California's cottage food law lets a home kitchen make foods from the state's approved foods list, foods that don't need refrigeration, such as breads, cookies, candy, jams and dried fruit, in two classes. A Class A operation registers with its county environmental health department and sells only directly to consumers, in person, online, by mail or delivery, anywhere in California, up to $88,878 in 2026. A Class B operation gets a county permit and can also sell indirectly, through shops, cafés and restaurants, up to $177,756. Both limits rise with inflation each January. Every operation completes cottage food training within three months of registering, follows the home kitchen rules, and labels its food with "Made in a Home Kitchen". In the example below, a Fresno baker outgrows Class A. Below are the classes, the foods, the label, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Make only foods on CDPH's approved cottage foods list.
- Class A: register with the county; direct sales only, in person, online, by mail or delivery, within California.
- Class B: county permit; direct sales and sales through permitted shops and restaurants.
- 2026 limits: $88,878 for Class A, $177,756 for Class B, adjusted every January.
- Training within three months of registering or getting the permit.
- No more than one full-time-equivalent employee outside the family or household.
- Label: name, city and zip, "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type, the registration number and county, ingredients, net quantity in both units, allergens.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and the shops it went to. More below.
The two classes
| Class A | Class B | |
|---|---|---|
| From the county | Registration and a self-certification checklist | A permit |
| Sales | Direct to consumers only | Direct, and indirect through permitted retailers |
| How direct sales can be filled | In person, by mail, or third-party delivery, within the state | The same |
| 2026 gross annual sales limit | $88,878 | $177,756 |
The classes and sales rules are on CDPH's requirements page (CDPH), and the 2026 limits on its adjusted limit sheet (CDPH 2026 limits), which shows the law's $75,000 and $150,000 raised each year since 2022. CDPH keeps the foods list; the county registers or permits. This is general information, not legal advice.
What you can make
The approved list (CDPH approved foods) runs by category: baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings; candy and confections; certain extracts; dried and freeze-dried foods; frostings and icings without eggs, cream or cream cheese; honey; jams and jellies that meet the federal standard; nuts and nut butters; powdered drink mixes; vinegar and mustard. Pies are fruit only. Anything needing refrigeration is out. Which foods need time and temperature control is in TCS foods list.
The label
| Line | What it says |
|---|---|
| Product name | The common or descriptive name, on the front |
| Maker | The name, city and zip code; a street address too if you're not in a current directory |
| Home kitchen | "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type on the front |
| Registration | The registration or permit number and the issuing county |
| Ingredients | In descending order by weight |
| Net quantity | In both English and metric units |
| Allergens | The major food allergens, in a Contains statement or in the ingredient list |
All seven are on CDPH's labeling sheet (CDPH labeling). How to write the allergen line is in allergen matrix template.
An example: a Fresno baker moves to Class B
Valley Oak Bakeshop, a made-up home baker in Fresno, California, I use in these examples, started as Class A at a farmers market and online, then a coffee shop asked to stock its bread:
| Product | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sourdough bread | Yes | Baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings |
| Fruit empanadas | Yes | Fruit filling |
| Beef empanadas | No | Meat filling |
| Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting | No | Cream cheese frostings aren't on the list; a buttercream without eggs or cream is |
| Pumpkin pie | No | Pies are fruit only |
| Apricot jam | Yes | A jam meeting the federal standard |
The coffee shop is an indirect sale, so Valley Oak got a Class B permit from Fresno County. By September it had sold $109,000, past Class A's $88,878 and 61% of Class B's $177,756, so the move came in time. How a cottage food business starts is in how to start a cottage food business.
Get the checklist
Download the California cottage food checklist. Three sheets: the label, each line CDPH asks for with a column for yours; products, each with whether it's allowed and why; and sales by month against the Class B limit, red past 90%. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Class B means two channels: market and online customers, and a café that orders every week. The sales limit is verifiable gross sales, so the year's total has to be right, and a notebook with market cash, online orders and café invoices in three places isn't.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and the shops it went to.
Each batch dated. A batch of sourdough gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and lot labels print with it.
Customers and orders. The coffee shop is a customer with its own orders, and each order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows where a batch went.
Sales in one place. Orders from the café and the website sit together; TaroStack connects to Square for market sales, so the year's total against the limit comes from the records.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A batch's date | Written on the bag | The batch's lot and dates |
| Which batch went to the café | Not recorded | Recorded with each order |
| The year's verifiable sales | Added up from three places | From the records |
Lots, batches, orders and lot labels are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.