Get your county’s answer and checklist in 60 seconds: the sales cap, the permit, the labels, and what you can sell — then the steps to your first legal sale.
Most bakers start at home and work toward cottage food. Pick your state to see what each step unlocks, what it takes, and the one guide for it. Your dashboard tracks where you are on this path.
Gifts, potlucks, the office bake sale. No money changes hands yet, so you haven't needed a legal path. Once you start taking money, move up a level.
Non-TCS shelf-stable foods from private homes including candies, jams, jellies (not low-acid/acidified), dried fruits, dry herbs, dry seasonings, dry mixtures, nuts, vinegars, popcorn, cott…
Cheesecake, cream pies, and selling into stores need a VDACS permit and an inspection of your home kitchen, or a rented commercial kitchen.
A commercial space, a storefront, or wholesale at scale. You're a licensed food business now: more paperwork, and no sales cap.
Every state and county guide stays free. One subscription unlocks the full library, the dashboard permit path, and the Verified badge — no per-report buying.
Not legal advice. Verify current rules with your state agency and county before you sell.
Cottage food is the usual name for selling certain homemade foods from a private kitchen under a simpler state rule. It is not a restaurant license and not a rented-kitchen permit. States do not share one name. Virginia calls the food side a “home food processor.” New York says “home processor.” Massachusetts says “residential kitchen.” New Hampshire says “homestead food.” Indiana says “home-based vendor.” California registers a “cottage food operation” at the county.
Each state page cites the statute, the sales cap, allowed product categories, registration, and the agency that publishes the rule. Tiers (Freedom through Poor) are Crosodo's reading of how broad the product list is, how high any cap sits, and which sales channels are allowed. They are not a government rating.
Registration often happens at the county. These 30 counties cover about 30% of the US population. We track all 3,143: home-occupation and zoning notes, health-department links, the free county report, and the county rules quiz.
Markets, zoning, labels, and how people actually got legal — seed threads you can join today.
Booth fees, applications, sampling rules, and what managers really check for cottage food labels.
Thermal vs. inkjet, waterproof stock, and shops that already know cottage food disclaimers.
Home occupation permits, HOA pushback, customer pickup rules, and what planning actually said.
Price points, product mix, and seasonal hits from bakers who are already legal.
Share your registration path, timeline, and the unexpected snag — help the next baker.
Stuck on a state or county rule? Post a question — the Crosodo team and local bakers reply.
We're not a law firm. But we think home bakers deserve better resources. So we collected the notes that we wanted to help us launch our home microbakery.
