Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in VT: What Home Bakers Must Check
What Vermont asks of a home baker, in plain words, before your first sale.
On this page
What to remember
- Cottage food means food produced or packaged only in your own home kitchen.
- The exemption covers gross receipts of $30,000 or less a year.
- Nothing that needs refrigeration or time or temperature controls for safety.
- Every product you sell has to be labeled.
- Required online training covers food safety and the Manufactured Food Emergency Rule.
If you bake from your own kitchen in Vermont and sell to neighbors and regulars, that is exactly who this rule was written for. The rest of this guide walks through what the state asks of you and where to check the current wording before you take a big order. If you sell in more than one state or you are just starting to compare, our wider guide to cottage food laws in the US is a good place to start.
Who counts as a cottage food operator
Vermont law describes a cottage food operator as a person who produces or packages cottage food products solely in the home kitchen of the person’s private residential dwelling. The word solely matters. Prep at a friend’s house or in a rented commercial kitchen and you have stepped outside the definition. Cottage food products are the items you sell that do not require refrigeration or time or temperature controls for safety. Cookies, breads, and bars that sit happily on a counter fit. Anything that needs a cold case does not.
The $30,000 limit and your baking year
Gross receipts of $30,000 or less from the sale of cottage food products are exempt under section 4358 of Vermont’s food manufacturing statute. Gross means the money that comes in, not what is left after flour and butter, so it is the total you take for the year. Keep a running total from January so you are not guessing in December. Once you near that line you are outside the exemption and you need to look at licensing. Our guide to cottage food laws and permits explains what changes when you cross it.
Training and labels, the two things bakers forget
The first requirement that catches home bakers out is training. Vermont requires license exempt food processors and cottage food operators to take an online training covering food safety and the Manufactured Food Emergency Rule, which the Health Department adopted on July 1. The second is labeling. Vermont cottage food operators must label products for sale, so plan your labels before your first order rather than after it.
What this means for your weekly menu
In practice the rule shapes what you offer. Bake what hands over safely at room temperature and you spend less of your week worrying about whether an order is allowed. If a recipe only works with a cold case, save it for a licensed kitchen later or leave it off the menu for now.
Before you print a single label, read the Health Department’s home based food page, which lists the current training and exemption steps. Rules get updated and that page is the version that counts. If you also sell across a state line, our state by state overview of cottage food laws in the USA shows how the limits differ from Vermont’s.
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Common questions
How much can I sell under Vermont's cottage food exemption?
Gross receipts of $30,000 or less from the sale of cottage food products are exempt under section 4358 of Vermont's food manufacturing statute. The figure is money coming in, not profit.
Can I sell cream filled cakes from home?
Cottage food products are defined as items that do not require refrigeration or time or temperature controls for safety. Anything that needs to be kept cold sits outside that definition.
Do I need to take a training course?
Yes. Vermont requires license exempt food processors and cottage food operators to take an online training covering food safety and the Manufactured Food Emergency Rule.
Do I have to label my bakes?
Yes. Vermont cottage food operators must label products for sale.
Did the rules change recently?
Act 42, passed in 2025, changed the requirements for claiming a Vermont Department of Health licensing exemption for some small food processors. The Health Department also adopted the Manufactured Food Emergency Rule on July 1.
Sources
This is general information about Vermont's cottage food rules, not legal advice. Check the Vermont Department of Health page for the current requirements before you sell.