California cottage food law: Class A, Class B and what you may sell

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and counties add their own. Check with your state and county before you start selling.

"Cottage food" is the term most states use for food made in a home kitchen and sold directly to customers. What it covers, and whether your state uses the phrase at all, differs by state.

What you can sell: the approved list and nothing else

California does not let you reason your way to a product. CDPH maintains the Approved Cottage Food List, and if your food is not on it, it is not a cottage food — even if it is shelf-stable and obviously safe.

The list covers the familiar ground: baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings; candy; dried fruit; granola and trail mix; jams and jellies; nut butters; popcorn; roasted coffee; dry spice and tea blends; vinegar and mustard; waffle cones and pizzelles.

There is a route for something not on it: CDPH takes requests to add a food, on form CDPH 8764. It is a real process with a real wait, not a formality.

If you want to cook hot meals to order — not shelf-stable products — that is a different program called MEHKO, a microenterprise home kitchen operation, permitted county by county where the county has opted in. It is not covered by this page.

Class A or Class B: which one are you?

First, who you go to: "All CFOs are registered or permitted at the local level. CDPH does not permit or register CFOs." Your county’s environmental health department is the door. CDPH, CFO Requirements

Class A — registration

Register with the local agency and submit a completed self-certification checklist. Direct sales only — but anywhere in the state.

Class A — inspection

Not subject to initial or routine inspections.

Class B — permit

A permit from the local agency, with an initial inspection and annual inspections after that.

Class B — sales

Direct and indirect: through restaurants, shops and markets, anywhere in the state.

Both

Renew annually. Complete the approved operator training. Label correctly. Stay under your limit.

Fees are set by your county, not the state, so they differ — ask your own environmental health department what registration or a permit costs there.

One size rule worth knowing: a cottage food operation may have no more than one full-time-equivalent employee, not counting family or household members.

The sales limits — the real 2026 numbers

Almost every page you will find says $75,000 and $150,000. Those are the figures written into Health and Safety Code 113758 — and the same section says they are "annually adjusted for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index."

CDPH publishes the adjusted table. Effective 1 January 2026:

Class A, 2026

$88,878 gross annual sales

Class B, 2026

$177,756 gross annual sales

Adjustment

3.1%, from the 2024–2025 average CPI. CDPH, CFO Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit 2026

Check that PDF each January rather than trusting a number in an article — including this one.

Where you can sell — and yes, online counts

California’s definition of a direct sale is unusually generous, and it is written out on the CDPH page:

A direct sale is a transaction within the state between you and a consumer. It "may be fulfilled in person, via mail delivery, or using any other third-party delivery service," and it includes "transactions made via the phone, internet, or any other digital method."

So: an order page, a phone order, a delivery driver, a posted parcel — all direct sales, all fine for a Class A operation, as long as the sale is inside California.

An indirect sale is the one that needs Class B: your product sold to a customer by a permitted third-party retailer — a shop, a café, a restaurant.

What has to be on the label

From CDPH’s labeling requirements (revised January 2025):

• the common or descriptive name of the product, on the principal display panel;
• your operation’s name, city and zip code — a street address too, if you are not listed in a current telephone directory;
• the words "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type on the principal display panel;
• your registration or permit number, and the name of the county that issued it;
• the ingredients, in descending order of weight, if there are two or more;
• the net quantity, in both US and metric units;
• a plain-language allergen declaration — milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soy.

Nutrition facts panels are generally not required unless you make a nutrient content or health claim — at which point they are.

Operator training

Required for both classes: a CDPH-approved Cottage Food Operator Training, completed within three months of registration or permitting.

The kitchen rules, which are stricter than most states

CDPH lists six operational requirements that apply to every cottage food operation:

• no cottage food preparation, packaging or handling at the same time as family meals, dishwashing, clothes washing, ironing, kitchen cleaning or entertaining guests;
• no infants, small children or pets in the kitchen while you are working;
• equipment and utensils cleaned and kept in good repair;
• all food contact surfaces washed, rinsed and sanitised before each use;
• preparation and storage areas kept free of vermin;
• no smoking in those areas while cottage food is being prepared, packaged, stored or handled.

Class A is not inspected, which does not make these optional — they are what your self-certification checklist says you are doing.

Sales tax

Ask the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration whether what you sell is taxable and whether you need a seller’s permit. We do not print a rate here, because California’s varies by district and changes.

Official sources

• Cottage Food Operation RequirementsCalifornia Department of Public Health
• Cottage Food Operations — overviewCalifornia Department of Public Health
• CFO Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit 2026 (PDF)California Department of Public Health
• Approved Cottage Food List (PDF)California Department of Public Health
• Labeling Requirements for Cottage Food Products (PDF)California Department of Public Health
• Cottage Food Operator TrainingCalifornia Department of Public Health
• Health and Safety Code 113758California Legislative Information
• Seller’s permits and sales taxCalifornia Department of Tax and Fee Administration

Last verified: 30 October 2026. Every number on this page is linked to the official page it comes from.

Questions people actually ask

Other states

• GeorgiaNo state license since July 2025 · no revenue cap
• TexasNo permit · $150,000 cap · you must deliver online orders yourself
• FloridaNo permit · $250,000 cap · mail order allowed by statute
• New YorkFree exemption, up to 16 weeks to be reviewed · no revenue cap · in-state only
• IllinoisRegister locally · no sales cap · online sales and in-state shipping allowed
• North CarolinaHome Processor program · kitchen inspected before you sell · an indoor pet disqualifies the kitchen
• New Jersey$100 permit for 2 years · $50,000 cap · NJ residents only, nothing in the post
• PennsylvaniaLimited Food Establishment · $35 a year · inspected · internet sales included
• ArizonaNo sales cap · refrigerated foods allowed · Arizona only, and TCS goes hand to hand

Tools

• Pricing calculator for home bakersWhat to charge, with your own numbers
• Price list templateFill it in, print it, hand it over — free, nothing saved

More guides

• How to start a home bakeryThe practical order: rules, product, price, photos, packaging, orders, first customers