Cottage food rules
Illinois Cottage Food Law Requirements for Home Bakers
A plain look at what Illinois lets you sell from your home kitchen, and who can buy it.
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What to remember
- You can sell directly to customers, and the sale can be made by you, a family member, or an employee.
- No resale, and no selling in retail food establishments.
- Your food has to be non-potentially-hazardous to count as cottage food.
- A local health department may require a recipe test at your expense.
- Fundraising bake sales by religious, charitable, or nonprofit groups are exempt.
If you bake from your home kitchen in Illinois and sell to people who come to you, this is the set of rules you work inside. It is short, but a few lines in it decide what you can bake and who can buy. For the wider picture across states, see home bakery licenses and permits.
What Illinois counts as cottage food
Illinois defines a cottage food operation as an operation that produces or packages non-potentially-hazardous food in compliance with Section 4 of the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act. The words that matter most are non-potentially-hazardous. If a food needs time or temperature control to stay safe, it does not belong in a cottage food operation. That single line decides where the edge of your menu sits.
The state also draws a firm line about where your food can go. Illinois guidance states that cottage food is not an approved source, and that food prepared in a private home may not be used or offered for human consumption in a food establishment. That is why you can sell a cake to a neighbor but cannot supply that same cake to a cafe.
Who you can sell to
Sales have to be direct to consumers. Illinois allows those sales to be made by the owner, by a family member, or by an employee, so you are not chained to the counter for every single order. What the law does not allow is selling your food for resale, or selling it in retail food establishments.
There is one more door worth knowing about. IDPH guidelines for bake sales state that a person who produces or packages a baked good that is not time/temperature controlled for food safety, for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization for fundraising purposes, is exempt.
When a recipe needs lab testing
A local health department may require a cottage food operation to submit a recipe, at the cottage food operator’s expense, to a commercial laboratory to verify that it is not a time/temperature control for safety food. That cost lands on you, so it is worth knowing about before you build a whole menu around one recipe.
Fruit pies sit in their own spot. Fruit pies not otherwise listed may be produced by a cottage food operation, provided their recipe has been tested and documented by a commercial laboratory, at the expense of the cottage food operation.
Selling from your home kitchen
Once you know what you can sell, the everyday work is taking orders and getting paid without muddling your books. Brevl is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, and a 14 day free trial. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. Your shop is yours to customize with your photos, your colors, and your own web address, and it works on a computer and on a phone. We set it up with you and move your old shop over, and a real person answers, usually within minutes. If you are still weighing options, this roundup of home bakery apps and what to confirm on payment methods are worth a read.
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Common questions
Can I sell my bakes to a restaurant or a coffee shop?
No. Illinois says cottage food may not be sold for resale or in retail food establishments, and state guidance says cottage food is not an approved source, so food prepared in a private home may not be used or offered for human consumption in a food establishment.
Will my recipe have to be tested in a lab?
It can be. A local health department may require a cottage food operation to submit a recipe, at the operator's expense, to a commercial laboratory to verify that it is not a time/temperature control for safety food.
Can my family help me sell?
Yes. Illinois allows cottage food sales to be made by the owner, a family member, or an employee, as long as the food is sold directly to consumers.
What about a bake sale for a church or a school group?
IDPH guidelines for bake sales state that a person who produces or packages a baked good that is not time/temperature controlled for food safety, for sale by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization for fundraising purposes, is exempt.
Is the law changing?
There is a proposed amendment, HB 4121, under which a cottage food operation may produce homemade food and drink only if all of the listed conditions are met. It is a proposal, not the rule in force today, so read the current text before you rely on it.
Sources
- Cottage Food Program, Illinois Department of Public Health
- 750 IL Food Code, Illinois Department of Public Health
- 410 ILCS 625/4, Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act
- Public Act 97-0393
- Illinois House Bill 4121, 103rd General Assembly
- Approved Source Guidance, Illinois Department of Public Health
- Guidelines for Bake Sales, Illinois Department of Public Health
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and local health departments apply them, so confirm the current requirements with the Illinois Department of Public Health or your local health department before you sell.