Cottage food rules
Michigan Cottage Food Law Class: What It Covers
Know what the Michigan cottage food class teaches before you sign up.
On this page
What to remember
- The training is an online course run by Michigan State University Extension.
- It covers preparing and selling foods under the Michigan Cottage Food Law, plus food safety practices.
- MDARD says the program is MDARD funded and covers safe food production, packaging and labeling.
- Qualifying cottage food operators are exempt from the food establishment license, with no application forms to complete.
- Cottage food operations are still food establishments. They just do not have to meet the licensing and inspection requirements in the Michigan Food Law.
If you sell bakes from your own kitchen, the rules you answer to have shifted, and a class is one of the quickest ways to catch up. Our guide to Michigan cottage food law changes covers what moved. This page is about the training itself: what it teaches, what it does not do, and how to get ready for it.
What the class actually teaches
Michigan State University Extension runs the course online, so you take it from home rather than driving to a classroom. Participants learn about preparing and selling foods under the Michigan Cottage Food Law and review important food safety practices. MDARD describes the same program as covering safe food production, packaging and labeling, and notes that MDARD funds it. That mix matters for a home baker, because the part that gets people in trouble is rarely the recipe. It is how the food is handled, wrapped, and described on the label.
Why take a class when no license is required
Here is the part that surprises most people. If you qualify under the Cottage Food exemptions, you are exempt from getting a food establishment license under the Food Code, and there are no application forms to complete. That is not the same as having no rules. Cottage food operations are still considered food establishments. They simply do not have to meet the licensing and inspection requirements laid out in the Michigan Food Law. The class is where you learn the parts you are still on the hook for.
Read the law before you start
MDARD’s Cottage Foods Checklist advises reading the Michigan Food Law and Food Code before starting a cottage food business. The reason given is straightforward: you need to understand food safety, labeling, adulteration and the other provisions of the law. Treat the class as a companion to that reading, not a replacement for it. Read first, then take the course with real questions in mind.
Labeling is the piece home bakers ask about most, and the class covers packaging and labeling for a reason. If you want a plain walkthrough of how a cottage food label is laid out, our Kentucky cottage food labels guide shows the pieces one by one. Local questions come up too, and our Lake County cottage food law guide is a place to start.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
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One last thing worth doing while the material is fresh. Work out what a batch actually costs you before you set prices, so the selling side is not a guess. Brevl handles recipes with real costing, ingredient inventory, and a weekly planner, and we set it up with you and move your old shop over, products, photos, reviews, and dates included. A real person answers, usually within minutes.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell cottage foods in Michigan?
If you qualify under the Cottage Food exemptions, you are exempt from getting a food establishment license under the Food Code, and there are no application forms to complete.
Who runs the Michigan cottage food law class?
Michigan State University Extension offers the online training, and MDARD says the program is MDARD funded.
What does the course cover?
Participants learn about preparing and selling foods under the Michigan Cottage Food Law and review important food safety practices. MDARD describes it as covering safe food production, packaging and labeling.
Is the class required before I sell?
Our sources do not say the class is required. What they do say is that cottage food operators are still food establishments, and MDARD's checklist advises reading the Michigan Food Law and Food Code before you start.
What should I read before I start selling?
MDARD's Cottage Foods Checklist advises reading the Michigan Food Law and Food Code first, so you understand food safety, labeling, adulteration and the other provisions of the law.
Sources
This is general information about Michigan cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Check the current Michigan Food Law and Food Code, and confirm your own situation before you sell.