Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in Denver: What Home Bakers Can Sell
The Denver rules for selling home baked goods, in plain words.
On this page
What to remember
- Only non-potentially hazardous foods are allowed, meaning foods that do not need refrigeration for safety.
- You sell directly to consumers, not through a shop or a distributor.
- Colorado requires a food safety training course before you start.
- Denver’s own cottage foods page covers what you can sell and where.
The rules are set by the state and then explained locally, so it helps to read both. Start with the state requirements, then check Denver’s cottage foods page before you take your first order. If you are still working out what your bakes cost, how to price your bakes walks through it.
What the Colorado Cottage Foods Act allows
The Colorado Legislature passed the Cottage Foods Act in 2012. It allows a limited set of food products to be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection. The key limit is that the food must not be potentially hazardous, which means it does not need refrigeration to stay safe. Denver’s food page states this plainly: cottage foods are limited to non-potentially hazardous products.
That single limit shapes everything else about your baking. Before you plan a menu, check each item against the state and Denver pages rather than assuming a bake is allowed because it seems simple. Frostings and fillings are a common place where bakers get unsure, and cottage food laws and buttercream looks at what to check there.
The training step before you sell
Colorado requires producers to complete a food safety training course before starting a cottage foods business. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment lists cottage foods requirements on its site. Do this early. It is the one step that sits between you and your first paid order, and it is easier to get done before you are busy with baking.
Where and how you can sell in Denver
Denver’s Cottage Foods and Home-Based Food Sales page covers what foods can be sold, where and how they can be sold, and the requirements that apply to cottage food and other home based food sales in Denver. That page is your local reference. Read the where and how sections carefully, because the answers there decide how you take orders and hand over bakes.
If you ever get asked about selling to a cafe or a shop rather than a person, that is a different question. Cottage food law and wholesale explains what to check first. And because rules do change, cottage food law update shows how to confirm you are reading the current version.
Getting your shop ready
Once you know what you can sell and have your training done, the rest is ordinary shop work: photos, prices, and a way to get paid. Brevl takes card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. Recipes carry real costing so you can price a bake and plan a week of orders.
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Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my Denver kitchen?
Under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act, limited non-potentially hazardous food products can be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection. Denver's cottage foods page sets out the requirements that apply locally.
Do I have to take a course first?
Yes. The Colorado Cottage Foods Act requires producers to complete a food safety training course before starting a cottage foods business.
What does non-potentially hazardous mean?
It means the food does not require refrigeration for safety. Denver's page describes cottage foods as limited to non-potentially hazardous products.
Where do I check what Denver specifically allows?
Denver's Cottage Foods and Home-Based Food Sales page covers what foods can be sold, where and how they can be sold, and the requirements for cottage food and other home based food sales in Denver.
When did these rules start?
The Colorado Legislature enacted the Colorado Cottage Foods Act in 2012.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm the current requirements with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment before you sell.