Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in Mobile, AL: What Home Bakers Need
A plain walk through what Alabama asks of you before you sell a single bake from your Mobile kitchen.
On this page
What to remember
- Only foods that are not potentially hazardous, and nothing at 3% alcohol or above.
- Your primary home kitchen is the only place the food can be made.
- Sales go directly to the final consumer, and only within Alabama.
- Keep your food safety course certificate current and on file.
If you bake in Mobile and sell to neighbors, coworkers, or people who find you online, this is the set of rules that covers you. It is a short law with a few firm edges, and knowing those edges early saves you a scramble later. If you are close to the state line, it is also worth reading cottage food laws in Mississippi so you know where your Alabama coverage stops.
What you can make and where you can sell it
The Alabama Department of Public Health states that non potentially hazardous food items containing less than 3% alcohol may be sold under the Cottage Food Law. That word hazardous is doing the work. Shelf stable bakes are the heart of it, and anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe sits outside this law.
The department’s cottage food review form is just as clear on the other two limits. Food can only be produced in the operator’s primary home kitchen, and it can only be sold directly to the final consumer within Alabama. Not a rented kitchen, not a friend’s kitchen, and not a customer two states over.
The food safety course you need on file
The law says the operator of a cottage food production operation shall maintain certification of having attended and passed a food safety course approved by the department. Two things matter there. The course has to be one the department approves, and you have to keep the certificate, not just finish the class once and forget it.
Check your bake against the law
Confirm the item is not potentially hazardous and stays under 3% alcohol before you take a single order for it.
Take an approved food safety course
Pick a course the department approves, attend it, pass it, and keep the certificate where you can find it.
Keep production at home
All of it happens in your primary home kitchen, so plan your week around the space you actually have.
Sell direct, in Alabama
Sell to the person who will eat the bake, and keep your orders inside the state.
Check the department's forms first
The food safety division publishes the forms and resources cottage food producers use. Read them before your first sale, not after.
Where to check before you bake for money
Alabama’s cottage food rules are administered through the Alabama Department of Public Health’s food safety division, and its cottage food page is the place to start. That page and the cottage food review form are the two documents worth reading in full before you set a price on anything. Rules and forms do get updated, so check the current version rather than a screenshot someone shared in a baking group.
Once the legal side is settled, the next question is usually how to take orders and get paid without handing over a slice of every cake. It helps to know what a home bakery app should do and what Bakesy costs each month before you commit to anything, so you can compare against a flat monthly fee and decide for yourself.
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Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Mobile?
Alabama's cottage food law sets out what a home operation can do, and the department's food safety division publishes the forms and resources cottage food producers use. That is where to confirm what applies to your specific kitchen before you sell.
Can I sell at a market or event in Mobile?
The law covers direct sales to the final consumer within Alabama. If you are unsure whether a particular market or event counts as a direct sale, ask the department before you pay for a table.
What foods are off limits?
Anything potentially hazardous, and anything containing 3% alcohol or more. The department's page states that non potentially hazardous items under 3% alcohol may be sold under the law.
Where can I make the food?
Only in the operator's primary home kitchen. The cottage food review form is explicit on that point, so a borrowed or rented kitchen is outside it.
Do I need a food safety course?
Yes. The law says the operator shall maintain certification of having attended and passed a food safety course approved by the department, so keep that certificate on file.
Can I ship an order to another state?
The cottage food provisions cover direct sales within Alabama. An order going to a customer in another state is outside that, so ask the department before you accept it.
Sources
This is general information about Alabama's cottage food law, not legal or tax advice. Rules and forms can change, so confirm the details with the Alabama Department of Public Health before you sell.