Texas 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, you can sell food you make at home in Texas, and you do not need a permit or a license to do it. Local health departments are not allowed to require one, or to inspect your kitchen.
The limit is $150,000 of annual gross income from cottage food — raised from $50,000 by Senate Bill 541, with public health entities required to comply from 1 September 2025. You need a food handler certificate, a specific statement on your label, and if you sell online you have to deliver the order yourself.
What you can and cannot sell
Texas does this the opposite way round from most states: instead of a list of what is allowed, it lists what is not. Everything else is fair game.
You may not sell:
- Meat and meat products
- Poultry
- Seafood, fish, shellfish
- Ice and ice products — ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, gelato
- Low-acid canned goods
- Anything with CBD or THC
- Raw milk and raw milk products
That leaves a wider door than Georgia or Florida: cakes, breads, cookies, candy, pickles, salsas, dried goods and far more.
And here is the part Texas does that almost no other state does. Foods that need time and temperature control for safety — TCS foods, the ones that have to be kept hot or cold — are allowed, if you register with DSHS first. Those products need a production date on the label and a safe handling statement beginning "SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria," in at least 12-point font. TCS products cannot be donated or sold wholesale. DSHS, Texas Cottage Food Production
Do you need a permit? No — and no inspections either
No permit, no license, no fee. In the Department of State Health Services’ words, local public health entities "may not require a cottage food production operation to obtain any type of license or permit."
They also have, in the Department’s words, "no regulatory authority to inspect a cottage food production operation". That is narrower than "nobody may ever look": DSHS or a local health authority can still act on an immediate and serious threat to health — an emergency order, a recall — and health departments must keep records of complaints made about you.
Registration is required in three cases only:
- you sell TCS (temperature-controlled) foods;
- you are a cottage food vendor — a business reselling cottage food bought at wholesale;
- you want a unique ID number on your labels instead of your home address.
Registration goes through the DSHS Online Licensing Registry.
How much can you sell, and where
- Annual limit
- $150,000 in annual gross income from cottage food, raised by SB 541; compliance required from 1 September 2025. The statute adjusts the figure annually for inflation using CPI-U.
- Direct to customers
- Yes — from home, at farmers’ markets, farm stands, food service establishments and retail stores.
- Online
- Yes, with conditions. See below — this is the rule people trip over.
- Delivery
- By you, an employee or a household member. In person.
- Wholesale
- Non-TCS foods may be sold wholesale to a registered cottage food vendor.
- Shipping / out of state
- The DSHS page does not address mail or out-of-state sales. We will not guess — ask DSHS before you ship anything.
The online rule, in full, because it decides how you run your business. You may sell over the internet only if all three are true: the customer bought from you online; you, an employee or a member of your household personally deliver the food; and the labeling information is posted on your website before the customer pays.
In practice that means Texas is a pickup-and-local-delivery state. An order page with a pickup window fits the law exactly; a shipping cart does not.
What has to be on the label
Every package needs:
- the name of your cottage food production operation, and your address — or your DSHS unique ID number if you registered for one;
- the common name of the product;
- any major food allergens;
- and this statement:
THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.
TCS foods carry two more things: the date it was made, and the safe handling statement in at least 12-point font.
If you sell online, that same label information has to be on your website before the customer pays — not in the box when it arrives.
Food handler training
Required. DSHS asks for "a basic food safety education or training program for food handlers" accredited under Health and Safety Code chapter 438(D). A Food Manager Certification from an accredited program may be recognized instead where applicable.
An accredited food handler course is short and inexpensive, and the certificate is what you show if anyone asks.
Can the health department inspect your kitchen?
No. "Health departments have no regulatory authority to inspect a cottage food production operation." They keep records of complaints, and they retain emergency powers if there is an immediate and serious threat to life or health. Routine inspection is not part of the deal. DSHS
Sales tax
Not being permitted is not being untaxed. Whether what you sell is taxable, and whether you need a sales tax permit, is for the Texas Comptroller — bakery items sold by certain sellers are treated differently from other food, so it is worth one check rather than an assumption.
Official sources
- Texas Cottage Food ProductionTexas Department of State Health Services
- Senate Bill 541 (89th Legislature, 2025) — enrolled textTexas Legislature
- TaxesTexas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Last verified: 30 October 2026. Every number on this page is linked to the official page it comes from.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a permit to sell food from home in Texas?
No. Local public health entities may not require a cottage food production operation to get any license or permit. You do need a food handler certificate and correct labels. Registration with DSHS is required only if you sell temperature-controlled foods, act as a cottage food vendor, or want an ID number on your label instead of your address.
How much can a Texas cottage food business earn?
$150,000 in annual gross income from cottage food. Senate Bill 541 raised it from $50,000, with public health entities required to comply from 1 September 2025, and the statute adjusts the figure annually for inflation. Many websites still print $50,000 — including an older DSHS FAQ page.
Can I ship my baked goods to another state?
The DSHS page does not address mail order or out-of-state sales, so we will not tell you yes. What it does say is that an online order must be delivered personally by you, an employee or a household member — which is not how shipping works. Ask DSHS before you post anything.
Can I sell food that needs refrigeration?
Yes, which is unusual. Texas allows temperature-controlled (TCS) foods if you register with DSHS first. Those products need the production date and a safe handling statement in at least 12-point font on the label, and they cannot be donated or sold wholesale.
Can I sell at a farmers’ market or to a restaurant?
Yes. Direct sales include farmers’ markets, farm stands, food service establishments and retail stores. Non-TCS foods may also be sold at wholesale to a cottage food vendor registered with DSHS.
Do I have to put my home address on the label?
Not if you register with DSHS for a unique identification number. That number goes on the label in place of your address.
Other states
- GeorgiaNo state license since July 2025 · no revenue cap
- 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
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
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