Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law in Georgia: What Home Bakers Must Know
What Georgia lets you sell from your kitchen, and what to check before your next order.
On this page
What to remember
- The cottage food license and its fee are gone in Georgia as of July 1, 2025.
- Only food that is not potentially hazardous can be sold.
- You can sell to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants, not just directly.
- Your city or county can pass an ordinance blocking those third party sales.
If you bake from your kitchen in Georgia and sell what you make, the state rules decide what you can offer, how you label it, and where you can sell it. This guide covers what those rules say today, what changed in 2025, and the questions worth asking before you take your next order. For the wider picture of how these rules shape a home baking business, see cottage food law for your home baking business.
What changed on July 1, 2025
House Bill 398 removed Georgia’s cottage food license and the licensing fee, effective July 1, 2025. The same bill widened where you can sell. Alongside selling directly to customers, Georgia cottage food operators can now sell to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants.
That widening comes with a local catch. Each city or county in Georgia may choose to pass an ordinance prohibiting cottage food operators from selling cottage food items through third party vendors such as grocery stores and restaurants. Before you carry a box of banana bread into a shop across town, check the rules where that shop sits, not just where your kitchen sits.
What you can make and how you label it
Georgia cottage food operators are permitted to make only food that is not potentially hazardous. That single line sets the edge of your menu. The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s cottage food page provides rules and guidance on labeling, hygiene, food safety, nutrition and ingredients. Your labels are where much of that guidance lands, so read our guide to the cottage food law disclaimer before you print your next batch of stickers.
The state’s Cottage Food Safety directives are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08, Cottage Foods, Food Safety Directives. Treat them as the working checklist for your kitchen: how you handle food, how you keep things clean, and what has to be true before a bake goes out the door.
Food safety rules are the floor, not the ceiling
Rule Subject 40-7-19 states that its cottage food provisions represent the minimum best practices required in the production of cottage food products, and it encourages cottage food operators to contact the Department for additional food safety guidance. If you are unsure whether a recipe counts as potentially hazardous, or how to handle a filling, ask. The Department is the source of the answer.
There is no state license or fee standing between you and your first sale now, but there is still a standard. Build your menu around what is not potentially hazardous, follow the safety directives, and keep your labels accurate. Our guide to the cottage food law exemption explains what that term means and where the edges are.
A simple order to check things in
Read the Department's cottage food page
It sets out the rules and guidance on labeling, hygiene, food safety, nutrition and ingredients.
Read the safety directives
They are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08 and cover how food is produced in your kitchen.
Check your city or county
Ask whether a local ordinance restricts sales through grocery stores, convenience stores or restaurants.
Get your labels right
Match what is on the sticker to the guidance the Department publishes.
Ask when a recipe is unclear
Contact the Department for additional food safety guidance rather than guessing.
Work out what each bake costs before you price it
Free, no signup.
None of this has to be done in a day. Start with the food you already sell most, confirm it is not potentially hazardous, and get one label right before you scale the menu. The rest gets easier from there.
- Cottage Food Law for Your Home Baking Business
- Cottage Food Law Disclaimer: What Goes on Your Label
- Cottage Food Law Exemption: What It Means for Home Bakers
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell cottage food in Georgia?
No. Georgia removed its cottage food license and licensing fee effective July 1, 2025 under House Bill 398.
Can I sell my bakes to a grocery store or restaurant?
Yes. Under House Bill 398, Georgia cottage food operators can sell to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants in addition to selling directly. Check first, because each city or county may pass an ordinance prohibiting sales through third party vendors such as these.
What foods am I allowed to make?
Only food that is not potentially hazardous. That limit comes from the Georgia Department of Agriculture's cottage food rules.
Where do I find the labeling and food safety rules?
The Georgia Department of Agriculture's cottage food page provides rules and guidance on labeling, hygiene, food safety, nutrition and ingredients. The Cottage Food Safety directives are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08.
Are the food safety directives the full requirement?
Rule Subject 40-7-19 states that its cottage food provisions represent the minimum best practices required in the production of cottage food products, and it encourages operators to contact the Department for additional food safety guidance.
Sources
This is general information about Georgia's cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules can change and your city or county may add its own requirements, so confirm the details with the Georgia Department of Agriculture before you sell.