matters: a baker doing $30,000 in cake sales with 60% ingredient cost counts $30,000 against the cap, not the $12,000 of margin.

3. 03

   Where can I sell?

   Direct to the customer is universally allowed. Farmers markets, universally allowed. Online pickup orders, mostly allowed. In-state shipping by mail, allowed in about 25 states. Interstate shipping, allowed in only two states. Wholesale to retail stores, allowed in about 15 states.

4. 04

   What is required of me?

   Some states require nothing. Some require a one-time food handler course. Some require registration with a fee. Some require a kitchen inspection. The strictest, like North Carolina, require an inspection and prohibit pets in the home.

Once you know those four answers, you can decide if cottage is right for you or if you should go straight to commercial.

04What you can sell

The food list.

The default list of foods allowed in almost every U.S. state is the non-TCS list — shelf-stable foods that do not need refrigeration to stay safe. If you are not sure whether something you make is TCS, the rough test is: does it need to be kept in the fridge for safety? If yes, it is TCS. If it can sit on the counter for a week without going bad, it is non-TCS.

Allowed in almost every state:

• Baked goods without dairy or egg fillings — cookies, breads, brownies, muffins, scones, biscotti, dry mixes
• Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters (the high sugar plus high acid makes them shelf-stable)
• Hard candy, chocolate, fudge, brittle, caramels
• Granola, dry cereals, dry pasta, dry herb and tea blends
• Honey and maple syrup
• Popcorn, popcorn balls, kettle corn
• Roasted coffee beans
• Some vinegars and flavored oils

Prohibited in most states by default:

• Meat and poultry products (federal USDA and CFIA jurisdiction — almost never cottage-eligible)
• Raw milk and most dairy
• Acidified canned goods like pickles and salsa (these require pH testing to be sold safely)
• Seafood and fish
• Anything that requires refrigeration

The big shift since 2020 is that nine states now allow some TCS foods under their CFL: California (only in counties that have opted into the MEHKO program — Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation), Arizona, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Each does it differently. Some require pH testing of the finished product. Some only allow it at a specific licensing tier. Some, like Wyoming's Food Freedom Act, allow almost anything as long as you sell it directly to an informed consumer.

05How much you can earn

The cap matrix.

Here is the cap landscape as of mid-2026. The number is gross sales unless noted.

A few notes that catch people:

• Gross, not net. Almost every cap counts every dollar that comes in, not what you take home. Track gross from day one.
• Resets at midnight, January 1. Most state caps are calendar-year. A few are rolling 12-month.
• The cap applies to the operator, not the kitchen. Two people in the same household cannot each claim a separate cap unless they each register separately and the state allows it.
• State sales tax applies separately. Hitting a $50,000 cap with zero sales tax filed is a separate problem from the CFL itself.

“

I can earn $150,000 a year baking from my house in Texas, and only $5,000 a year baking from my house in Wisconsin? That cannot be right.

”

A typical question I get from new bakers/Side-hustler reality

It is right. Texas raised its cap to $150,000 in September 2025. Wisconsin still caps at $5,000. The two states sit on opposite ends of the spectrum, and the practical advice is: if you live in a low-cap state and have real ambition, plan your move to commercial earlier than your peers in higher-cap states.

06Where you can sell

Venues and channels.

Six venues exist. Each state allows a different mix.

1. 01

   Direct in-person sales

   The customer comes to your home, or you deliver to them. Allowed everywhere.

2. 02

   Farmers markets and craft fairs

   State-permitted markets, fair booths, pop-up events. Allowed everywhere, sometimes with a separate market vendor permit.

3. 03

   Online with in-state pickup or delivery

   Customer orders through Etsy, Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, or your own website, and either picks it up or you deliver locally. Allowed in most states.

4. 04

   In-state shipping by mail or courier

   Customer in the same state, you ship USPS or UPS. Allowed in roughly 25 states. Check yours specifically.

