Can You Sell Baked Goods From Home? All 50 States (2026)
Yes. In every state, and in Washington, DC, you can sell some kind of baked good made in your home kitchen. That is what cottage food law does. It lets you bake at home and sell to real customers without renting a commercial kitchen. The rules are different in every state, and that is where people get stuck.
This guide puts all 51 sets of rules in one table, in plain English, with a link to each state's own page. It was checked against the state's official page on September 22, 2026. Laws change, so use the state link before you sell your first box.
What is cottage food law?
Cottage food law is a state rule that says: certain low-risk foods can be made in a home kitchen and sold to the public. Almost every state covers "non-hazardous" baked goods, which means things that do not need to stay cold. Bread, cookies, cakes, and plain donuts usually count. Cream-filled or custard-filled items usually do not.
Three things are true in almost every state:
- You sell to the person who eats it. Most states want direct sales: your home, a farmers market, an event, or an online order you hand over yourself.
- You stay inside your state. Shipping across state lines is almost never allowed.
- You label it. Your name, the ingredients, allergens, and a line that says the food was made in a home kitchen that is not inspected.
How to read the table
- Baked goods from home? Whether plain, unfilled baked goods (including donuts, where the state names them) can be sold from a home kitchen.
- Yearly sales cap is the state's limit on how much you can sell under the cottage rule before you need a full license. 32 of the 51 have no cap at all.
- Where you can sell and what you need are shortened from the state's page. The link has the full list.
Cottage food law by state (2026)
| State | Baked goods from home? | Yearly sales cap | Where you can sell | What you need | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes (donuts named) | None | Direct to buyer only, in person or online, in state | Food safety course, review form to county health, label | State page |
| Alaska | Yes (shelf-stable baked goods) | None | Direct, online, or through a shop as your agent, in state | No permit or inspection; business license; label and sign | State page |
| Arizona | Yes | None | Direct: home, events, online, delivery, store kiosk with a sign | Food handler card, ADHS registration, label | State page |
| Arkansas | Yes (doughnuts named) | None | Direct, online, mail, and through retail shops; not restaurants | No permit, inspection, or course; label | State page |
| California | Yes (no cream or custard filling) | $75,000 Class A / $150,000 Class B | Class A direct only; Class B also through stores and restaurants | County registration or permit, food processor course, label | State page |
| Colorado | Yes | $10,000 per product now; $150,000 from Jan 2027 | Direct to buyer only: home, markets, stands, online in state | Food safety course, label; state registration starts 2027 | State page |
| Connecticut | Yes (each product approved) | $50,000 | Direct, in person, in state; no shipping, stores, or restaurants | State license, food handler course, zoning sign-off, label | State page |
| Delaware | Yes | None | Farmers markets, fairs, charity events; no online, no stores | Registration, food safety test, possible kitchen inspection, label | State page |
| Florida | Yes | $250,000 | Direct: in person, your website, mail order; no wholesale | No permit, inspection, or course; label | State page |
| Georgia | Yes | None listed | Events, online, and retail stores (since July 2025) | ID registration form, food safety course, label | State page |
| Hawaii | Yes (no custard or cream filling) | None listed | Fundraisers, fairs, markets, online, and wholesale to permitted stores | Food safety training, label; no permit | State page |
| Idaho | Yes | None | Direct to the informed buyer, in state; no resale | No license, inspection, or course; sign or label; keep records | State page |
| Illinois | Yes (no custard or cheesecake) | None | Markets, fairs, online, home pickup, delivery, in-state shipping; no stores | Local health registration, Certified Food Protection Manager, label | State page |
| Indiana | Yes | None | Direct only: markets, stands, festivals, home, in-state shipping | Food handler certificate, label; no permit | State page |
| Iowa | Yes | None (cottage tier) | Direct to buyer only, including markets and your own stand | No license, inspection, or course; label | State page |
