Quick answer: There is no such thing as a national cottage food permit. Your state does one of three things: requires nothing (Texas, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio cottage food track), requires a local registration (Illinois, California Class A), or requires a permit with a home kitchen inspection (California Class B, Ohio's optional home bakery track). This guide tells you which bucket you're in and exactly what to file.
Note: This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. Cottage food statutes change often — Georgia's rewrite took effect July 1, 2025, and Michigan and Illinois have both amended their caps recently. Verify with your state agency and your county health department before you sell. Each state section below links to our full guide with the primary sources.
What a cottage food permit actually is
A cottage food permit is a state or county authorization to produce non-potentially hazardous food in a private home kitchen and sell it directly to consumers, without the commercial licensing and inspection a food establishment would need. The business is a cottage food operation; the person running it is a cottage food operator.
The whole category exists to answer one question: how do you let someone sell banana bread without making them build a commercial kitchen? Every state's answer is a list of shelf-stable foods that can't grow dangerous bacteria at room temperature, plus a set of conditions.
What varies is the paperwork attached. That's the part nobody explains clearly, so here it is.
The three regulatory models
Every US cottage food regime is a variation on three models. Find yours before you go looking for a form that may not exist.
| Model | What you file | Inspection | Example states |
|---|---|---|---|
| No permit | Nothing with the state | None | Texas, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio (cottage food track) |
| Registration | A form with the state or county, usually annual | None | Illinois (county), California Class A |
| Permit + inspection | An application and fee | Yes, home kitchen inspected | California Class B, Ohio home bakery |
The bottom line: if you're in a no-permit state, the thing you're searching for doesn't exist and you're free to start. If you're in a registration state, the form lives with your county health department, not the state's website — which is why people can't find it.
Which states require what
Here is where the seven states we cover in depth actually land, with the numbers that matter most.
| State | Permit required? | Sales cap | Food safety training | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | No | $150,000/yr | Food handler's course (~$10–15) | Texas guide |
| Florida | No | $250,000/yr | None required | Florida guide |
| Michigan | No | $50,000/yr | None required | Michigan guide |
| Georgia | No (since 7/1/2025) | No cap | Food handler level | Georgia guide |
| Ohio (cottage food) | No | No cap | None required | Ohio guide |
| Ohio (home bakery) | Yes — $10/yr + inspection | No cap | Per ODA | Ohio guide |
| Illinois | Registration with county, annually | No cap | Certified food protection manager | Illinois guide |
| California Class A | County registration | ~$86,206/yr | Food processor course | California guide |
| California Class B | County permit + inspection | ~$172,411/yr | Food processor course | California guide |
And the five further states covered in our comparison table:
| State | Permit required? | Sales cap |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Free registration | No cap |
| Pennsylvania | Registration ($35) | No cap |
| North Carolina | Yes — application + inspection | No cap |
| Washington | Yes — permit + inspection (~$355) | $35,000/yr |
| Colorado | No (training course required) | $10,000 per product |
Two patterns worth noticing. Permit strictness and sales cap are not correlated — Georgia and Ohio require nothing and have no cap, while Michigan requires nothing but caps you at $50,000. And the trend is toward deregulation: Georgia abolished its $100 license and inspection in 2025, Michigan doubled its cap to $50,000, and Illinois removed its cap entirely under the Home-to-Market Act.
For all fifty states, start at our cottage food laws by state guide.
How to get a cottage food permit, step by step
The sequence is the same everywhere; only step 3 changes.
- Confirm your products qualify. Every state limits you to non-potentially hazardous, shelf-stable foods. Anything that needs refrigeration for safety — cheesecake, cream pies, custards, most cream cheese frostings — disqualifies the item, not just the sale. Florida additionally bans real-butter buttercream; Michigan permits only two approved buttercream recipes.
- Identify your regulator. State department of agriculture (Georgia, Ohio, Florida, Michigan), state health department (Texas), or your county health department (Illinois, California). Registration-state applicants almost always need the county, not the state.
- File the right thing. Nothing (no-permit states) / a registration form (Illinois, California Class A) / an application plus inspection scheduling (California Class B, Ohio home bakery).
- Complete required training before or alongside the filing — see the section below.
- Handle the local layer. Business license, DBA registration, and zoning are separate from cottage food status and apply in nearly every state.
- Build compliant labels. Business name and address (or state-issued ID number where offered), ingredients in descending order, net weight, allergens, and your state's required disclosure statement. Our cottage food labeling guide has the full anatomy.
- Sort insurance if you plan to vend. Not legally required, but markets and venues demand a certificate. See home bakery insurance.
- Keep records. Sales totals against your cap, training certificates, and label versions.
The training requirement people miss
Training requirements are independent of permit requirements — a state can demand zero paperwork and still require a course. Texas is the clearest example: no license, no registration, no inspection, but you must hold an accredited food handler's certificate, which costs about $10–15 and takes a couple of hours online.
The tiers, from lightest to heaviest:
- None — Florida, Michigan, Ohio cottage food
- Food handler — Texas, Georgia. Basic, online, cheap, a few hours.
- Food processor / cottage food course — California, for both Class A and Class B.
- Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) — Illinois. This is the serious one: a proctored ServSafe Manager–level certification, materially more expensive and time-consuming than a food handler card, and the person actually producing the food must hold it.
If you're in Illinois, budget for the CFPM before anything else — it's the long pole in your timeline.
Registration vs. permit vs. license: the words matter
These three terms get used interchangeably in blog posts and they are not the same thing.
- Registration — you tell the agency you exist. No discretion on their side, no inspection. California Class A, Illinois.
- Permit — the agency grants permission, typically after verifying something. California Class B, which includes a home kitchen inspection.
- License — the historical model, usually with an annual fee and renewal. Georgia's abolished $100 license was one; Ohio's $10/year home bakery registration is a light version.
Why it matters: searching for a "cottage food license" in a registration state returns nothing and people conclude they're not allowed to sell. In short: match the word to your state's model before you decide you've hit a wall.
When your paperwork stops being enough
A cottage food permit covers a specific, narrow activity. Step outside it and you need a food establishment license instead. Common triggers:
- Refrigerated products. Ohio's split is the clearest illustration: the free, no-permit cottage food track forbids them; the $10/year home bakery registration with an inspection allows them.
- Wholesale. California draws the line here — Class A is direct-to-consumer only, Class B adds sales through stores and restaurants. Georgia opened retail sales to all operators under HB 398, but individual cities and counties can opt out.
- Leaving your home kitchen. Rented or shared commercial kitchens generally void cottage food status. Georgia is explicit that these require a Food Sales Establishment license instead.
- Exceeding the cap. Texas at $150,000, Florida at $250,000, California Class A at roughly $86,206, Michigan at $50,000. Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois have no cap.
Plan the transition before you hit it, not after. Our startup cost guide covers what the next tier of equipment actually costs.
Related reading
- Cottage food laws by state: 2026 guide — the full fifty-state picture and how the caps compare.
- How to label cottage food baked goods — the disclosure statement every state requires, in the right format.
- Home bakery insurance: real 2026 costs — what markets require even when the state doesn't.
- How much does it cost to start a home bakery? — where permit fees and training sit in a year-one budget.
What to do next
- How to price baked goods: a cottage bakery formula — set prices before your first order, not after.
- How to sell baked goods online from home — which channels your permit tier actually allows.
- Essential baking tools for starting a home bakery — the equipment side, once the paperwork is done.
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