Cottage food rules
Maine Cottage Food Laws for Home Bakers
A plain look at Maine's Home Food license so you know what you can bake and sell from home.
On this page
What to remember
- Home food sales in Maine run through a Home Food license.
- The foods you make must be shelf-stable.
- Foods that need refrigeration or freezing are not allowed under this license.
- A commercial food processing license is required for those foods instead.
- Maine sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales.
If you bake from your home kitchen and want to sell to neighbors, at a local store, or from your own home, the license question comes first. Maine’s Home Food license is the route for certain shelf-stable products. It is not a dollar cap question first. It is a food question first: can your bake sit safely without refrigeration or freezing? If you are also comparing how other states handle home baking, Kansas cottage food laws are a useful place to see a different set of rules.
What the Maine Home Food license allows
The license allows a baker to produce certain products at home and to sell them from home and/or at retail stores. The key limit is the food itself. The foods produced must be shelf-stable (non-potentially hazardous). For your baking list, that means you need to look at every item and ask whether it has to be kept cold to control microbial growth. If it does, it does not fit this license.
Is there a sales limit in Maine?
Maine sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. That means there is no dollar cap in the law to watch for. The real limit is your own kitchen and your own time. You can grow at the pace your oven, your counter space, and your schedule allow. Because there is no dollar cap, it pays to know what each bake really costs before you say yes to a large order. A simple recipe cost list helps you see whether a busy week actually made money.
Retail stores are part of the picture too. The Home Food license allows sales from home and/or at retail stores, so a small local shop can be a possible outlet if the food fits the shelf-stable rule. The same food test applies to every outlet. If a bake needs cold storage, it is out under this license, whether you sell it from your kitchen or a store.
What to check before you bake for sale
Check the food first
List every bake you want to sell. Mark each one as shelf-stable or not. If it has to be refrigerated or frozen to control microbial growth, it does not fit the Home Food license.
Match the license to the sale
A Maine Home Food license allows production at home and sales from home and/or at retail stores. Keep your sales inside what the license allows.
Do not plan around a dollar cap
Maine sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. Your kitchen and time are the real limits, so plan your week around what you can actually bake.
Know the cold food rule
A product that needs refrigeration or freezing requires a commercial food processing license instead. Do not take an order for that product under the Home Food license.
Keep a simple record
Write down your shelf-stable menu, your ingredients, and your packaging. That record helps you price your bakes and keep your orders straight.
Orders, payment, and your own shop
Once your menu fits the license, you still need a calm way to take orders and get paid. Brevl gives you a shop that is yours to customize: your photos, your colors, and your own web address. You can take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. It works on a computer and on a phone.
Brevl is one flat $20 a month, with no cut of your sales. The 14 day trial is free. We set it up with you, and we move your old shop over: products, photos, reviews, and dates. A real person answers, usually within minutes. If you want to compare another state’s requirements, Illinois cottage food law requirements are a useful contrast.
Common questions
What license does Maine use for home food sales?
Maine uses a Home Food license. It allows a baker to produce certain products at home and sell them from home and/or at retail stores.
Can I sell baked goods that need refrigeration?
No, not under a Maine Home Food license. Products that have to be refrigerated or frozen to control microbial growth are not allowed, and a commercial food processing license would be required instead.
Is there a dollar limit on Maine cottage food sales?
Maine sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. Your own kitchen and time are the limits rather than a cap in the law.
Can I sell to a retail store from my Maine home kitchen?
A Maine Home Food license allows sales from home and/or at retail stores. The food still has to be shelf-stable and non-potentially hazardous.
What if I want to sell a refrigerated cake?
That product would not fit the Home Food license. A commercial food processing license would be required instead.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Rules can change, so check the Maine Home Food license fact sheet and confirm your own situation before you sell.