What Are the Cottage Food Laws in Michigan?

On this page

1. Where the rules actually come from
2. What to confirm before you sell
3. Get the answer in writing
4. Selling and getting paid
5. Mistakes that cost home bakers money
6. Check again every year

If you are baking in your kitchen and you want to turn those bakes into real income, this is the first thing to settle. Not your logo. Not your boxes. The rules.

I am not going to hand you a list of numbers copied from another blog post. Numbers get revised, and a stale number can cost you a fine or a refunded order. What I can do is tell you exactly what to check, who to ask, and what to do with the answers once you have them.

Where the rules actually come from

Michigan’s cottage food rules are state rules. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) keeps a cottage food page on the state site, and that page is where you start.

Our own walkthrough of Michigan’s Cottage Food Law PA 113 is a good companion read. Use it to understand what the law is doing, then use the state page for the current details.

What to confirm before you sell

1. 1

   Ask what you are allowed to make

   Ask MDARD which foods are allowed under the cottage food rules and which ones are not. Get an answer for each item you plan to sell, not just for cakes in general. Our guide on which food cannot be sold under the cottage food law helps you build that list.

2. 2

   Ask where you can sell

   Confirm whether you can sell from your home, at a farmers market, at a craft fair, or online. Each venue can have its own answer, and a yes for one does not carry over to another.

3. 3

   Ask how to label

   Ask what has to appear on the label and on your packaging. Write the wording down exactly. A sticker you print two hundred times is expensive to redo.

4. 4

   Ask about a sales limit

   Ask whether there is a yearly sales limit and what counts toward it. Get the current figure from the state rather than from a group chat.

5. 5

   Ask what records to keep

   Ask what you need to keep and for how long. A simple folder and a spreadsheet are usually enough, but confirm what is expected of you.

Get the answer in writing

If you are unsure whether you even need a permit for what you are doing, start with Do I Need a License to Sell Baked Goods from Home. It walks through the questions that decide it.

Selling and getting paid

Settling the rules is one job. Taking orders is a different job, and it is the one that actually brings money in.

With Brevl you take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, and you can also take Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. It is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, there is a 14 day free trial, and it works on your phone and on a computer.

Mistakes that cost home bakers money

Check again every year

Put a reminder in your phone to look at the state’s cottage food page once a year, and any time you add a new product or a new place to sell. If your business grows past what the cottage food rules cover, that is a good problem, but it means a different set of requirements, and you want to find that out before you are mid season with a full order book.

Sources

1. michigan.gov

This is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change. Confirm the current requirements with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development before you sell.