Cottage food rules
New Cottage Food Laws in Wisconsin: What to Know
A plain look at where Wisconsin cottage food rules stand now, and what it means for your baking.
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What to remember
- Court orders in place since November 2024 stop licensing requirements from being enforced against home bakers who make baked goods that are not potentially hazardous.
- Wisconsin sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales.
- DATCP describes baked goods as foods exposed to dry heat, moved by air, above 140 F, inside a closed chamber such as an oven.
- A case called Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP challenged licensure requirements as applied to unbaked homemade foods that are not potentially hazardous.
- Unbaked foods were the subject of that challenge, so do not carry the baked goods answer over to them without checking.
If you bake from your kitchen in Wisconsin and sell to neighbors, the rules you need are narrower than the internet makes them sound. Here is what the official material actually says, and what it leaves open.
What changed in November 2024
As of November 2024, certain court orders prohibit enforcement of licensing requirements for home bakers who make baked goods that are not potentially hazardous. That is the sentence to hold on to. It is about enforcement, and it is about a specific group of foods. It is not a blanket statement that every home food business in Wisconsin is unregulated.
If you sell in a neighboring state, or you are close to the line and ship across it, read the guide for that state before you take the order. The rules are not the same from one state to the next, and a rule that is fine at home can trip you up twenty miles down the road.
What counts as a baked good in Wisconsin
DATCP describes baked goods as generally exposed to dry heat, transferred via air, at a temperature above 140 F, to a food in a closed chamber such as an oven. That description matters more than the label on your recipe card. It is about how the food is cooked, not what you call it.
So the question to ask yourself about a new item is simple. Is it something that goes into a hot oven and comes out the other side? If the answer is yes, you are in familiar territory. If the answer is no, keep reading before you bake a hundred of them.
No dollar limit, so your pricing is your own call
Wisconsin sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales. That takes one worry off the table. You do not have to count up your year and stop at a number, and you do not have to turn down a big order because of a cap.
It also means the only ceiling on what you earn is what you can bake and what people will pay. Recipes with real costing help here, so you know what a batch actually costs before you quote a price. If you want to see how the rules compare elsewhere, the guides for Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan are a good place to start.
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What to do before your next sale
Read the DATCP guidance on homemade baked goods yourself rather than trusting a summary, including this one. Then read the Legislative Council issue brief on the court case, because that is where the unbaked question is being argued. Write down what you plan to sell, check each item against the description of a baked good, and keep a copy of what you found with your records.
The rules can move while a case is open, so check again before you add a new category to your menu. Doing that once per season is enough, and it is a lot easier than finding out after you have taken a deposit.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Wisconsin?
As of November 2024, certain court orders prohibit enforcement of licensing requirements for home bakers who make baked goods that are not potentially hazardous. That is the current written position from DATCP, and it is worth reading in full before you start selling.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell?
No. Wisconsin sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales, so there is no annual cap you have to track.
What exactly is a baked good?
DATCP describes baked goods as generally exposed to dry heat, transferred via air, at a temperature above 140 F, to a food in a closed chamber such as an oven. The cooking method is what matters, not the name on the recipe.
Do the court orders cover unbaked foods too?
The court orders described by DATCP cover baked goods that are not potentially hazardous. Unbaked homemade foods that are not potentially hazardous were the subject of the challenge in Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP, so do not carry the baked goods answer over to a chilled or no bake item without checking first.
Where can I read the official material myself?
Two places. DATCP publishes a document on homemade baked goods, and the Wisconsin Legislative Council publishes an issue brief on the cottage food law and the court case. Both are linked below.
Sources
This is general information about the rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and court cases move. Read the official DATCP and Legislative Council material, and talk to a lawyer or your local health department about your own situation before you sell.