Cottage food rules
How to Get a License to Sell Baked Goods From Home in California
The order to work through California's cottage food steps, and the exact questions to ask your county before you take a paid order.
On this page
The hard part of this is not the baking. It is figuring out which office to call and what they want to see before you take money. It is easy to stall right there, take an order anyway, and hope nobody asks. Do it the other way around and everything after it gets simple.
What to remember
- Start at the state cottage food page so you are reading the current version, not a blog post. - Your county health department is where your specific questions get answered. - Ask what you may bake, how you must label it, and what records you keep. - Sort the permit before your first paid order, not after. - Keep your paperwork and your order records in the same place so neither slips.
Start with the state page, not with a search result
Open the California Department of Public Health page on cottage food operations. Read it before you read anything else, this guide included, because no blog post can tell you what changed last month.
Bookmark it. When you call your county, you can ask about the exact wording on that page and get a straight answer instead of a guess.
Then call your county health department
Ask for the person who handles cottage food or home food operations. Tell them three things: what you bake, where you plan to sell it, and whether you are selling to people directly or through a shop.
Write down the name of the person you spoke to and the date. That note is worth more than anything you will read online, because it is specific to your kitchen and your county.
The order to do this in
Read the state cottage food page
Open the California Department of Public Health cottage food page and read it start to finish. Note anything you do not understand so you can ask about it on the phone.
Call your county health department
Ask which permit fits what you bake and where you sell. Ask what the current fee is and whether it renews. Ask what they need from you before you can start.
Write every answer down
Keep the person’s name, the date, and what they told you. If a market manager or a customer ever questions you, you have a record.
Get your kitchen and your labels ready
Do the prep the county asked for first, including the label wording they require on every package. Labels are the step home bakers most often skip and most often get caught on.
Apply and pay the fee
Send the application, pay what you were quoted, and keep a copy of everything. Save the confirmation somewhere you will find it in six months.
Set up how you take orders and get paid
Put your ordering and payment in place so your first paid order is recorded properly. That record is part of running a real business, and it makes tax time survivable.
Questions to ask on that call
- Which permit applies to the baked goods I plan to sell?
- What am I not allowed to make under that permit?
- What has to be printed on my labels, word for word?
- Can I sell at a farmers market, and can I sell to a shop or a cafe?
- What records do I need to keep, and for how long?
- What is the fee now, and when does it renew?
- Is there anything else at my address I need before I start?
What to have ready before you apply
Have your address, your contact details, and a plain description of what you bake in front of you when you call. Know your best sellers and your planned prices. If you sell at markets, know which ones, because the answer about where you may sell can change the permit you need.
Labels and records are the part people forget
A label is not decoration. It is the thing that proves you are operating the way you told the county you would. Decide now where you will print them, and build the required wording into your template so you never have to remember it at midnight before a market.
Records matter for the same reason. Every order you take should leave a trail: what was baked, for whom, when, and what they paid.
Keep your shop in step with your permit
Once the paperwork is done, the everyday work is taking orders and getting paid without losing track. Brevl is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, and it works on your phone and on a computer. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash, and your shop gets your own photos, your colors, and your own web address. Recipes with real costing and ingredient inventory help you price the bakes you are now allowed to sell.
Related reading
- CA Cottage Food Approved List: how to check what you may sell before you build a menu.
- Cottage Food Approved List: the general version if you bake in more than one state.
- Do You Need a License to Sell Baked Goods From Home in Florida: useful if you are comparing how another state handles it.
Sources
This is general information for home bakers, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change, and your county's requirements control. Confirm everything with the California Department of Public Health and your county health department before you sell.