Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law Registration: What to File and Where
A plain walk through registration, from your state page to the paper you keep.
What to remember
- Find your state agency’s cottage food page before you fill in anything.
- Have your food safety course certificate and a sample label ready if your state asks for them.
- Check your state’s approved product list before you plan a menu.
- Keep your registration or license number where you can find it in a hurry.
- Confirm your record is current before you take a big order.
The word registration covers a few different things depending on where you live, so the paper you end up with may be called a registration, a permit, or a license. That is why the first move is not a form at all. It is finding the page your own state agency keeps for cottage food and reading it start to finish. Our cottage food law list walks through what to look for state by state.
Start with your own state agency
Every example below comes from a state agency that publishes its own cottage food instructions, and the pattern repeats each time. There is an agency page, a set of requirements, and a place where your paperwork ends up. Your job is to match your kitchen and your recipes to the requirements on that page before you spend money on packaging or take a single order. Write down the agency name and the phone number for your county office while you are there.
If your state asks for a food safety course, take the course before you fill in the rest. Certificates take time to arrive, and some applications will not move without one.
The steps, in order
Find your state's cottage food page
Start at your state health or agriculture department and look for the cottage food page. In Texas, the Department of State Health Services publishes cottage food production information covering licensing, training materials, and food labeling.
Check your recipes against the approved list
In California, cottage food products must be non-potentially hazardous and must comply with the Approved Cottage Food List maintained by the California Department of Public Health. Read the list before you plan a menu around a recipe.
Take the food safety course your state names
Georgia requires Cottage Food Operators to complete an American National Standards Institute accredited food safety training program, and it offers more than one level, including Food Handler and Certified. Alabama asks for a food safety course certificate as part of its review.
Prepare a sample label
Alabama asks you to bring a sample product label to your review. Build the label early so you can fix it before you print a whole roll of stickers.
Take your paperwork to the right office
In Alabama, a food safety course certificate, a sample product label, and a completed cottage food review form are taken to the local county health department for review.
Confirm you are on record
Texas residents can search by name, license type, city, or county to verify that a license holder has a current license with the Department of State Health Services. Save a copy of that result for your own records.
What some states ask you to bring
Alabama keeps its cottage food steps on the state public health site and points you to your county. The list is short and specific: a food safety course certificate, a sample product label, and a completed cottage food review form. Bring all three together, because a missing label sends you home to print one.
Georgia handles training through its Department of Agriculture cottage food page, which sets out the American National Standards Institute accredited training requirement and the levels available, including Food Handler and Certified. Check which level applies to what you plan to sell before you pay for a course.
California ties what you may sell to a published list. Products must be non-potentially hazardous and must comply with the Approved Cottage Food List, which the California Department of Public Health maintains. Check that list before you build a menu, not after.
Texas publishes cottage food production information covering licensing, training materials, and food labeling, and it also gives you a way to check a license. The search takes a name, license type, city, or county, which is handy when a customer asks whether you are registered.
Once you know which document your state issues, the guides on cottage food law permits and cottage food law licenses help you tell them apart. When you get to labeling, what goes on your cottage food disclaimer covers the wording.
Try the free bake costing calculator
Free, no signup.
Common questions
Where do I start with registration?
At your own state agency's cottage food page. The Texas Department of State Health Services, for example, publishes cottage food production information covering licensing, training materials, and food labeling. Read that page before you fill in any form.
Do I need a food safety course?
It depends on your state. Georgia requires Cottage Food Operators to complete an American National Standards Institute accredited food safety training program, with more than one level available. Alabama asks for a food safety course certificate as part of its county review.
What if my bake is not on the approved list?
In California, cottage food products must be non-potentially hazardous and must comply with the Approved Cottage Food List maintained by the California Department of Public Health. Check the list before you build a menu around a recipe.
How do I know my registration is still current?
In Texas, residents can search by name, license type, city, or county to verify that a license holder has a current license with the Department of State Health Services. Keep a copy of what you find.
What should I have ready before I go in?
In Alabama, bring a food safety course certificate, a sample product label, and a completed cottage food review form to the local county health department for review. Have all three in hand before you go.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules are set by your state and change from time to time, so confirm the current requirements with your own state agency before you file or sell.