Commercial kitchen requirements by state

You hit your state's sales cap. Caps range from $10,000 to unlimited. Past the cap, home production of exempt foods stops being legal — you either scale down or move into a licensed facility.

You want to sell wholesale. Selling to restaurants, coffee shops, or grocery stores is “indirect sales.” Many cottage food laws allow only direct-to-consumer sales; wholesale almost always requires a licensed commercial kitchen.

You ship across state lines. Federal FDA rules apply to interstate commerce regardless of your state's exemption — most cottage bakers who mail product nationally need a licensed operation.

You make refrigerated (“TCS”) foods. Cheesecake, custards, cream-filled pastries, fresh salsas — these need temperature control and are outside nearly every cottage food exemption. Making them requires a permitted kitchen wherever you are.

What a commercial kitchen adds: plan review with your health department, permit/licensing fees (typically $100–$1,000/yr), scheduled inspections, certified food manager on staff, commercial-grade sinks/refrigeration/surfaces, and labeling under full FDA Food Code instead of a home-kitchen disclaimer.

Middle options: renting hours in a shared-use or incubator kitchen gives you a licensed facility without building one. Some states also have micro-enterprise home kitchen programs (MEHKO) that sit between cottage food and full licensure — California, Utah, and Wyoming run the largest ones.