Cottage food rules
Arizona Cottage Food License: What You Need to Sell
The Arizona steps to take, in order, before you sell your first bake.
On this page
What to remember
- No food service license. You register with the Arizona Department of Health Services instead.
- Registration happens online, through the cottage food registry, before your first sale.
- The food handler course has to be ANSI or ANAB accredited. There is no state test.
- Your food handler certificate is good for 3 years.
- The base of the program is foods that are not potentially hazardous or TCS foods.
If you bake from your home kitchen in Arizona and sell to neighbors, coworkers, and the parents at school pickup, the state side of it is smaller than most people expect. There is no license to hang on the wall. There is a course to finish and a registration to file, and both happen before you take money for a bake. When you are ready to take orders, the home bakery app guide covers what to look for in the tool you use.
What Arizona lets you sell from a home kitchen
Arizona’s Cottage Food Program allows individuals to make homemade products that are neither potentially hazardous nor Time or Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) foods. That is the base of the program, and it is the line most home bakers work inside. In 2024, House Bill 2042 expanded Arizona’s cottage food law. The Maricopa County FAQ on the change says the bill expands the law to allow certain foods that require temperature control, which means perishable foods. Cottage food laws do get revisited, and the Georgia cottage food law update is a recent example of a state changing what home bakers can sell.
License or registration: the difference that matters
People search for an Arizona cottage food license, but the state asks for registration. You do not need a food service license to sell homemade cottage food under this program. What you need is to register with the Arizona Department of Health Services through its online cottage food registry, and to hold a current food handler certificate from an accredited course. Two steps, no license, and both of them are yours to handle on your own schedule.
The two steps before your first sale
Finish an accredited food handler course
Arizona asks for an ANSI or ANAB accredited food handler training course rather than a state-administered test. Take the course and keep the certificate somewhere you can find it.
Register online with the Department of Health Services
The registration goes through the Arizona Department of Health Services online cottage food registry. It has to be in place before you sell, not after your first order.
Skip the food service license
A food service license is not part of the cottage food path in Arizona. Registration plus the food handler course is what the state asks of you.
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Keeping your paperwork current
The food handler certificate is valid for 3 years. Write the month it expires on the inside of a cupboard door or in your order book, because a lapsed certificate in the middle of a busy stretch is the kind of thing that stops a good week. Registration is the one time step you take before you sell, and the certificate is the piece that comes back around.
The law itself also moves. House Bill 2042 changed Arizona’s cottage food law in 2024, and that change touched what foods can be sold, so read the current state guidance before you add an item to your menu rather than assuming last year’s answer still holds. The business side is easier to keep tidy when orders and recipes live together, and if you are weighing tools, what Bakesy costs each month is a fair look at one option.
Common questions
Do I need a food service license to sell bakes from my home in Arizona?
No. You do not need a food service license. You register with the Arizona Department of Health Services through its online cottage food registry and complete an accredited food handler course before you sell.
Is there a state test for Arizona cottage food sellers?
There is no state-administered test. Arizona asks for an ANSI or ANAB accredited food handler training course instead, and the certificate is valid for 3 years.
What foods does the Arizona Cottage Food Program cover?
The program allows homemade products that are neither potentially hazardous nor Time or Temperature Control for Safety foods. A 2024 bill, House Bill 2042, expanded the law to allow certain foods that require temperature control.
When do I register, before or after I start selling?
Before. The registration with the Arizona Department of Health Services has to be done through the online cottage food registry before you sell homemade cottage food.
Can I sell perishable bakes now that the law changed?
House Bill 2042 expanded Arizona's cottage food law in 2024 to allow certain foods that require temperature control. The expansion is specific rather than open ended, so confirm your item against current state guidance.
Sources
This is general information about Arizona cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm details with the Arizona Department of Health Services before you sell.