Maryland’s cottage food cap is $100,000 from October 1, 2026
HB0535 / Chapter 320 takes effect October 1, 2026 and raises the cottage food annual revenue maximum from $50,000 to $100,000. The Maryland Department of Health guidelines PDF still shows $50,000. The statute controls.
If you already sell cottage food from a Maryland home kitchen, the change is one number. Stay at or under the statutory annual-revenue maximum and you can still be a cottage food business. The General Assembly raised that maximum. The health department’s printed guide has not caught up yet.
What the chapter actually changes
The enrolled chapter is short. It repeals and reenacts Health – General §21-301(b-1) with one bracketed swap: annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products may not exceed [$50,000] $100,000. The definition of a cottage food product in §21-301(b-2) is reprinted without amendment. Section 2 is the effective date: October 1, 2026. The governor approved the bill as Chapter 320 on April 28, 2026.
- Law
- HB0535 / Chapter 320 (2026 Regular Session)
- Title
- Food Establishments - Cottage Food Businesses - Maximum Annual Revenue
- Statute
- Health – General §21-301(b-1)
- Old maximum
- $50,000 annual revenue from cottage food products
- New maximum
- $100,000 annual revenue from cottage food products
- Effective
- October 1, 2026
- Official bill page
- https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0535/?ys=2026rs
- Chapter PDF
- https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/chapters_noln/Ch_320_hb0535T.pdf
The chapter does not change what you may bake, how you must label, or where you may sell. Those rules still live in COMAR 10.15.03.27 and the MDH guidelines. This post does not fill those gaps.
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The MDH PDF is behind the statute
The Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses on health.maryland.gov still define a cottage food business as one whose annual revenues from cottage food products do not exceed $50,000, citing COMAR 10.15.03.02B(17-1). That PDF was the live department guide as of September 29, 2026. Crosodo is not waiting for a new PDF before telling you what the General Assembly enacted.
Agency guides help, and they can lag. From October 1, the statute is the number that counts. If MDH later posts an updated guide, we will cite that page. Until then, do not stay under $50,000 only because the old PDF still says so — and do not invent other changes the chapter did not make.
What this means in the kitchen
- If your cottage-food revenue stays under $100,000 after October 1, you still fit the statutory cottage-food-business definition on that one number.
- If you were approaching $50,000 this year, re-read the chapter and decide with MDH or a lawyer how the year is counted. The official text does not spell out a mid-year pro-rate.
- Keep following MDH rules on allowed foods, labels, and retail-store review. Chapter 320 did not rewrite those.
- County zoning, business licenses, and market rules are still separate.
Official sources
Every figure here comes from the General Assembly chapter and bill page, last checked September 30, 2026, and from the MDH guidelines PDF still posted on that date.
- HB0535 / Chapter 320 — official bill page
- Chapter 320 enrolled PDF
- MDH Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (2025 PDF)
- Maryland HB 535 bill write-up
- Crosodo Maryland state guide
- Selling cottage food in Maryland
Has annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products in an amount not exceeding [$50,000] $100,000.
That is Health – General §21-301(b-1)(3) as printed in Chapter 320. Not legal advice.
Crosodo Journal entries are recipe, craft, and cottage-food notes for home bakers. Recipes assume an active starter and basic equipment. Cottage food sales are governed by your state's law — start with the free state directory, check a product with Can I sell this?, or grab a label template. Not legal advice.
