Cottage Food Laws in Dallas, Texas: What Home Bakers Need

On this page

1. What Dallas County requires
2. The state rules that apply either way
3. Check your own address before you sell
4. Write it down and keep it

If you bake in Dallas and sell from home, two sets of rules touch you. The state sets the food rules, and your city or county sets the zoning rules for running a business out of your kitchen. This guide walks through both, and shows you where the answers get murky so you can sort it out before your first paid order. For the wider picture across the country, see cottage food law requirements by state.

What Dallas County requires

Dallas County follows state cottage food law and does not require a cottage food permit. If your kitchen sits in an unincorporated part of the county, county zoning is the piece that applies to you.

If you are inside a city limit, that changes. The City of Dallas and the other incorporated cities within Dallas County have their own zoning rules that apply to home food businesses. So a baker in the city of Dallas and a baker in an unincorporated pocket of the same county are not answering to the same office.

The state rules that apply either way

The Texas cottage food statute as passed by the legislature is contained largely in Chapter 437 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. That chapter sits in Title 6, Subtitle A of the code, which covers food and drug health regulations.

Chapter 437 defines acidified canned goods as food with a finished equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or less that is thermally processed before being placed in an airtight container. If you sell a shelf stable jarred item, that definition is worth reading closely, because it decides how your product is treated.

Under Section 437.0195, anyone who operates a cottage food production operation must have successfully completed a basic food safety education or training program for food handlers accredited under that subchapter. That is a state requirement, so it follows you whether you are inside Dallas or out in the county.

Enforcement is shared. A county or public health district may enforce state law and rules adopted under state law concerning food service establishments, retail food stores, mobile food units, and roadside food vendors. Not sure how your own state stacks up? Start with how to check your state’s cottage food laws and the cottage food laws by state map.

Check your own address before you sell

1. 1

   Find out which side of the line you are on

   Look up whether your street is inside a city limit or in unincorporated Dallas County. This single answer decides who you call first.

2. 2

   Call the city if you are inside one

   Ask whether a home food business needs zoning approval where you live, and whether any permit applies to selling homemade food.

3. 3

   Call the county if you are outside a city

   Ask whether county zoning reaches a home kitchen selling baked goods.

4. 4

   Confirm the food handler training

   Ask which food safety education or training program for food handlers they accept, and keep your certificate.

5. 5

   Ask about labels and shelf stable items

   If you jar anything, ask how they treat acidified canned goods, since the state definition turns on pH and thermal processing.

Write it down and keep it

Get the name of the person you spoke to, the date, and what they told you. Keep it with your food handler certificate. Rules and city boundaries get reviewed, and a note from last spring is a much easier conversation than a memory. If you want a second read on the county side, the Dallas County summary is a sensible place to start.

• Cottage food law requirements by state
• How to check your state’s cottage food laws
• Cottage food laws by state map

Common questions

Do I need a cottage food permit in Dallas County?

Dallas County follows state cottage food law and does not require a cottage food permit. County zoning applies only in unincorporated areas.

I live inside the city of Dallas. Does that change anything?

Yes. The City of Dallas and other incorporated cities within Dallas County have their own zoning rules that apply to home food businesses, so you check with the city rather than the county.

One guide says Dallas requires a permit. Why the difference?

A guide aimed at Dallas operators states that you do need a permit to sell homemade food products under the Texas Cottage Food Law. That conflicts with the county position, so confirm directly with your city before you sell.

Do I need food handler training?

Under Section 437.0195, an individual who operates a cottage food production operation must have successfully completed a basic food safety education or training program for food handlers accredited under that subchapter.

What counts as an acidified canned good in Texas?

Chapter 437 defines it as food with a finished equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or less that is thermally processed before being placed in an airtight container.

Sources

1. Texas Cottage Food Law: Legal Sources
2. Texas Health and Safety Code Title 6, Subtitle A, Chapter 437
3. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 437.0195
4. Chapter 437, Texas Health and Safety Code (full text)
5. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 437 (statute viewer)
6. Dallas County, Texas cottage food rules
7. Cottage Food Laws in Dallas, Texas

This is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change, and city rules can differ from county rules. Confirm with your city and county before you sell.