Cottage food rules
Department of Agriculture Home Bakery License: What to Know
How to find out whether your kitchen needs a department of agriculture license, and what Ohio asks for.
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What to remember
- In Ohio, a Home Bakery must be licensed and inspected by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety.
- Ohio bakers can request an inspection by email, by phone, or with the Request for Inspection form.
- Ohio law says each bakery must be registered with the director of agriculture.
- Not every state uses a department of agriculture license. Many rely on cottage food laws.
- The National Agricultural Law Center keeps a state by state compilation you can check.
The name on the license matters less than the rules behind it. Cottage food laws are the other path many home bakers take, and our plain guide to cottage food laws explains how they work.
What an Ohio home bakery license involves
Ohio is the clearest example of a department of agriculture license. The Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, licenses and inspects a Home Bakery. Ohio law states that each person, firm, partnership, or corporation that owns or operates a bakery shall register each bakery that it owns or operates with the director of agriculture. The Ohio Department of Health fact sheet for home bakeries lists what is allowed: non-potentially hazardous bakery products such as cookies, breads, brownies, cakes, and fruit pies.
Check your products against the allowed list
In Ohio the list is non-potentially hazardous bakery products such as cookies, breads, brownies, cakes, and fruit pies. If what you want to sell sits outside that list, ask the division before you bake for sale.
Contact the Division of Food Safety
Email [email protected], call (614) 728-6250, or fill out the Request for Inspection form to ask for an inspection.
Finish the inspection and the registration
Ohio law ties registration to the director of agriculture, and the division handles the inspection. Treat both as one job and finish them before you take orders.
When it is not a department of agriculture license
Plenty of home bakers never deal with a department of agriculture at all. The National Agricultural Law Center maintains a compilation of the statutes and regulations for each state that has a cottage food or home-based food production law, which is the quickest way to see what your own state has on the books. If you bake in Ohio, our Ohio cottage food guide walks through what home bakers there can sell.
State agencies do not all use the same wording. In Virginia, food establishments, including private homes, that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for sale are subject to the Virginia Food and Drink Law and related regulations. That is a different door from an Ohio home bakery registration, and it is why the rules behind the name matter more than the name itself.
What to have ready before you call
Write down what you bake, roughly how much you sell in a normal week, and where in your home the work happens. Know which products you want to sell first, because the allowed list is what the conversation will turn on. Keep the email reply or the form confirmation where you can find it, and put the inspection date on the calendar so it does not sneak up on you.
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Common questions
Do I need a department of agriculture license to bake at home?
It depends on your state. In Ohio a Home Bakery must be licensed and inspected by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety. Other states use cottage food laws instead, so check the rules where you live.
How do I request an inspection in Ohio?
Contact the Division of Food Safety at [email protected], call (614) 728-6250, or fill out the Request for Inspection form.
What can an Ohio home bakery make?
An Ohio home bakery is permitted to manufacture non-potentially hazardous bakery products such as cookies, breads, brownies, cakes, and fruit pies.
Is it called a home bakery license in every state?
No. Wording and rules vary. The National Agricultural Law Center maintains a compilation of the statutes and regulations for each state that has a cottage food or home-based food production law.
What about Virginia?
In Virginia, food establishments, including private homes, that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for sale are subject to the Virginia Food and Drink Law and related regulations.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Licensing rules change and differ by state and county, so confirm the details with the agency that regulates food in your area before you sell.