Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in Dallas: What You Can Sell
A plain walk through the Texas rules that apply to a Dallas home bakery.
On this page
What to remember
- Dallas follows Texas cottage food law, set out largely in Chapter 437 of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
- No permit or license is required to sell most homemade foods from your own kitchen. You register with the Texas Department of State Health Services instead.
- State law stops a local health department or government from requiring fees or permits for cottage food production, sale, or sampling.
- Rules for labeling and preparation come from 25 Tex. Admin. Code 229.661.
- A retail store selling your bakes as a cottage food vendor must register with DSHS.
If you bake in Dallas and sell from your kitchen, the rules that decide what you can make, how you label it, and who can sell it are set in Austin, not at Dallas City Hall. Start with cottage food law Texas for the full picture of what home bakers can sell, then come back here for the Dallas side of it.
Who sets the rules for a Dallas home bakery
The Texas cottage food statute as passed by the legislature is contained largely in Chapter 437 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. The day to day detail lives in 25 Tex. Admin. Code 229.661, which implements Chapter 437 and requires the department to adopt rules for labeling and preparation. Those cottage food production rules sit in Texas Administrative Code Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 229, Subchapter EE.
Register with the state, not the city
Texas does not require a permit or license to sell most homemade foods from your own kitchen. What the state asks for is registration with the Department of State Health Services. Treat that as the paperwork step for your business and keep a copy where you can put your hands on it. Home bakers in other Texas cities work through the same step, which is why the Austin guide reads so much like this one.
Labels, training, and what to keep on hand
Because 25 Tex. Admin. Code 229.661 requires the department to adopt rules for labeling and preparation, the label on your box is part of the law, not decoration. The Texas DSHS cottage food production page carries information related to licensing, training materials, and food labeling. Read it before you print a single sticker, then check your wording against cottage food law wording so you copy the right lines and leave out the ones that do not apply to you.
When a shop or a third party sells your bakes
Selling at your own table is one thing. Selling through someone else’s counter is another. A retail store acting as a cottage food vendor must register with the Texas Department of State Health Services, and that registration is mandatory for any third party selling cottage foods. If a cafe or a grocer wants your cakes, read cottage food law and wholesale before you agree to anything.
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Common questions
Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from my Dallas kitchen?
Texas does not require a permit or license to sell most homemade foods from your own kitchen. You register with the Department of State Health Services instead. State law also bars a local health department or government from requiring fees or permits for cottage food production, sale, or sampling.
Can the city charge me a fee to sell cottage food in Dallas?
State law prohibits a local health department or government from requiring fees or permits for cottage food producers for the production, sale, or sampling of their food.
Where do the actual cottage food rules sit?
Largely in Chapter 437 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. 25 Tex. Admin. Code 229.661 implements Chapter 437, and the cottage food production rules sit in Texas Administrative Code Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 229, Subchapter EE.
What if a shop wants to sell my bakes?
A retail store acting as a cottage food vendor must register with the Texas Department of State Health Services. That registration is mandatory for any third party selling cottage foods.
Where do I find labeling and training information?
The Texas DSHS cottage food production page provides information related to licensing, training materials, and food labeling. Check it before you order labels.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Rules change. Check the Texas DSHS cottage food production page and Chapter 437 of the Texas Health and Safety Code before you sell.