Cottage food rules
Georgia Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Need
What actually applies to Georgia home bakers now, in plain words.
On this page
What to remember
- No cottage food license and no licensing fee since July 1, 2025.
- No state cap on gross sales or on units produced.
- Only food that is not potentially hazardous can be sold.
- Stores and restaurants are allowed unless your city or county opts out.
- The Retail Food section of the Georgia Department of Agriculture is the regulator.
If you bake from your home kitchen in Georgia and sell what you make, the state treats you as a cottage food operator. A lot of advice in Facebook groups is out of date, because the rules changed in 2025. Here is the plain version of what applies now, and the Georgia cottage food law requirements walk through the finer points if you want them side by side.
No license, no fee, and no sales cap
Georgia removed its cottage food license and the licensing fee effective July 1, 2025 under House Bill 398. That means there is no state license to apply for before you start baking and selling. The Georgia Department of Agriculture also does not impose any limits on gross sales or on the number of units a cottage food operator can produce, so you can grow at your own pace without hitting a ceiling that pushes you into a different category. The Georgia cottage food license guide covers the license question in more detail if you are coming from older information.
Who you can sell to
Direct sales to customers are the foundation of a cottage food business. Under House Bill 398 you can also sell to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants, which opens up wholesale conversations that were not available to Georgia home bakers before. That is a real change, and it is worth asking a local shop whether they buy from home kitchens.
What you can make, and the safety rules
Georgia cottage food operators are permitted to make only food that is not potentially hazardous. If a recipe depends on refrigeration to stay safe, it does not belong in your cottage food lineup in Georgia. The state’s Cottage Food Safety directives are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08, and those are the rules that apply to your kitchen, your storage and how you handle what you sell. Read them before your first sale, not after a customer asks a question you cannot answer.
One more thing that catches home bakers off guard: if your home runs on a private septic system, contact your county health department to confirm the system is adequate for the operation before you take on more orders.
Before your first sale
Read the state cottage food pages
Start with the Retail Food section of the Georgia Department of Agriculture so you are working from the current rules, not a blog post from 2019.
Confirm your recipes qualify
Only food that is not potentially hazardous can be sold as cottage food in Georgia. Go through your menu item by item.
Check your city or county
Ask whether a local ordinance blocks sales through grocery stores, convenience stores or restaurants.
Check your septic system
If your home uses a private septic system, call your county health department and confirm it is adequate for the operation.
Set up how you take orders
Decide how customers will reach you, order and pay before you announce that you are open.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
Pricing is the part most home bakers guess at, and guessing is how a busy week ends with no money left over. Work out what a batch actually costs you before you set a price, then keep that number where you can see it when someone asks for a quote.
Common questions
Do I need a cottage food license in Georgia?
No. Georgia removed its cottage food license and licensing fee effective July 1, 2025 under House Bill 398.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell?
The Georgia Department of Agriculture does not impose any limits on gross sales or on the number of units a cottage food operator can produce.
Can I sell my bakes to a grocery store or restaurant?
Under HB 398 you can sell to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants, but each city or county may pass an ordinance prohibiting sales through those third-party vendors. Confirm your local rules first.
What foods am I allowed to make?
Only food that is not potentially hazardous. The state cottage food page is the place to confirm whether a specific recipe qualifies.
Who regulates cottage food in Georgia?
The Retail Food section of the Georgia Department of Agriculture regulates cottage food producers, also known as home-kitchen food operations.
What if my home has a septic system?
Contact your county health department to confirm the system is adequate for the operation before you scale up.
Sources
This is general information about Georgia cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change, and city or county rules can differ from state rules. Confirm the current requirements with the Georgia Department of Agriculture and your local government before you sell.