Does West Virginia Have Cottage Food Laws?

On this page

1. What West Virginia’s cottage food law covers
2. Potentially hazardous foods and the home kitchen rule
3. Farmers markets and homemade food items
4. What to check before you sell

If you bake at home and sell what you make, you are working inside a set of state rules whether or not you have read them. West Virginia is not unusual here, and the shape of its rules is close to what you will find in cottage food laws across the United States. What matters is knowing which section applies to what you actually sell.

What West Virginia’s cottage food law covers

Article 40 of the West Virginia Code is cited as Cottage Foods. It contains sections that define terms, cover permits for potentially hazardous cottage food vendors, and describe the role local health departments play in cottage foods. Senate Bill 44, signed March 27, 2026, reorganized state law into a cottage foods framework covering direct to consumer sales from a residence. That framework leaves out raw meat, poultry, seafood, and Grade A dairy.

One section, 19-40-5, deals with potentially hazardous foods and provides that the department shall regulate them notwithstanding other provisions of code or rules to the contrary. In everyday terms, the foods that need temperature control sit under their own set of rules, separate from the shelf stable bakes that most home bakers start with.

Potentially hazardous foods and the home kitchen rule

West Virginia has a rule establishing regulations governing potentially hazardous food products prepared, processed, and sold from home kitchens, to help ensure consumer safety and health. Article 40 also covers permits for potentially hazardous cottage food vendors. If any of your bakes need refrigeration, that rule and that permit question are the first things to settle before you take an order.

Farmers markets and homemade food items

In June 2018 the West Virginia Department of Agriculture began registering both farmers markets and farmers market cottage food vendors in the state, as a result of regulation established in Senate Bill 375. If market day is part of your plan, that registration step sits alongside the cottage food rules rather than replacing them.

Separately, Senate Bill 285 in 2019 defines a homemade food item as a food item, including a nonalcoholic beverage, produced or packaged without a food license at a home, farm, community kitchen, or commercial kitchen. The wording matters, because the words in the law decide which rules reach what you make. Our guide to what you can sell from home walks through how to read those definitions for your own baking.

What to check before you sell

1. 1

   Read the definitions in Article 40

   Start with the terms section so you know whether your bakes fall under the cottage foods framework at all.

2. 2

   Decide if your items are potentially hazardous

   Anything that needs temperature control falls under the separate rule for home kitchens and the permit section in Article 40.

3. 3

   Ask about a permit

   Article 40 covers permits for potentially hazardous cottage food vendors. Find out whether one applies to you before your first order.

4. 4

   Check market registration

   Farmers markets and their cottage food vendors have been registered by the state agriculture department since June 2018.

5. 5

   Look at sales tax

   Rules on tax are separate from food safety rules, so read what to expect with cottage food and sales tax before you set your prices.

Write down what you sell, how it is stored, and where you hand it over. That short list is what any office you call will ask you for, and it saves you a second round of questions.

Common questions

Does West Virginia have a cottage food law?

Yes. Article 40 of the West Virginia Code is cited as Cottage Foods, and Senate Bill 44, signed March 27, 2026, reorganized state law into a cottage foods framework effective around June 2026.

What foods are left out of West Virginia's cottage foods framework?

Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and Grade A dairy are excluded. The framework covers direct to consumer sales from a residence.

Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from my home kitchen?

Article 40 covers permits for potentially hazardous cottage food vendors, and a separate rule governs potentially hazardous food products prepared and sold from home kitchens. Whether that reaches your bakes depends on what you make, so ask before you sell.

Do I have to register to sell at a farmers market?

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture has registered both farmers markets and farmers market cottage food vendors since June 2018, as a result of regulation established in Senate Bill 375.

What counts as a homemade food item in West Virginia?

Senate Bill 285 in 2019 defines a homemade food item as a food item, including a nonalcoholic beverage, produced or packaged without a food license at a home, farm, community kitchen, or commercial kitchen.

Sources

1. West Virginia cottage food law overview
2. West Virginia Department of Agriculture: farmers markets
3. West Virginia Code Article 40: Cottage Foods
4. West Virginia Senate Bill 44 (2026) enrolled text
5. West Virginia Department of Agriculture: potentially hazardous cottage foods
6. West Virginia Senate Bill 285 (2019) introduced text

This is general information about West Virginia cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm the details with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture or your local health department before you sell.