Cottage food rules
Home Bakery License in Colorado: The Test and What You Need
What Colorado really asks of a home baker, and the order to do it in.
On this page
What to remember
- Cottage foods sold directly to consumers do not need a license or an inspection.
- You must finish a food safety training course before you begin selling.
- You must register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and renew it annually.
- If your food needs time and temperature control, your course has to cover that.
- Income tax, sales tax and business license requirements still apply to you.
If you searched for a home bakery license in Colorado test, you are likely after two things: the food safety training the state asks for, and the paperwork that goes with selling from your own kitchen. This page covers both, in the order you do them. For the wider picture, read Home Bakery License in Colorado: What You Need.
What Colorado actually asks of a home baker
In 2012 the Colorado Legislature enacted the Colorado Cottage Foods Act. It allows limited types of food products to be sold directly to consumers without licensing or inspection. That is the trade you are making: no license and no inspector in your kitchen, as long as you stay inside the rules for what you make and how you sell it. Before you start, you have to complete a food safety training course.
The food safety course, and why people call it a test
Plenty of bakers hear the word test and picture an exam at a county office. What the state requires is a food safety training course that you finish before you begin your cottage foods business. If you make anything that needs time and temperature control, the course you choose has to include food handling training on time and temperature control. Sort out the course before you print labels or take a single order, because the training comes first.
Register with the state, then keep it current
Cottage food producers are now required to register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and that registration must be renewed annually. Set a reminder for the renewal in the same week each year so a busy market season does not catch you out. If you bake and sell around the metro area, Denver Cottage Food Laws covers what else to check locally.
Confirm your bakes are allowed
The Cottage Foods Act covers limited types of food products sold directly to consumers. Check your list before you plan a menu around it.
Take the food safety course
Complete a food safety training course before you start your cottage foods business. If your product needs time and temperature control, the course must include food handling training on time and temperature control.
Register with CDPHE
Cottage food producers are required to register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Put the renewal on your calendar
That registration must be renewed annually, so pick a date and keep it every year.
Deal with taxes and business licenses
A cottage food business in Colorado is subject to income and sales tax, as well as business license requirements. The training and the registration sit alongside those, not in place of them.
When a registration is not enough
Some ways of selling take you outside the cottage food rules. Selling directly to consumers through a physical store, or across state lines directly to consumers, requires a retail food establishment license issued by your local county health department. When retail food plan review plans are approved, CDPHE sends an invoice for the cost of the review, which does not exceed $580, plus the license fee.
Where you prepare the food matters too. Local health department guidance makes the point plainly: a chef who prepares any of the food outside the family’s home is no longer operating as a personal chef and must obtain a retail food license.
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Work through the training, the registration and the renewal in that order, and you can sell your bakes from your own kitchen with the state paperwork behind you instead of hanging over you.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Colorado?
For cottage foods sold directly to consumers, no. The Colorado Cottage Foods Act allows limited types of food products to be sold that way without licensing or inspection. You still need a food safety training course and a state registration.
Is there a test I have to pass?
What Colorado requires is a food safety training course that you complete before starting your cottage foods business. If your food needs time and temperature control, the course has to include food handling training on time and temperature control.
How often does the registration need renewing?
Every year. Cottage food producers are required to register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and that registration must be renewed annually.
Do I need a business license as well?
A cottage food business in Colorado is subject to income and sales tax, as well as business license requirements. Check what applies to you where you live.
When would I need a county health license instead?
Selling directly to consumers through a physical store, or across state lines directly to consumers, requires a retail food establishment license issued by your local county health department.
What does the retail food plan review cost?
When retail food plan review plans are approved, CDPHE sends an invoice for the cost of the review, which does not exceed $580, plus the license fee.
Sources
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm the current requirements with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and your local health department before you sell.