Cottage food rules
Cottage Food License in Minnesota: What Home Bakers Need
What Minnesota asks of a home baker before the first sale, in plain words.
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What to remember
- Minnesota’s cottage food exemption law first went into effect in 2015.
- You register with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture every year, before you sell.
- Registration is required even for the smallest Tier 1 seller.
- The rules cover training and registration, allowed foods, labeling, sales locations, and the amount of sales permitted.
- You sell directly to the person who ends up with the bake.
The state publishes a Cottage Food Law Guidance document that walks through training and registration, the types of food allowed, food labeling, the types of sales locations, and the amount of sales permitted. Read it once, end to end, before you print a single label. If you have sold in another state before, the shape of the rules will feel familiar, and you can compare notes in our guide to a cottage food license in Maryland, but the details here are Minnesota’s own.
License or registration: what Minnesota actually asks for
Under Minnesota Statutes section 28A.152, a person who prepares and sells exempt cottage food must register annually with the commissioner. The commissioner has to register you within 30 days of receiving a complete registration, so a slow reply is normal and does not mean something went wrong on your end. Money the commissioner collects under this section goes into a separate cottage foods account in the state agricultural fund.
What the cottage food rules cover
The state guidance is the document to keep on your phone. It covers training and registration, the types of food allowed, food labeling, the types of sales locations, and the amount of sales permitted. Those five things decide what you can bake, how you wrap it, where you can hand it over, and how big the year can get. Check the current numbers on the state page rather than trusting a figure you saw in a group post, and use where to check the rules when you want a second place to look.
Read the state guidance first
Start with the Cottage Food Law Guidance from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. It is the document that covers training and registration, allowed foods, labeling, sales locations, and the amount of sales permitted.
Check the training section
The guidance covers training and registration together. Read that part before you do anything else so you know what is asked of you and in what order.
Register with the commissioner
Register annually with the commissioner before you sell. The law requires it of every cottage food producer, including the smallest Tier 1 seller, and the commissioner must register you within 30 days of a complete registration.
Build your label from the guidance
The guidance covers food labeling. Build your label from that section rather than from a template you found online, so what you print matches what the state asks for.
Stay inside the allowed sales locations
The guidance lists the types of sales locations permitted. Know which ones are open to you before you announce a pickup spot or book a table.
Watch your sales amount
The guidance sets out the amount of sales permitted. Check the current figure before you plan a big season, and check it again if you add a new product.
Labels are where a lot of new sellers get caught, and they are also the last thing a customer reads before she tastes your bake. Get the wording right once and you can reuse it on every box and bag you hand over.
Selling direct, and keeping it simple
Minnesota’s cottage food law allows you to sell certain types of homemade food and pet treats directly to the ultimate consumer. Direct means the person who ends up with the bake, not a shop that buys it to resell. That shapes how you take orders: a message, a market table, a porch pickup with a name on the bag. If you want to see how other home bakers run that side of things, our home bakery app roundup is a fair place to start.
Once the registration is done, the rest is ordinary small business work: price a batch so the bake pays you, keep a simple record of what you sold and when, and renew the registration before it lapses. Doing those three things quietly, every month, is what keeps a home baking business steady.
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Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Minnesota?
For certain non-potentially hazardous food and canned goods, the cottage food law lets you make and sell without a license. You still have to register annually with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture before you sell.
How long does the registration take?
The commissioner must register a person within 30 days of that person submitting a complete registration.
Do I have to register if I only sell a little?
Yes. Every cottage food producer in Minnesota registers annually before selling, including the smallest Tier 1 seller.
What does the state guidance cover?
Training and registration, the types of food allowed, food labeling, the types of sales locations, and the amount of sales permitted.
Who can I sell to?
Minnesota's cottage food law allows you to sell certain types of homemade food and pet treats directly to the ultimate consumer.
Sources
This is general information about Minnesota's cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules and sales limits change. Confirm the current requirements with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture before you sell.