Delaware permits cottage food. A home baker applies to the Division of Public Health for a cottage food establishment permit, a $30 permit renewed for each year from April 1 to March 31, with a floor plan of the kitchen, the products and example labels, proof of training, and a pre-opening inspection. Only products on the Division's approved list are allowed, all of them not needing refrigeration: breads, cakes, cookies, fruit pies, jams, fudge, chocolates. Sales are direct to consumers in Delaware, at farmers markets, craft fairs and other approved venues; online sales aren't permitted, though online advertising is, and nothing goes to resellers or restaurants. Two details matter for records: every label carries a production date or lot number, and every batch is recorded with where it sold, kept three years. In the example below, a Seaford baker sorts six products. Below are the rules, the label, the records, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Apply to the Division of Public Health; the permit is $30, renewed each April 1.
- Send the products and example labels, a kitchen floor plan, proof of training, and a well test if you have a private well.
- The Division inspects before you open and adds you to the state registry of cottage food establishments.
- Only the specific products listed on your permit, all non-TCS; no cannabis or CBD.
- Direct sales to consumers in Delaware only; no online sales, resellers or restaurants.
- Display the permit at markets, fairs and other venues.
- Label: name, town and "Delaware", phone or email, product, net weight, production date or lot number, ingredients, allergens, and the statement.
- Keep a record of every batch, its lot number, and the date and place it sold, for three years.
- TaroStack keeps those batch records from the batches and orders. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What regulation 4458A says |
|---|---|
| Permit | $30, for a permit year running April 1 to March 31, renewed annually |
| Application | Owner and kitchen details; products, ingredients, example labels and processes; a kitchen floor plan; proof of training; venues |
| Inspection | One or more preoperational inspections, then more on complaints or illness |
| Kitchen | A residential-style kitchen in your permanent, primary residence |
| Products | Only those on the Division's approved list and on your permit; non-TCS |
| Sales | Directly to consumers in Delaware, without a retailer or other intermediary |
| Online | Online sales aren't permitted; online advertising and marketing are |
| Not allowed | Wholesale, sales to resellers or food establishments |
| Water | A private well tested within 60 days of applying |
| Records | Each batch's product, production date, lot number, and date and location of sales, kept three years |
The regulation is 16 DE Admin. Code 4458A, most recently amended in the May 2026 Register. The current text sets no gross sales cap. This is general information, not legal advice.
The label
| Line | What it says |
|---|---|
| Operation | Name of the cottage food establishment, town or city with "Delaware", and phone or email |
| Product | The name of the product |
| Quantity | Net weight or unit count |
| Date or lot | Date of production or lot number |
| Ingredients | In decreasing order by weight; on request if the label is too small |
| Allergens | The food source of each major allergen |
| Statement | "This food is made in a Cottage Food Establishment and is NOT subject to routine Government Food Safety Inspections" |
Everything is at least 10-point, in a color that contrasts with the label. How to work out the allergens in a recipe is in allergen matrix template.
The records
For every batch, a cottage food establishment records the type of finished product, the date of production, the lot number, and the date and location of sales, and keeps those records three years for the Division to see. The lot number or production date on the label ties a package back to its batch.
An example: a Seaford baker
Nanticoke Kitchen, a made-up cottage food establishment in Seaford, Delaware, I use in these examples, sells at two farmers markets and a holiday craft fair:
| Product | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Peach pie | Yes | Fruit pies |
| Strawberry jam | Yes | Jams and preserves |
| Chocolate lollipops | Yes | Non-TCS candy |
| Cream-filled cannoli | No | A TCS filling |
| Cookies ordered and paid online | No | Online sales aren't permitted |
| Cookies for a coffee shop | No | No resellers or food establishments |
Each batch gets a lot number that goes on its labels, and each market day's sales are written against the lots sold there. By September Nanticoke Kitchen had sold $24,900. How a home food business starts is in how to start a cottage food business, and which foods need refrigeration in TCS foods list.
Get the checklist
Download the Delaware cottage food checklist. Three sheets: the label, each line with a column for yours; products, each with whether it's allowed and why; and sales by month. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Delaware's records rule is a lot ledger: every batch, its lot number, and the date and place each was sold, for three years. Two markets and a fair a week, kept in a notebook, is the record the Division can ask to see.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps those batch records from the batches and orders.
Each batch a lot. Each batch gets a lot number with its production date, and lot labels print with them, so the label's lot number and the record match.
Sales by date and place. Each market day's sales can be an order under that market's name, with its date and the lots it included; TaroStack connects to Square for market sales.
Three years, exported. Batches, lots and orders stay on record, and every list exports to CSV when the Division asks.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A batch's lot number and date | Written in a log | The batch's lot, on printed labels |
| Where and when a lot sold | Written by hand | Orders with dates and lots |
| Three years of records | Boxes of notebooks | Exported to CSV |
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.