Ohio cottage food law: selling food from home
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.
The short answer
Yes, and Ohio asks less of you than most states: the rules impose no license on a cottage food operation and set no limit on what you can earn. What they do impose is a list.
Ohio works from a closed list of approved products. Rule 901:3-20-05 prohibits producing "food items not expressly listed" — so the question is never whether your product is safe, it is whether it is on the list. Two other rules decide how you operate: every label must carry the words "This product is home produced." in ten-point type, and you may not "Sell cottage food products outside the state of Ohio."
The list — and it is the whole list
Rule 901:3-20-04(A) approves these, and rule 901:3-20-05(E) prohibits anything else:
- Non-potentially hazardous bakery products
- Jams and jellies
- Candy
- Flavored honey and maple sugar, from exempt producers
- Fruit butters and chutneys
- Granola
- Popcorn
- Roasted coffee
- Dry baking mixes
- Dry herbs and seasoning blends
- Dry soup mixes
- Dry tea blends
If it is not on that list, it is not a cottage food in Ohio — however harmless it looks. That is a different test from the one most states use, and it is the thing to check before you build a menu.
You also may not "Process potentially hazardous foods" or "Process acidified and low acid canned food", and there is one packaging rule worth knowing: "Cottage food products may not be packed using reduced oxygen packaging." OAC 901:3-20
No license in the rules — and what that does not mean
Chapter 901:3-20 imposes no license, no registration and no fee on a cottage food operation, and there is no kitchen inspection in it. What the Department of Agriculture keeps is the right to take samples of your product under rule 901:3-20-03, to check it is not adulterated or misbranded.
One honest caveat. We are telling you what this chapter says. The absence of a license requirement in these rules is not the same as a statement that nothing anywhere in Ohio law applies to you — your city or county may still have zoning or local rules, and those are a separate question. Check your local authority before you start.
How much can you sell, and where
- Annual limit
- None. The chapter sets no cap on gross receipts.
- Direct to customers
- Yes.
- Shops and restaurants
- Yes, which is unusual. Products labeled under this chapter may be offered by a retail food establishment or food service operation "licensed under Chapter 3717. of the Revised Code". OAC 901:3-20-02(B)
- Outside Ohio
- Prohibited. Rule 901:3-20-05(F): "Sell cottage food products outside the state of Ohio."
- Online and shipping inside Ohio
- The chapter does not address either one. We will not read permission into silence — ask the Ohio Department of Agriculture before you set up a cart or post a box.
So Ohio is generous about who you may sell to — a bakery or a restaurant may stock you, which New Jersey and Washington both forbid — and strict about where: the state line is the edge.
What has to be on the label
ORC 3715.023 sets the contents, and rule 901:3-20-02(A) adds the federal requirements in 21 CFR Part 101. Every package carries:
- the name and address of the business;
- the name of the food product;
- the ingredients, "in descending order of predominance by weight";
- the net weight and volume;
- and this statement, in ten-point type:
This product is home produced.
Ten-point is a specific instruction, not a suggestion — it is in the statute. ORC 3715.023
Food safety training
Chapter 901:3-20 does not require a course or a certificate for a cottage food operation.
That is what the rules say, and we are not going to invent a requirement that is not in them. It is still the cheapest insurance you can buy, particularly if you are selling into a shop or a restaurant, where your product sits beside inspected food.
Is your kitchen inspected?
Not under this chapter. There is no routine inspection of a cottage food operation in it.
What there is instead is sampling: rule 901:3-20-03 lets the Department take samples of your product, and rule 901:3-20-05(D) makes refusing them a prohibition. So the scrutiny in Ohio falls on what comes out of the kitchen rather than on the room — which is also why the label rules are specific down to the type size. OAC 901:3-20-03
Sales tax
No license does not mean no tax. Whether what you sell is taxable, and whether you need to register to collect, belongs to the Ohio Department of Taxation — search for it by name rather than following a link from us, because its site answers automated checks with a 404 and we will not ship a link we could not confirm resolves. We are not going to print a rate either.
Official sources
- OAC Chapter 901:3-20 — Cottage Food OperationsOhio Administrative Code
- ORC 3715.023 — label requirementsOhio Revised Code
Last verified: 31 October 2026. Every number on this page is linked to the official page it comes from.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a license to sell food from home in Ohio?
Chapter 901:3-20 of the Administrative Code imposes none on a cottage food operation — no license, no registration, no fee and no kitchen inspection. The Department of Agriculture keeps the right to take samples of your product. That is what the rules say; your city or county may still have zoning or local requirements, which is a separate question worth asking locally.
How much can I sell in a year in Ohio?
There is no cap. The chapter sets no limit on gross receipts, which puts Ohio with Georgia, New York, Illinois and Arizona among the states on this site with no ceiling at all. Virginia sets none on its low-risk foods either, though it caps acidified vegetables and honey separately.
What can I actually make?
Only what is on the list in rule 901:3-20-04(A): non-potentially hazardous bakery products, jams, jellies, candy, flavored honey and maple sugar from exempt producers, fruit butters and chutneys, granola, popcorn, roasted coffee, dry baking mixes, dry herbs and seasoning blends, dry soup mixes and dry tea blends. Rule 901:3-20-05 prohibits producing food items not expressly listed, so in Ohio the test is whether your product is on the list — not whether it is safe.
Can I sell my products to a shop or a restaurant?
Yes, and that is unusual. A retail food establishment or food service operation licensed under Chapter 3717 of the Revised Code may offer products labeled under the cottage food rules. New Jersey and Washington both forbid exactly this, so it is a real advantage of operating in Ohio.
Can I ship my baked goods to another state?
No. Rule 901:3-20-05(F) prohibits selling cottage food products outside the state of Ohio, and that is stated without qualification.
Can I sell online within Ohio?
The chapter does not address online sales or shipping inside Ohio at all. It bans out-of-state sales and is silent on the rest, and we are not going to tell you that silence means yes. Ask the Ohio Department of Agriculture before you set up a cart.
What exactly goes on my label?
Your business name and address, the product name, the ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight, the net weight and volume, and the statement "This product is home produced." in ten-point type. Federal labeling under 21 CFR Part 101 applies as well. The ten-point instruction is in the statute, so it is not a style choice.
Other states
- GeorgiaNo state license since July 2025 · no revenue cap
- TexasNo permit · $150,000 cap · you must deliver online orders yourself
- CaliforniaCounty registration · $88,878 or $177,756 in 2026
- 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
- MichiganNo license · $50,000 published cap · online sales allowed if you meet the customer first
- VirginiaNo permit, no inspection, no fee · sell by phone or internet · Virginia only, no resale
- Washington$355 permit for 2 years · annual inspections · $35,000 cap · sell online, never ship
- MassachusettsPermit from your local board of health · internet and mail sales allowed · no state cap stated
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
Ready to take orders?
Once you are set up, take orders with your own Worknest page — your customers order from one link, you get notified, and you can take the money at pickup.
Get the appNo monthly fee. Your customers order in their browser — they never need an app.