Cottage food rules
Home Bakery License in Georgia: What You Need
What Georgia actually asks of home bakers now, and what it no longer asks.
What to remember
- No state license and no state fee for cottage foods since July 1, 2025.
- You can now sell your cottage foods to retail stores, not only to people who come to you.
- Food safety training and correct labels are still required.
- Georgia puts no cap on how much you can sell.
- If your home is on a private septic system, check with your county health department first.
If you have been holding back on selling your bakes because you thought a permit stood in the way, the rules in Georgia changed. The short version is above. The longer version is worth reading once, so you know which side of the line your kitchen sits on. For the wider picture of how the state treats home bakers, see cottage food regulations in Georgia.
What changed on July 1, 2025
House Bill 398 updated Georgia’s cottage food program and made it easier for home based food producers to sell their goods. The state licensing requirement was removed for home based producers, and so was the fee. The law also added third party retail sales, which means a shop can buy what you make and resell it.
That last part is the change most home bakers notice first. Before, you sold to people who came to you. Now a small grocery, a coffee shop, or a gift store can carry your cookies and quick breads on its shelves.
What you still have to do
No license does not mean no rules. A home baker making shelf stable goods still needs food safety training, and every package still needs proper labels. Shelf stable is the phrase to hold on to. Think cookies, crackers, granola, and other bakes that keep without refrigeration.
Check that your bake is shelf stable
Cottage foods in Georgia are shelf stable goods that keep without refrigeration. If what you make has to stay cold, treat it as a different kind of business and ask the department what applies to you.
Take a food safety course
Food safety training is still required even though the state license is gone. Do this before you take your first order, not after.
Label every package
Proper labels go on each item you sell, whether it goes straight to a customer or onto a store shelf.
Ask about your septic system
If your home runs on a private septic system, contact your county health department to be sure the system is acceptable for the operation.
Sell the way you want to
You can sell direct and to retail stores, and Georgia sets no cap on your sales.
When a Georgia license does apply
A packaged goods bakery in Georgia holds a Department of Agriculture Food Sales Establishment license. If you move past cottage foods into a bigger operation, or into products that fall outside the cottage food rules, that is the license to ask about. The department is the place to confirm where your kitchen and your menu sit.
The state fee for cottage foods is gone, but starting still costs something. Labels, packaging, and ingredients add up well before your first sale, and it helps to see the whole picture. Our guide to home bakery license cost walks through what people actually pay.
Rules like these get updated, and a directory is one way to keep up between changes. How to use Forrager for cottage food laws explains how to read one without getting lost in it.
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The habit that keeps you out of trouble is simple. Check the Georgia Department of Agriculture cottage food page before each selling season, keep your food safety training current, and print labels that would satisfy a stranger reading them in a store aisle. Do that, and the paperwork stops being the reason you wait.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell cookies from my home in Georgia?
No. Since July 1, 2025, Georgia home bakers making shelf stable cottage foods do not need a state license or pay a state fee. You still need food safety training and proper labels on every package.
Can I sell my bakes to a store in Georgia?
Yes. The 2025 cottage food law added third party retail sales, so home based producers can sell their goods to retail stores as well as directly to customers.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell?
Georgia imposes no sales cap on cottage foods. You are not tracking a yearly dollar ceiling.
What counts as a cottage food in Georgia?
Cottage foods are shelf stable goods that keep without refrigeration. If your product needs to be kept cold, it falls outside the cottage food rules and you should ask the department what applies.
My home has a septic system. Does that matter?
It can. Cottage food operators on a private septic system should contact their county health department to be sure the home's system is acceptable for the operation.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm the details with the Georgia Department of Agriculture before you sell.