Cottage food rules
Cottage Food License in MD: What Home Bakers Need
Know whether Maryland requires a license before you take your first order.
On this page
What to remember
- No Department of Health food license is required while your sales stay under the state’s annual dollar cap.
- You may offer for sale only the homemade foods specified in section B of the regulation.
- Your county and city laws on preparing, storing, and selling food still apply to you.
- The Maryland Department of Health publishes a guidance document listing the allowable foods.
- Maryland passed its cottage food law in 2012 and updated it in 2018.
If you are baking cakes and cookies in your own oven and selling them to neighbors, the Maryland rule is simpler than most people expect. There is no state license to apply for and no inspection to schedule before you start, provided you stay inside the limits. What trips bakers up is not the license. It is the food list, the sales cap, and the county rules layered underneath. If you bake in another state, start with cottage food laws in the USA to see how your state compares.
What the Maryland rule actually says
The regulation is specific about two things. First, a cottage food business may offer for sale only the homemade foods specified in section B of the regulation. Second, by law the owner may sell only cottage food products that are stored on the premises of the business without needing a food license. In plain terms, you bake at home, you store it at home, and you sell it under the cap.
Maryland passed a modified cottage food law in 2012 allowing residents to operate a home based bakery or home food processing company, and the law was updated in 2018. Because the rules have been revised more than once, it pays to read the current version rather than an old blog post. Our guide to finding the cottage food laws website for your state shows where the official text lives.
Check your kitchen against the rules
Confirm your bakes are on the list
Read section B of the regulation and the Maryland Department of Health guidance document. If your product is not named there, it is not a cottage food product you can sell under these rules.
Watch your yearly sales total
The license free path only holds while your sales stay under the state’s annual dollar cap. Keep a running total from your first sale, not a guess you put together in January.
Check your county and city
The owner of a Maryland cottage food business must comply with all applicable county and municipal laws and ordinances regulating the preparation, processing, storage, and sale of cottage food products.
Ask before you guess
Call the state office that handles cottage food questions and describe exactly what you plan to bake and where you plan to sell it.
Where to get a straight answer
The Maryland Department of Health publishes a guidance document listing the allowable foods that may be produced and sold by a Maryland cottage food business, so that is the first thing to open. The department’s Office of Food Protection handles cottage food questions. It is located at 6 St. Paul Street, Suite 1301, Baltimore, MD 21202, and the phone number is (410) 767-8400.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
Once you know you are clear to sell, the next question is what to charge. Brevl works out the real cost of each recipe and helps you price it, and you can run your shop from your phone or your computer for one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales. If you are still choosing where to take orders, our home bakery app roundup compares the options fairly.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Maryland?
Not a Department of Health license, as long as your sales stay under the state's annual dollar cap and you sell only the foods the regulation allows. Your county and city rules still apply.
What foods am I allowed to sell?
Only the homemade foods specified in section B of Code of Maryland Regulations 10.15.03.27. The Maryland Department of Health publishes a guidance document listing the allowable foods.
Can my county add its own rules?
Yes. The owner of a Maryland cottage food business must comply with all applicable county and municipal laws and ordinances regulating the preparation, processing, storage, and sale of cottage food products.
Who do I call with a cottage food question?
The Maryland Department of Health's Office of Food Protection handles cottage food questions. It is at 6 St. Paul Street, Suite 1301, Baltimore, MD 21202, phone (410) 767-8400.
Has the Maryland cottage food law changed?
Yes. Maryland passed a modified cottage food law in 2012 and updated it in 2018, so check the current regulation rather than an older summary.
Sources
- Cottage Food Law Library: Maryland
- Code of Maryland Regulations 10.15.03.27: Farmer's Market, Bake Sales, and Cottage Food Business
- Maryland Code of Regulations 10.15.03.27 (Cornell LII)
- University of Maryland Extension: Cottage Food Business Law
- Maryland Department of Health: Updated Cottage Food Guidelines
- Maryland Department of Health: Cottage Foods
This is general information about Maryland cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules and dollar caps change, so confirm the current requirements with the Maryland Department of Health's Office of Food Protection and your county before you sell.