5. 05

   Interstate (out-of-state) shipping

   Allowed in only two states as of 2026: Pennsylvania (Limited Food Establishment) and North Dakota (after SB 2386, March 21, 2025). Florida allows shipping but requires the receiving state to also permit it, which most do not address. Everywhere else, it is prohibited.

6. 06

   Wholesale to retail stores or restaurants

   Indirect sales through a grocery store, coffee shop, or restaurant. Allowed in roughly 15 states. Most require a separate wholesale permit even when allowed.

07The labeling rule

The one sentence every label needs.

Every state with a CFL requires a disclosure on the product — a sentence that tells the customer the food was made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected. The exact wording is state-specific. A few examples:

• Texas: "This food is made in a home kitchen and is not inspected by the Texas Department of State Health Services or a local health department."
• California: "Made in a Home Kitchen" (in 12-point type or larger, in English).
• Florida: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations."
• Pennsylvania: "This product is from a Limited Food Establishment that is not subject to PA Department of Agriculture inspection."
• Ohio: "This product is home produced" (10-point font minimum).

Beyond the disclosure, most states require the product name, your name and address (some states now let you use a state-issued registration number instead, for privacy), the ingredients in order from most to least, the net weight, allergen declarations under federal law, and sometimes your phone number.

The disclosure sentence is the most commonly missed label element. Missing it is the fastest way to get pulled from a farmers market or to receive a polite letter from the state.

08Selling online

Etsy, Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, your own site.

Online platforms do not write food law. Your state writes the rule. Etsy is a venue, not a regulator. Instagram is a venue, not a regulator. Facebook Marketplace is a venue, not a regulator. None of them verify whether your listing complies with your state's CFL — that responsibility is on you.

There are three legal patterns that work on these platforms:

1. 01

   Pattern 1 — In-state direct only

   You list on Etsy or Instagram nationwide, but in your shop policies you restrict shipping to your state, or to local pickup only. This works in almost every state and is the safest path for a cottage operator. Etsy lets you set shipping zones. Use them.

2. 02

   Pattern 2 — You are in a state that permits interstate shipping

   Pennsylvania Limited Food Establishment is the long-standing one. North Dakota since March 2025. Florida (subject to the receiving state's rules). If you are in one of these, you can legally ship nationwide as long as you stay inside your state's other rules.

3. 03

   Pattern 3 — You are a licensed commercial food business

   You are no longer in cottage food at all. You are registered with FDA as a food facility, you have a commercial license, and you can ship nationwide under federal rules.

The common pattern that does NOT work: a cottage operator in any state except Pennsylvania or North Dakota who ships nationwide via Etsy or Instagram. People do this constantly. It is technically a federal interstate-commerce issue, not just a state one. Quiet for most, but the moment something goes wrong, the exposure is real.

09What is allowed vs not

Cottage food vs commercial license.

The line between cottage food and commercial is what defines this whole space. Here is the side-by-side:

If you cross into any cell on the right, you are no longer operating under your CFL. You need a food establishment permit from your county health department, a business license, an FDA food facility registration (free, but required), and the kind of records I write about across the rest of this site.

For the operator path that takes you from cottage to commercial, the dedicated guide is at /solutions/cottage-operators.

10The 15-state quick guide

A snapshot for the biggest states.

This is not legal advice and laws change. As of mid-2026, here is the picture for the 15 largest U.S. states by population.

