Cottage food rules
Denver Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Need
A plain look at what Denver lets you sell from home, and the certificate you need before your first order.
On this page
What to remember
- Only foods that do not need refrigeration for safety are covered by the Act.
- Cottage foods can be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection.
- A food safety training certificate is required before you start selling.
- Denver’s cottage foods page explains where and how sales can happen in the city.
- The Tamale Act changes do not take effect until January 1, 2027.
If you bake from your home kitchen in Denver and want to sell what you make, start with Colorado’s Cottage Foods Act. It is the law that decides which foods you can sell, and Denver adds its own pages on where and how those sales can happen. Bakers in other states run into different rules, which is why a setup in another state will not match yours. Current Texas cottage food law is a useful contrast if you want to see how much the details vary.
What you can sell under the Act
Colorado’s law is built around one idea: food that does not need refrigeration to stay safe. Those foods are called non-potentially hazardous, and only limited types of them can be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection. The state says the Act allows a wide range of homemade foods, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment keeps a food eligibility page that spells out what fits. Denver’s cottage foods page lists what can be sold in the city.
The food safety training comes first
Before your first sale, Colorado requires you to complete a food safety training course. The requirement comes from the Act itself: producers must finish training prior to starting a cottage foods business. The certificate from that course is also a requirement to register as a cottage food producer, so keep it somewhere you can find it quickly.
Take a food safety training course
Colorado requires producers to complete a food safety training course prior to starting a cottage foods business.
Keep your certificate on hand
A food safety training certificate is a requirement to register as a cottage food producer.
Confirm your bakes are allowed
The state allows a wide range of homemade foods under the Act, and Denver lists the cottage foods that can be sold in the city.
What changes on January 1, 2027
You may hear the Colorado Cottage Food Act called the Tamale Act, or by its bill number, HB26-1033. It is written to support Colorado entrepreneurs who want to start a food business from home. The detail that matters most if you are selling this year is timing: the Tamale Act does not go into effect until January 1, 2027. Until then, plan around the rules that are in force now.
Denver keeps a page on cottage foods and other home-based food sales that covers what can be sold, where and how it can be sold, and the requirements that apply. Read it before you take a single order, and read it again when you add something new to your menu. Cottage food laws in Washington DC shows how another city writes its rules, and cottage food license in Utah walks through how another state handles the same questions.
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Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my Denver kitchen?
Under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act, limited types of food products that are non-potentially hazardous can be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection. Check Denver's cottage foods page to confirm your specific items are covered.
Do I need training before I start selling?
Yes. Colorado requires producers to complete a food safety training course prior to starting a cottage foods business, and the certificate is a requirement to register as a cottage food producer.
Can I sell anything I bake?
No. Cottage foods are limited to foods that do not require refrigeration for safety. The state's food eligibility page describes the wide range of homemade foods allowed under the Act.
Is anything changing soon?
The Colorado Cottage Food Act, also known as the Tamale Act or HB26-1033, supports Colorado entrepreneurs who want to start a food business from home, but it does not go into effect until January 1, 2027. Until then the current rules apply.
Where do I check the Denver rules?
Denver publishes what cottage foods can be sold, where and how they can be sold, and the requirements that apply to cottage food and other home-based food sales in the city.
Sources
This is general information about cottage food rules in Denver, not legal advice. Requirements can change, so confirm the current rules with the City and County of Denver and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment before you sell.