| Kansas | Yes (cream-filled donuts not allowed) | None | Markets, fairs, online with shipping; you hand it over yourself | No license, inspection, or course; label | State page |
| Kentucky | Limited: closed list (bread, cakes, cookies, pies); donuts not on it | $60,000 | In person only, in state; no shipping, no stores | Registration ($50 a year), label | State page |
| Louisiana | Yes (no cream filling) | Under $30,000 | Direct to buyer; no resale | Sales tax certificate, label | State page |
| Maine | Yes | None | Home, retail stores, and wholesale | Home food license ($20 a year), one kitchen inspection, label | State page |
| Maryland | Yes (no fillings that need cold) | $50,000 | Home, markets, events, delivery, mail in state, stores with approval | Label; course and form to sell to stores | State page |
| Massachusetts | Yes (no cream-filled pastry) | None stated | Direct: markets, fairs, online; stores need a wholesale license | Town board of health permit and inspection, label | State page |
| Michigan | Yes | $50,000 ($75,000 for high-priced items) | Direct: markets, stands, phone, online, delivery, in state; no stores | No license, registration, or inspection; label; keep records | State page |
| Minnesota | Yes | $78,000 | Home, markets, events, online; no shipping | Yearly registration, training or course by tier, label | State page |
| Mississippi | Yes (no cream or custard filling) | $35,000 | Direct only, in state; you must be present | No permit; label | State page |
| Missouri | Yes | None | Direct; online only if both of you are in state | No registration; label | State page |
| Montana | Yes (no cream pies) | None stated | Home, markets, bazaars, small venues; no shipping or online checkout | One-time county registration ($40) with recipes, label | State page |
| Nebraska | Yes | None stated | Markets, fairs, festivals, home pickup or delivery; no stores | State registration, food safety course, label | State page |
| Nevada | Yes (no cream, custard, or cream cheese) | $35,000 now; $100,000 from July 2027 | Home, markets, fairs, bazaars; online allowed from 2027 | County health registration, state business license, label | State page |
| New Hampshire | Yes | None | Home, farm stand, markets, retail stores; online or restaurants need a license | Label; Homestead license for the wider path | State page |
| New Jersey | Yes | $50,000 | Home, buyer's home, markets, stands, events; hand delivery only | State permit ($100, 2 years), Food Protection Manager, label | State page |
| New Mexico | Yes (no cream filling) | None | Markets, festivals, online, stands, home, mail, in state | Food handler card, label; no permit | State page |
| New York | Yes (doughnuts named) | None | Markets, fairs, home delivery, online, and wholesale to stores and restaurants | Free registration, label | State page |
| North Carolina | Yes | None | Home, markets, stores, restaurants, distributors | Application, home kitchen inspection, label | State page |
| North Dakota | Yes | None | Direct: farms, markets, stands, home, delivery; no stores | Nothing to file; sign or label | State page |
| Ohio | Yes (unfilled baked donuts named; fried not listed) | None | Home, markets, festivals; stores and restaurants may resell | No license or inspection; label | State page |
| Oklahoma | Yes | $75,000 | Direct in person, online, phone; stores and restaurants can resell | No license or inspection; label | State page |
| Oregon | Yes | $52,700 | Home, online, mail, events; stores on a separate shelf; not restaurants | No license or inspection; label (say if you have pets); keep records | State page |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | None | Home, online, markets, events | State registration ($35 a year), home inspection, label | State page |
| Rhode Island | Yes (baked goods only) | $50,000 | Pickup or delivery in state; no stores or restaurants | Registration ($65 a year), food safety class, label | State page |
| South Carolina | Yes (no cream filling) | None | Direct, online, mail, and retail or grocery stores; no restaurants | No permit or inspection; label | State page |
| South Dakota | Yes | None | Home, markets, stands, temporary venues; in person; no stores or online | No license; label | State page |
| Tennessee | Yes | None | Direct in person, phone, online; through an agent or store; delivery; in state | No license, permit, or inspection; label or sign | State page |
| Texas | Yes | $150,000 | Home, markets, stands, retail stores, food service, online, wholesale to cottage vendors | Food safety class, label; registration only for fridge foods | State page |