| State | Revenue cap | TCS allowed? | Interstate? | Registration | |---|---|---|---|---| | California | Class A $86,206 / Class B $172,411 | MEHKO only (county opt-in) | No | Class A registration; Class B registration + inspection | | Texas | $150,000 | Yes — most allowed | No | None statewide | | Florida | $250,000 | No | Yes (with receiving state caveat) | None | | New York | Unlimited | No (no cakes, no cream pies) | No (in-state only) | Free registration | | Pennsylvania | Unlimited | No | YES | $35 + home inspection | | Illinois | Unlimited (Home-to-Market Act) | Some pH-validated | No | Food safety certificate | | Ohio | Unlimited | No | No | None | | Georgia | Unlimited (HB 398, July 2025) | No | No | One-time ANAB-accredited food safety course | | North Carolina | Unlimited | No | No | Free application + inspection (8 to 12 weeks). No pets in home. | | Michigan | $50,000 ($75K for $250+/unit items) | No | No | None required | | New Jersey | $50,000 | No | No | Permit required | | Virginia | $9,000 | No | No | None | | Washington | $35,000 | No | No | ~$230 every 2 years + inspection | | Arizona | $25,000 | Yes (HB 2042, Sept 2024) | No | Food handler course + registration | | Massachusetts | No statutory cap | No | No | Local Board of Health license + inspection |

Two state databases that stay updated: the Harvard FLPC Fifty-State Table of Cottage Food and Home Kitchen Laws and the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund Cottage Foods Map. When the rule in your state has changed recently, those are the first two places I would check.

11What about Canada

The Canadian picture.

A lot of readers find this article from Canada and ask whether Canada has the same kind of framework. The honest answer: not really. Canada does not have a U.S.-style federal carve-out for home kitchens. The federal Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) make some exemptions for low-risk products sold within a single province, listed in SFCR Schedule 2 — baked goods, jams, honey, maple syrup, popcorn, dried herbs, and a short list of others can be made in a home kitchen and sold direct without a federal CFIA license, as long as the food does not cross a provincial border.

Each province then layers its own rules on top, and provincial home-kitchen rules are much narrower than what Wyoming or Texas allow. Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec each have their own "low-risk home-based food" frameworks, generally limited to baked goods and jams sold direct, often through farmers markets. None of them come close to a $150,000 revenue cap. None of them allow shipping into another province without a commercial license.

If you are in Canada and considering a home-based food business, the right next step is your provincial public health unit. If you are scaling toward interprovincial sales, you are heading toward CFIA territory, which is what I built — the /solutions/canada-sfcr page is the closest thing I have to a roadmap.

12The 5-step path

The 5-step path to selling food from home this week.

1. 01

   Look up your state's exact rule

   Use the Harvard FLPC table, your state department of agriculture page, or your state department of public health page. Get the four facts: allowed foods, revenue cap, allowed venues, registration requirement. Write them on one piece of paper.

2. 02

   Confirm your products are on the allowed list

   Cross-check each product against the non-TCS list. If anything you sell contains dairy, cream, custard, or meat, look up the TCS rules for your state specifically.

3. 03

   Draft your label

   Product name. Your name and address (or state-issued registration number where allowed). Ingredients in descending order by weight. Net weight. The 9 federal allergens if any are present. The disclosure sentence with your state's exact wording.

4. 04

   Do your food handler training if required

   California, Arizona, Georgia, and several others require a basic online food handler course. Usually $10 to $15, takes 1 to 2 hours, certificate is valid for two to five years.

5. 05

   Set up your shop policies and start tracking

   If you are selling on Etsy, Instagram, or Facebook Marketplace, set your shipping zone to your state only (or to your state plus PA/ND/FL if you are in one of those). Open a simple gross-sales tracker — a spreadsheet is fine — and log every dollar from day one. The cap is gross sales. You need the receipts.

If you do those five things in a week, you can be legally selling cookies, jam, or granola from your home kitchen by next weekend in most states.

13When to graduate

When you have to leave cottage behind.

There are five signals that it is time to move from cottage food to a commercial license. Most operators hit one or two of these in year two or three, not in year one.

1. 01

   You are hitting (or about to hit) your state's revenue cap

   The most common trigger. Texas at $150,000 buys you a long runway. Wisconsin at $5,000 buys you about three months.

2. 02

   A wholesale buyer wants your product

   A coffee shop wants to carry your granola. A grocery store wants your jam on the shelf. Most states do not allow wholesale under CFL. The path forward is a commercial license.

