Cottage food rules
New Georgia Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Need
What changed for Georgia home bakers, and what still applies to your kitchen.
On this page
What to remember
- House Bill 398 took effect on July 1, 2025.
- The state licensing requirement for cottage food operators is gone.
- Georgia sets no limit on your gross sales or on how many units you make.
- Your city or county can still block sales through grocery stores and restaurants.
If you bake from your kitchen in Georgia and sell what you make, the rules you are working under changed on July 1, 2025. Some of what used to slow bakers down is gone. Some of it moved down the road to your city or county. If you want to compare notes with a nearby state, our guide to new cottage food laws in South Carolina is a useful read.
What House Bill 398 changed
House Bill 398 is the law behind the change, and it went into effect on July 1, 2025. The biggest shift is that the state licensing requirement for cottage food operators is gone. In its place is a system built on self regulation, with simplified labeling and expanded business opportunities for people who bake at home.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture does not cap your gross sales, and it does not cap the number of units you produce. If you want to bake more, sell more, and take on bigger orders, there is no state ceiling sitting over you. That is a real change in what a home baking business can look like in this state.
Practically, that means the decision about how big your baking gets is yours. You can take a larger holiday order, add a second market day, or say yes to a standing weekly order without checking a state limit first. What you cannot skip is the work that keeps your kitchen and your labels in order.
What Georgia still asks of you
The license is gone. The expectations around clean work and honest labels are not. The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s cottage food page provides information and rules about labeling, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, and ingredients for cottage food sellers, and it is the page to read before you print a single label. The state’s Cottage Food Safety directives are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08.
If labels are the part you dread, start with the basics: what the item is, who made it, and where. Our walkthrough of Indiana cottage food label requirements is a useful side by side while you word your own.
Selling to shops, restaurants, and other third parties
This is the part of HB 398 that catches bakers out. Selling straight to your customers is one thing. Selling your cakes and breads through a grocery store or a restaurant is another, and it is exactly the sale your city or county can block by ordinance. Ask the business you want to supply what they need from you, then call your city or county office and ask whether an ordinance is in place before you promise a delivery date. If you sell across state lines or have family in another state, our look at new cottage food laws in Texas shows how one state handles the same question.
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The short version: the state license is behind you, there is no sales cap, and the work now sits with you and your local officials. Read the Department of Agriculture’s cottage food pages once, keep your labels clean, and check your city or county before you sell through anyone but yourself. That is enough to keep most Georgia home bakers out of trouble and back at the oven.
Common questions
Do I still need a license to sell cottage food in Georgia?
No. House Bill 398 removed the state licensing requirement for cottage food operators and replaced it with a system that emphasizes self regulation, simplified labeling, and expanded business opportunities.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell?
The Georgia Department of Agriculture does not have any limits on gross sales or on the number of units that can be produced by cottage food operators.
Can I sell my bakes in a grocery store or a restaurant?
It depends on where you live. Under HB 398, each city or county in Georgia may pass an ordinance prohibiting cottage food operators from selling cottage food items through third party vendors such as grocery stores and restaurants.
When did the new Georgia rules start?
House Bill 398 went into effect on July 1, 2025.
Where do I find the labeling and food safety rules?
The Georgia Department of Agriculture's cottage food page provides information and rules about labeling, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, and ingredients for cottage food vendors. The state's Cottage Food Safety directives are excerpted from Agriculture Rule 40-7-19-.08.
Sources
This is general information about Georgia cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules can change, and your city or county may have its own ordinance. Check with the Georgia Department of Agriculture and your local officials about your own situation.