Can you sell food made in your home kitchen?
Yes — in every state, if you follow its rules. Enter your ZIP code and get your state’s exact requirements: license, sales cap, label wording, and what it costs to start, each one checked against the statute.
Free · no email needed · covers all 50 states as verification completes
- 10 states verified so far
- 60 official sources cited
- Review date on every page
From ZIP code to first sale
Cottage food law decides what you can make, where you can sell it, and what your label must say. Three steps cover all of it.
Look up your rules
Your ZIP code resolves to your state’s cottage food law: license type, sales cap, allowed foods, and fees — with the statute and agency pages linked, not paraphrased from other blogs.
Budget the real costs
A line-item startup checklist: permit or registration fee, required training, label supplies, and the optional extras (LLC, insurance) — most states come in under $100.
Print a compliant label
The label maker lays your product label onto Avery 5160, 5163, or 5164 sheets, with your state’s required statement in the required type size.
Built like a compliance tool, not a content farm
Law pages a health inspector would recognize
Each guide is compiled from the statute text and the agency’s own pages. Every figure links to its source, every page carries its review date, and when a law changes — Michigan’s cap doubled to $50,000 in March 2026 — the changelog says so.
States we haven’t finished verifying are labeled drafts and kept out of search engines. We publish what we’ve checked, not what we’ve scraped.
Know the costs before you preheat the oven
The ZIP report itemizes what starting actually costs in your state — the permit or registration fee, whether food safety training is required, and the first batch of labels and packaging. In California it goes further, with verified fees for your county’s Environmental Health department.
Labels that pass the market manager’s squint
The label maker is free and stays free: no account, no email, no watermark, all three Avery templates. Pro — a one-time $19 — inserts your state’s exact required wording at the required type size and scans your ingredient list for all nine FDA major allergens to build the “Contains” line.
Why makers double-check other sites here
Most cottage food content online is rewritten from other blogs, with no sources and no dates. That’s how sellers end up quoting sales caps that were repealed years ago.
The typical search result
- ✗Numbers copied from other blogs, not the statute
- ✗No sources linked, no review dates
- ✗Silent about last session’s law changes
- ✗Email wall in front of every “free” checklist
Cottage Food Guide
- ✓Statute-first research, agency pages as backup
- ✓Source links and a review date on every page
- ✓Changelogs when laws change — with bill numbers
- ✓Tools that work without an account or email
Verified state guides
Ten states verified so far — the rest are in the research queue and publish as they clear verification.
| State | License | Sales cap | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Tiered (two tracks) | $88,878–$177,756/yr by tier | 2026-08-20 |
| Colorado | No license required | $10,000/yr | 2026-08-20 |
| Illinois | Registration | No sales cap | 2026-08-20 |
| Michigan | No license required | $50,000–$75,000/yr by tier | 2026-08-20 |
| Missouri | No license required | No sales cap | 2026-08-20 |
| New York | Registration | No sales cap | 2026-08-20 |
| Ohio | Tiered (two tracks) | No sales cap | 2026-08-20 |
| Virginia | Tiered (two tracks) | Up to $9,000/yr | 2026-08-20 |
| Washington | Permit + inspection | Up to $35,000/yr | 2026-08-20 |
| Wisconsin | Tiered (two tracks) | Up to $5,000/yr | 2026-08-20 |
Common questions
What exactly is a cottage food law?
Every US state has a law or exemption that lets people sell certain low-risk foods — typically baked goods, jams, candy, and other shelf-stable items — made in their home kitchen instead of a licensed commercial kitchen. The details (license, sales caps, where you can sell, label wording) differ sharply by state, which is why this site is organized state by state.
How current is the information?
Every state page shows the date it was last reviewed and lists its official sources. When legislatures change a law, the page’s changelog records the bill and effective date. If you spot something newer, email us and we’ll verify it against the source.
Is this legal advice?
No. It’s carefully sourced general information. Your state or county agency has the final word, and every guide links you directly to them.
What does Label Maker Pro add for $19?
The free label maker is fully usable — all templates, no watermark. Pro adds the automation: your state’s legally required statement inserted word for word at the required type size, and automatic detection of the nine FDA major allergens in your ingredient list. One-time purchase, not a subscription.
See what your state allows
Your report is free and takes about ten seconds: license, sales cap, label wording, and startup costs — with the sources to prove it.