Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in MI: What Home Bakers Need
A plain walk through Michigan's cottage food rules, from the license exemption to labels and where you can sell.
What to remember
- If you qualify under the cottage food exemptions, you do not need a food establishment license.
- Everything must be made, packaged, and labeled in your home.
- Sales must run directly from you to the customer, and only within Michigan.
- You still have to label your products the way the Michigan Food Law requires.
The exemption is a trade, not a free pass. You skip the license and the inspections, and in return you keep your operation small, local, and direct. If you have read cottage food laws by state before, you know every state draws that line in a different place. Here is where Michigan draws it.
What the exemption covers
MDARD states that if you qualify to operate under the Food Law cottage food exemptions, you are exempt from getting a food establishment license under the Food Code. That is the part most home bakers care about most. What you do not get to skip is the labeling requirement or the rest of the Michigan Food Law. The relief is from licensing and inspection, not from the rules about what you make and how you sell it.
The home requirement is worth reading twice. Cottage foods must be made, packaged, and labeled in your primary residence. A rented kitchen, a church hall, or a friend’s house does not fit what MDARD describes, even if everything else about your baking is in order.
Where you can sell
A cottage food product may only be sold or delivered within Michigan, so a customer across the state line falls outside what the law allows. MCL 289.4102 says the product must be sold directly from the cottage food operation to the consumer, and it prohibits sales by consignment or at wholesale.
That direct to consumer rule shapes your whole sales plan. Before you commit to a market stall, a pickup day, or a delivery run, check that the sale runs straight from you to the customer. Handing your product to someone else to sell for you is what the consignment and wholesale prohibition rules out.
Getting your labels right
Bake, package, and label at home
The product has to be made, packaged, and labeled in your primary residence. A separate rented kitchen does not fit the exemption as MDARD describes it.
Follow the labeling rules
The exemption covers licensing and inspection. Labeling and the other provisions in the Michigan Food Law still apply to what you sell.
Decide about the address
MCL 290.628c removes the address requirement when both conditions in that section are met. If you are not sure you meet them, put the address on the label.
Sell direct and stay in Michigan
Sell from your operation straight to the customer, and keep every sale and delivery inside the state line.
Skip consignment and wholesale
MCL 289.4102 prohibits both, so a shop that wants to stock your bread is not an option under these rules.
Some products raise their own questions, and it helps to see how other bakers worked through them. Our guide to cottage food laws and cream cheese walks through one of the most common. If you want to compare how a neighboring state treats you, the Maryland guide is a useful read.
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None of this is hard once it is written down, but it is worth checking your own plan against the law before you take your first order. If you want a hand keeping recipes, costs, and orders together as you grow, our look at the home bakery app covers what to compare. And when you are ready, Brevl sets your shop up with you and moves your old listings over, with a real person answering, usually within minutes.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Michigan?
If you qualify under the cottage food exemptions, no. MDARD says you are exempt from getting a food establishment license under the Food Code. The labeling rules and the rest of the Michigan Food Law still apply to you.
Can I sell my cottage food products outside Michigan?
No. A cottage food product may only be sold or delivered within Michigan.
Can I sell online or ship orders?
MCL 289.4102 says cottage food products may not be sold by internet or mail order. Check with MDARD before you build an online ordering plan.
Can a local shop stock my bread?
MCL 289.4102 prohibits sales by consignment or at wholesale. The product must be sold directly from your cottage food operation to the consumer.
Do I have to put my address on the label?
MCL 290.628c says a cottage food operation does not have to include the address if both conditions in that section are met. If you are unsure whether you meet them, include it.
Sources
This is general information about Michigan cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the MDARD pages and the Michigan statutes linked above, or ask MDARD directly, before you rely on any of it for your own baking business.