Cottage food laws by state.
Every US state plus DC has a cottage food law. They range from "Freedom" — sell almost anything direct, no cap — to "Poor" — significant restrictions. Pick your state for the full breakdown.
All 50 US states plus Washington DC have a cottage food law that lets you sell certain home-baked goods without a commercial kitchen. Rules vary widely — some states allow unlimited direct sales of almost anything, others cap revenue and restrict products to shelf-stable items. Crosodo covers all 51 jurisdictions with statute citations, sales caps, allowed products, registration requirements, and the local zoning overlay your county or city adds on top.
Freedom
8 jurisdictionsSell almost anything direct to consumer, no sales cap. Often called “food freedom” laws — these states have removed most restrictions on home-prepared food sales. Examples: Wyoming, Utah, Maine, North Dakota, Iowa.
Great
12 jurisdictionsNo or very high sales cap, broad product list, multiple sales channels including retail and online. The next-best tier — most cottage bakers can run a meaningful side business or full-time operation here. Examples: Alaska, Texas, Vermont, Colorado, Minnesota.
Good
19 jurisdictionsSolid law with moderate restrictions — typically a high cap (often $50,000+) and standard direct-to-consumer rules. Workable for most home bakers with reasonable scale plans. Examples: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois.
The Cottage Baker's Field Guide (PDF)
A summary of rules in all 51 jurisdictions for cottage bakers.
Download the PDFOkay
9 jurisdictionsSales caps under $25,000 and/or limited sales channels. Operable but constrained — you'll likely outgrow the rules if you want to go full-time. Examples: Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee.
Poor
3 jurisdictionsHeavy restrictions on products, channels, or permits. Often requires inspections or commercial-kitchen rental, which defeats the cottage food premise. Examples: Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island.
About this directory.
How often does this directory update?+
What do the five tiers mean?+
Where does this data come from?+
How do I verify my specific state's rules?+
How we classify states.
Crosodo's tier system rests on three pillars: (1) breadth of allowed products, (2) the height of any sales cap, and (3) the number of permitted sales channels (direct, online, retail, wholesale). We weight all three and round to a five-tier scale.
We also publish each state's letter grade from the Institute for Justice's Cottage Food Report — an economic-liberty evaluation that tracks closely with our tier but uses a slightly different methodology.
Where this data comes from.
Cottage food laws are amended every legislative session. Tell us if you spot an outdated link — support@crosodo.com.