A "cottage food license" means different things in different states, and in a lot of them it doesn't exist at all. Every state's cottage food law lets you make some foods at home and sell them, often shelf-stable ones such as baked goods, jams and candy, and each state picks one of three approaches: no license at all, only rules on the label, the sales and the foods; a registration with the state, often with a small fee and food safety training; or a permit with a home kitchen inspection. Whatever the approach, there's a label with a statement that the food was made at home, a list of allowed foods, limits on where and how you sell, and in many states a yearly sales cap. Florida and Idaho need no license; Minnesota and Utah want a registration; Texas wants one only for foods that need refrigeration. In the example below, a Minnesota home cook keeps its registration current. Below are six states compared, Minnesota's rules, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Cottage food laws let you make some foods at home and sell them, often shelf-stable ones.
- States take one of three approaches: no license, a registration, or a permit with an inspection.
- Registrations often bring a small fee and food safety training.
- Every state has a label statement, a list of allowed foods and limits on how you sell.
- Many states cap yearly sales.
- Florida and Idaho: no license. Minnesota and Utah: a registration. Texas: registration only for refrigerated foods.
- Local business licenses and zoning can still apply.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's date and the year's sales toward the cap. More below.
Six states compared
| State | License? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | No permit, under F.S. 500.80 | Up to $250,000 a year; online and mail order; no wholesale |
| Idaho | No license, permit or inspection since March 20, 2026 | Shelf-stable and perishable homemade food; sold within Idaho; records of each sale |
| Minnesota | Yearly registration with the Department of Agriculture, and training | Up to $78,000 a year; changes from August 1, 2027 |
| Texas | None for most foods; a registration for foods that need refrigeration | Up to $150,000 a year, adjusted for inflation |
| Utah | Cottage food registration, with a food handler permit and inspection; or the Homemade Food Act with a business license | Registration allows sales to stores; the Homemade Food Act is in person only |
| Wisconsin | No license for home-canned pickles and acidic foods at markets and events | Under $5,000 a year under Wis. Stat. 97.29 |
Each state has its own article: Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. How a cottage food business starts is in how to start a cottage food business. This is general information, not legal advice.
Minnesota's rules
| Rule | Minn. Stat. 28A.152 |
|---|---|
| Foods | Foods that aren't potentially hazardous, and home-canned pickles, vegetables and fruits at pH 4.6 or below or water activity 0.85 or below |
| Who | An individual, a sole proprietor, or a one- or two-person LLC at one residence |
| Registration | Every year with the commissioner |
| Training | An approved course before registering, at most eight hours, repeated every three years |
| Label | Name and registration number or address, date made, ingredients and allergens, and "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection." |
| Sign and website | The same sentence at the point of sale and on the website |
| Limit | $78,000 of gross receipts a calendar year |
| Local rules | Business licensing, zoning and sanitation ordinances still apply |
The statute is 28A.152; its current text includes the 2025 changes that take effect August 1, 2027, including a flat $30 registration fee and delivery by mail.
An example: a Two Harbors home cook
North Shore Pantry, the made-up cottage food producer in Two Harbors, Minnesota, I use in these examples, sells wild rice bread, krumkake, lingonberry jam and dill pickles at a summer farmers market and online, delivered in person:
| Layer | Status |
|---|---|
| Cottage food registration | Renewed January 12, 2026 |
| Food safety training | January 2025; due again by January 2028 |
| Label | Name, registration number, date made, ingredients, allergens, the homemade statement |
| Sign and website | The statement on the stand's sign and the order page |
| Sales limit | About $21,400 by September, 27% of $78,000 |
| Delivery | In person until the August 2027 changes allow mail |
| Local rules | The city's home business rules checked |
| Product liability insurance | Renews May 1, 2027 |
The registration is the easy part; the yearly cap and the label's date made are the parts that need records. The rest is in Minnesota cottage food law.
Get the checklist
Download the cottage food license checklist. One sheet: each layer, who issues it, what it is, whether you need it, the cost, the date done and the renewal date; the status and the total cost fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A date made on every jar and loaf, and a sales total that has to stay under the cap: a checklist doesn't keep either.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's date, and the year's sales toward the cap.
Each batch dated. A batch of jam or bread gets a lot with its production date, and lot labels print with it, so the date made on the label comes from the batch.
The year's sales. Sales are kept by product and date, so the year's gross receipts against the cap are a report, not a shoebox of receipts.
Where it went. Each order records the lots it got, so a question about one jar leads to its batch.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The date made on a jar | Written by hand | From the batch's lot |
| Sales toward the cap | Added up in December | Sales reports |
| Which customers got a batch | Order emails | One recall report |
Lots, batches and sales 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.