Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in WI: What Home Bakers Need
A plain look at what Wisconsin asks of home bakers before they sell.
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What to remember
- The exemption follows the finished bake, and it must not be potentially hazardous.
- Selling directly to consumers is the path described for home producers.
- Home canning has its own narrow route under the Pickle Bill.
- Two published Wisconsin court decisions have shaped how food licensure laws apply.
- A 2025 bill would require DATCP to set up home inspections by rule.
The Legislative Council describes cottage food producers as individuals who produce food products out of a private home kitchen, direct to consumers, and for profit. If that sounds like your setup, the question is not whether you have a commercial kitchen. The question is what you are selling and how it reaches the person eating it. If you bake near a state line, it helps to see how a neighbor handles the same questions in Cottage Food Laws in MI and Cottage Food Laws in MO.
What Wisconsin allows from a home kitchen
DATCP’s stated responsibility is to make sure that every consumer who pays for a food product receives one that is safe and wholesome. That is the standard the rest of the rules hang on, and it explains why the details below matter more than the label you put on your business.
The baked goods exemption and the phrase that matters
DATCP describes baking as exposing food to dry heat, carried by air, at a temperature above 140 F, to a food inside a closed chamber such as an oven. The exemption for homemade baked goods then adds a condition on top of that: for baked goods sold under it, the finished product must not be potentially hazardous.
What changed in 2022, and what is pending in 2025
On Dec. 28, 2022, the Lafayette County Circuit Court extended its ruling to home producers who make any foods that are not potentially hazardous and who sell those items directly to consumers. That is a wider door than baked goods alone. It did not arrive on its own: there have been two published Wisconsin court decisions that have affected the application of food licensure laws.
Home canning sits on a separate track. A Wisconsin law commonly referred to as the Pickle Bill allows you to sell certain home-canned foods without a license, under certain limited circumstances. Jars of jam or pickles are not the same conversation as a tray of bars.
Rules can shift, so it is worth watching what is coming rather than only what is in force today. Under 2025 Assembly Bill 748, DATCP must, by rule, require and establish a process for home inspection of cottage food producers that prepare food. That is a bill in progress, not settled practice, so treat it as something to follow before you scale up.
Before you take your first order
Confirm you are selling direct
The path described for home producers is selling directly to consumers from a private home kitchen, for profit.
Test the finished product
DATCP states the finished bake must not be potentially hazardous. Look at the bake as it is sold, not as it is mixed.
Keep canning separate
Home-canned foods fall under the Pickle Bill and its limited circumstances, not the baked goods exemption.
Ask before you guess
DATCP’s job is making sure paying customers get safe, wholesome food. A quick question to them is cheaper than a bad batch of orders.
Once you know what you can sell, the practical side takes over: what to charge, how to take orders, and how to keep your dates straight. If you are still choosing where to take orders, Home Bakery App: A Fair Roundup for Home Bakers walks through the options without the hype.
Work out what a batch really costs before you set a price
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Common questions
Do I need a license to sell cookies from my home in Wisconsin?
It depends on the finished product. DATCP states that for homemade baked goods sold under the exemption, the finished product must not be potentially hazardous. If it is not, and you sell directly to consumers, that is the path DATCP describes for home producers.
Does the exemption cover every baked good?
No. DATCP ties the homemade baked goods exemption to the finished product not being potentially hazardous. A bake that fails that test does not fit the exemption as described.
What about jam, pickles, and other canned goods?
Those are handled separately. A Wisconsin law commonly referred to as the Pickle Bill allows you to sell certain home-canned foods without a license under certain limited circumstances.
Why do people mention a 2022 court ruling?
On Dec. 28, 2022, the Lafayette County Circuit Court extended its ruling to home producers who make any foods that are not potentially hazardous and who sell those items directly to consumers. There have been two published Wisconsin court decisions affecting how food licensure laws are applied.
Is anything changing for home bakers?
Under 2025 Assembly Bill 748, DATCP must, by rule, require and establish a process for home inspection of cottage food producers that prepare food. It is a bill, so check where it stands before you rely on it.
Sources
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and details depend on what you make and how you sell it. Confirm your situation with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection before you sell.