Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law in Illinois: What Home Bakers Need
Know what Illinois cottage food law covers and what to confirm before you sell.
What to remember
- A cottage food operation runs from the kitchen of your primary home.
- The food must be non-potentially hazardous and for direct sale.
- Illinois has no dollar cap on cottage food sales.
- A local health department can ask for a lab recipe check at your expense.
- The 2026 Cottage Food Guide is a good place to start.
If you bake from home, start with the food and the kitchen. The Illinois Department of Public Health says cottage food operations produce food or drink, other than foods and drinks listed as prohibited by Illinois law, in a kitchen located in that home. For a baker, that means checking whether your bakes fit the non-potentially hazardous rule and whether your kitchen is in your primary domestic residence. Cottage food law for baked goods goes through the checks that matter for cakes, cookies, and breads.
What Illinois law allows
Illinois statute defines a cottage food operation as a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous food in a kitchen of that person’s primary domestic residence for direct sale. That definition is the place to start. It tells you the kitchen has to be in your primary home, the food has to be non-potentially hazardous, and the sale has to be direct. If your plan does not fit that definition, treat it as a question to confirm before you sell.
Illinois sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. That means growth is limited by your own kitchen and time rather than a statutory cap. You can still outgrow your space, your oven, or your week. The law does not set a sales ceiling for you to hit.
The 2026 Cottage Food Guide
Illinois Extension created its cottage food guide with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. The purpose of the 2026 Cottage Food Guide is to support cottage food businesses and health departments, grow a thriving cottage food industry in Illinois, and ensure that cottage food products are safe and healthy. Read it as a starting point, then ask your local health department what it needs from your kitchen. The guide is not a substitute for the rules that apply where you live.
What to confirm before you sell
Before you take orders, confirm three things. First, that your kitchen is in your primary domestic residence. Second, that your food is non-potentially hazardous. Third, that your sale is direct. The Illinois Department of Public Health page and the Illinois Extension guide are the two places to read first. If you make frosting, cottage food law approved frosting covers the questions bakers ask most.
Check the kitchen
Your cottage food operation must run from the kitchen of your primary domestic residence.
Check the food
The food must be non-potentially hazardous. The Illinois Department of Public Health excludes foods and drinks listed as prohibited by Illinois law.
Check the sale
The statute describes direct sale. If your plan does not fit that definition, confirm before you sell.
Check with your local health department
A local health department may require a recipe test at your expense to verify a food is not time/temperature control.
The state rule is only one part of the picture. A local health department may require a recipe test at your expense to verify that a food is not time/temperature control. That is why a plain answer to whether you can sell a bake starts with the food, the kitchen, and the sale, then moves to the local office. Do not wait until you have a full order book to ask.
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Common questions
What counts as a cottage food operation in Illinois?
Illinois statute defines it as a person who produces or packages non-potentially hazardous food in a kitchen of that person's primary domestic residence for direct sale. The Illinois Department of Public Health also describes cottage food operations as home-based food businesses run in a kitchen located in that home.
Does Illinois cap cottage food sales?
No. Illinois sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales, so growth is limited by the operator's own kitchen and time rather than a statutory cap.
Can a local health department require a lab test?
Yes. Under 410 ILCS 625/4, a local health department may require a cottage food operation to submit a recipe, at the operator's expense, to a commercial laboratory to verify that it is not a time/temperature control food.
Where can I find the 2026 Cottage Food Guide?
Illinois Extension publishes the guide. It was created with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.
Does cottage food law cover every food?
No. The Illinois Department of Public Health describes cottage food operations as producing food or drink other than foods and drinks listed as prohibited by Illinois law.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules can change. Confirm the current requirements with the Illinois Department of Public Health or your local health department before you sell.