| Utah | Yes (no cream cheese or ganache filling) | None | Registered path: direct or stores; Homemade Food Act path: face to face only | Registered: application, inspection, food handler permit, label. Unregistered: business license, label | State page |
| Vermont | Yes | $30,000 exempt tier; none with a Home Bakery license | Direct: home, markets; not to restaurants | Yearly form and free class (exempt tier), label; license above the cap | State page |
| Virginia | Yes | None for baked goods | Home, markets, events up to 14 days; no stores, online orders, or shipping | No inspection or fee; label | State page |
| Washington | Yes (fried doughnuts named) | $35,000 | Direct only, in state: home, markets, stands, events; pickup or hand delivery | WSDA permit (2 years), kitchen inspection, food worker card, label | State page |
| West Virginia | Yes | None | Direct in person or online, through an agent or store, markets; in state | No license, permit, or inspection; label | State page |
| Wisconsin | Oven-baked goods only (fried items likely not covered) | None | Direct to buyer only; no wholesale | Nothing to file for qualifying baked goods | State page |
| Wyoming | Yes (no dairy or meat filling) | $250,000 | Markets, farms, home, any agreed place; stores on a separate shelf; in state | No license, permit, inspection, or label; tell the buyer it is not inspected | State page |
| Washington, DC | Yes (unfilled baked donuts named; fried not listed) | None | Direct, retail, online, markets, events, wholesale to licensed food businesses; in DC | Registration ($50, 2 years), Certified Food Protection Manager, home occupancy permit, label | State page |
Checked against each state's official page on September 22, 2026. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Your city or county may add rules of its own. Always confirm with the state link before you sell.
Which states are the easiest for a home baker?
If you want the least paperwork, look at the states with no cap, no license, and no inspection: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming all let you start with a label and little else. Texas, Georgia, New York, Ohio, and Oklahoma go a step further and let stores or restaurants resell what you bake.
Which states are the hardest?
A few states want a real permit and a kitchen visit before you start: Pennsylvania, Washington, Maine, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Kentucky uses a closed product list (bread, cakes, cookies, and pies), so donuts are not covered. Wisconsin has no statute at all, just a court ruling that covers oven-baked goods. Ohio and Washington, DC name "unfilled baked donuts" but say nothing about fried ones, so ask before you fry.
What if my state does not allow what I want to make?
You still have two simple paths, and neither one is a storefront or a food truck. Rent time in a shared commissary kitchen, or partner with a licensed food business that already has one. You keep the low-overhead model. You just borrow the kitchen. We cover this in more detail in our guide to selling donuts from home under cottage food law.
Can you build a real business on cottage food law?
Many people do. The hard part is not the law. It is having a product people line up for, a way to sell it week after week, and a system so every batch comes out the same. That is what a malasada franchise you can run under cottage food law is built for: one product, a home or shared kitchen, and a plan for where to sell. If you would rather build your own thing from scratch, start with our guide on how to start a food business from home.
Common questions
Do I need a business license to sell baked goods from home?
Cottage food law is about food safety. Your city or state may still want a normal business license or a sales tax number. Check both.
Can I sell online?
In most states, yes, as long as you deliver the food yourself or the buyer picks it up, inside your state. A handful of states (Delaware, Montana, Virginia, South Dakota) do not allow online orders.
Can I sell to a coffee shop or grocery store?
Only in the states that allow "indirect" or wholesale sales, such as Texas, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maine, North Carolina, and a few others. Most states are direct-to-buyer only.
Does the cap mean I have to stop selling?
It means you have outgrown the cottage rule. At that point you move up to a licensed kitchen, a commissary, or a partner kitchen and keep going.
This is not legal advice. Laws were checked on September 22, 2026 and change often; confirm with your state before selling.
This is not an offer to sell a franchise. An offer can only be made through a Franchise Disclosure Document in states where we are registered or exempt.
