Cottage food rules
Does Illinois Have Cottage Food Laws? What Home Bakers Can Sell
A plain answer on Illinois cottage food rules, so you know what you can sell and what to do before your first order.
On this page
What to remember
- Illinois cottage food operations are home based, run out of your own kitchen.
- You sell straight to the person eating it, not to a shop that resells it.
- Your local health department registers you and issues a certificate with a registration number.
- Illinois sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales.
If this is your first time reading a state rule, start with what cottage food laws are and how they work. The short version is that Illinois treats a small home food business differently from a commercial kitchen, and the trade off is that you sell face to face with your customer rather than through someone else’s counter.
What you can make and who you can sell to
Illinois law defines a cottage food operation as a home based food business run by a person who produces food or drink in a kitchen located in that person’s home. Foods and drinks that Illinois lists as prohibited are not part of that. So the first question is never about your oven. It is about whether your product is on the allowed side of the line.
Sales have to be direct to the consumer. The law allows the owner, a family member, or an employee to make those sales. What it does not allow is selling your bakes for resale, or selling them in retail food establishments. A bakery down the street cannot buy your cinnamon rolls and put them in its case.
Register with your local health department
Registration is the part home bakers miss. A local health department must register any eligible cottage food operation that meets the requirements of the statute, and it issues a certificate of registration with an identifying registration number. That number is yours, and it is what makes the operation a registered one rather than a hobby.
Check your product against the law
Illinois cottage food rules cover food and drink other than what Illinois law lists as prohibited. Confirm your bake is on the allowed side before you plan a menu.
Confirm you meet the requirements
The local health department registers operations that meet the requirements of the statute, so read those requirements before you apply.
Register with your local health department
Your local health department registers eligible cottage food operations and issues the certificate.
Keep your certificate and number
You receive a certificate of registration with an identifying registration number. Hold on to it.
There is no dollar cap in Illinois
Illinois sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. That is worth sitting with for a second, because in states that do cap sales, the cap decides when you have to stop or move into a commercial kitchen. In Illinois your growth is limited by your own kitchen capacity and your time, not by a number in a statute.
Practically, that means the ceiling is your Saturday. How many batches fit in your oven, how many hours you can stand at the counter, how many orders you can box and deliver. When you are ready to take orders without losing track of them, a home bakery app that fits a one person kitchen is worth a look.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
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Where to read the full Illinois rules
Illinois Extension offers a comprehensive cottage food guide created in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. That guide is the place to go for the detail this page cannot hold, including the full list of what is and is not allowed. Read it before you print a single label.
If you are also working out whether you need a separate license, our guide to the Department of Agriculture home bakery license walks through how that question usually plays out. And if you want to see how a neighboring state handles the same idea, Ohio cottage food laws make a useful comparison.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Illinois?
Illinois law requires an eligible cottage food operation to be registered by its local health department, which issues a certificate of registration with an identifying registration number. The operation has to meet the requirements of the statute to be registered.
Can I sell my bakes to a coffee shop or restaurant in Illinois?
No. Illinois law allows cottage food operations to sell food directly to consumers, but the food may not be sold for resale or in retail food establishments.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell under Illinois cottage food laws?
Illinois sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. Growth is limited by your own kitchen capacity and time rather than a statutory cap.
Who is allowed to sell the food?
Sales must be direct to the consumer. Illinois law allows the owner, a family member, or an employee to make those sales.
Can I sell fruit pies as a cottage food operation in Illinois?
Fruit pies not otherwise listed may be produced if the recipe has been tested and documented by a commercial laboratory, at the expense of the cottage food operation.
Where can I find the full set of Illinois cottage food rules?
Illinois Extension offers a comprehensive cottage food guide created in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.
Sources
This is general information about Illinois cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change and local health departments apply them. Confirm the details with the Illinois Department of Public Health and your local health department before you sell.