3. 03

   You want to ship interstate

   Out-of-state customers are asking, and you are not in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, or Florida. Commercial license, FDA facility registration, and you can ship anywhere.

4. 04

   You want to make TCS foods in a state that does not allow them under cottage

   Cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, fresh pasta, anything that needs refrigeration. The commercial kitchen is what lets you make those.

5. 05

   You want employees from outside your household

   Most CFLs limit production to you plus immediate household members. If you want to hire a part-time baker, that is commercial.

The commercial options range from rented commissary time at $15 to $50 an hour (often the right next step), to a leased small commercial space at $1,000 to $3,000 a month plus buildout, to building your own facility at $40,000 to $200,000 or more. The dedicated guide on the cottage-to-commercial path is at /solutions/cottage-operators.

14Records from day one

What to track from your first sale.

This is the part most cottage operators skip and regret. Even when your state does not require any records, you should keep them. Three reasons:

1. Tax records. Cottage food income is taxable income, reported on Schedule C of your 1040 in the U.S. or your T2125 in Canada. The IRS / CRA do not care that no inspector visited your kitchen.
2. The cap. If your state has a revenue cap, you have to be able to prove you stayed under it. Save every invoice, every Etsy payout, every Venmo screenshot.
3. The transition. When you do graduate to commercial, your three-year financial history is what gets you a lease, a loan, or a wholesale account. The cottage years are the proof-of-concept.

A free spreadsheet works for the first year. Beyond that, the same kind of records I keep at the Brantford facility — production logs, ingredient batch traceability, temperature logs if you store anything cold — start to make sense.

When you are ready to think about the full HACCP plan that comes with the commercial transition, the app below walks you through it for free. There is no requirement to do this at cottage scale — but a lot of operators do, because it makes the move to commercial about three months faster when it happens.

15The bottom line

Start small, track everything, plan the exit.

The U.S. cottage food framework is the most operator-friendly low-risk-food regulatory carve-out anywhere in the developed world. If I had been in Texas in 2020 instead of Ontario, I could have built the first three years of my business in my own kitchen, kept every dollar of margin, and never spoken to a regulator until my numbers told me it was time. Most U.S. operators reading this can do exactly that — start this month, with no license, in their own kitchen — as long as they get the four facts right for their state.

Three sentences to leave with:

• Look up your state. Not what a YouTuber said about your state. Your state's own page.
• Get the label right. The disclosure sentence is the single most-missed element. Print it on every package.
• Do not ship across state lines unless you are in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, or Florida. It is the one rule that quietly costs operators the most. The FDA does not recognize state cottage food exemptions for interstate commerce.

If you want the next layer — the path from cottage to a CFIA or FDA-registered commercial operation — that is at /solutions/cottage-operators. If you want the broader starting-a-food-business hub, that is at /learn/starting-a-food-business. If you have already started selling without checking the rules and you are nervous about it, the article at /learn is the right next stop.

Footnotes

1.21 CFR Part 1, Subpart H — Registration of Food Facilities (private residence carve-out) — ecfr.gov

2.Harvard FLPC — Fifty-State Table of Cottage Food and Home Kitchen Laws — chlpi.org

3.Institute for Justice — New Data Show Homemade Food for Sale is Incredibly Safe (2023) — ij.org

4.National Agricultural Law Center — Cottage Food Laws: Recent Trends — nationalaglawcenter.org

5.Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund — Cottage Foods Map — farmtoconsumer.org

6.Texas SB 541 (2025) — $150,000 cap and TCS expansion — legiscan.com

7.North Dakota SB 2386 (2025) — first interstate cottage food shipping authorization — ndlegis.gov

8.Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture — Limited Food Establishment — pa.gov

9.California CDPH — Cottage Food Operations — cdph.ca.gov

10.FDA — Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) + FASTER Act (sesame as 9th major allergen) — fda.gov

Andrew Langevin·CFIA-licensed facility, Brantford ON· Published 2026-06-04· 11 min read· Wikidata Q139112497