California Cottage Food Law: Class A vs B, Limits, and Labels

The California cottage food law lets you prepare and sell certain shelf-stable foods from your home kitchen under one of two operation types: a Class A registration for direct sales to consumers, or a Class B permit that also allows wholesale to stores and restaurants. For 2025, gross sales are capped at $86,206 for Class A and $172,411 for Class B, and both classes are registered or permitted through your county environmental health department rather than the state.1California Department of Public Health. Cottage Food Operation Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit

What You Can Sell From Home

Cottage food operations are limited to non-potentially hazardous foods, meaning products that stay safe at room temperature without refrigeration. The California Department of Public Health maintains the official approved list, and it covers more ground than most new operators expect.2California Department of Public Health. Approved Cottage Foods List

  • Baked goods including bread, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, muffins, fruit pies (no pumpkin), scones, tortillas, donuts, and churros. No cream, custard, or meat fillings.
  • Candy and confections such as fudge, toffee, caramels, brittles, chocolate-covered nonperishables, marshmallows without eggs, and freeze-dried candies.
  • Dried and dehydrated foods: dried fruit, fruit leather, granola, trail mixes, dried pasta, roasted coffee, tea, herb blends, and vegetable chips. Jerky is not on the list.
  • Fruit-based jams, jellies, and preserves, limited to fruits recognized in 21 CFR Part 150.
  • Roasted or pasteurized nuts and nut butters.
  • Pure honey and sorghum syrups with no added ingredients.
  • Frostings and fondants without eggs (except pasteurized), cream, or cream cheese.
  • Flavoring extracts made with at least 35% food-grade alcohol.

Items that seem shelf-stable but aren’t, like pumpkin pie or cheese-filled pastries, are excluded because of their moisture and protein content. The CDPH can add or remove categories at any time, so check the current approved list before committing to a product line.

Class A or Class B: Picking Your Operation Type

Every California cottage food business registers as Class A or gets permitted as Class B. The choice controls where you can sell, who can buy from you, and how much oversight your kitchen receives.3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 113758

Class A: Direct Sales Only

Class A operators sell directly to consumers. That includes sales from your home, at certified farmers’ markets, at holiday bazaars, through community-supported agriculture subscriptions, and at bake sales or food swaps. No stores, no restaurants, no wholesale.

The upside is lighter oversight. You submit a self-certification checklist confirming your kitchen meets state requirements, and the county issues a registration number without inspecting the kitchen. There is no initial inspection and no routine inspection.4California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 114365 If a consumer complaint gives the agency reason to suspect unsafe food, though, an inspector can access your kitchen.

Class B: Wholesale Allowed

Class B opens up indirect sales. Grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and other permitted food facilities can buy your products and resell them to their customers. You keep every direct-sales channel available to Class A operators on top of that.

The trade-off is a mandatory initial kitchen inspection before you can operate. The inspector verifies that your kitchen and your methods meet state health and safety codes. Class B operations may also be inspected once per year on a routine basis.

Sales Limits for 2025

The statute sets base caps of $75,000 per year for Class A and $150,000 for Class B, adjusted upward each year using the California Consumer Price Index. For 2025, the inflation-adjusted limits are $86,206 for Class A and $172,411 for Class B. The CDPH publishes updated figures each January.

These are gross sales, not profit. If you approach the ceiling mid-year, you’ll need to stop selling, upgrade from Class A to Class B, or transition to a full commercial food facility permit. Exceeding your class limit without the right permit puts your registration at risk of suspension or revocation.

How to Register or Get a Permit

Cottage food registrations and permits are handled at the county level by your local environmental health department. The CDPH does not register or permit operations directly; it maintains the approved list and sets statewide standards, and your county office is where you actually apply.5California Department of Public Health. Cottage Food Operations

For Class A, you submit a registration form and a completed self-certification checklist. Once the county approves the paperwork, it issues a registration number and you can start selling.

For Class B, you submit a permit application and then schedule an initial inspection. An inspector visits your home to confirm the kitchen and your proposed methods meet state standards. You get your permit number only after passing.

Fees vary by county. Registration fees, permit fees, initial inspection costs for Class B, and annual renewal fees all differ from one county to the next. Contact your local environmental health department for the current schedule.

Kitchen and Sanitation Rules

Your home kitchen doesn’t need a commercial remodel, but specific standards apply during cottage food production. These form the self-certification checklist for Class A operators and the inspection criteria for Class B.

  • No other domestic activity in the kitchen while you’re preparing, packaging, or handling cottage food. That means no family meals being cooked, no dishwashing, no laundry, no entertaining guests.
  • Infants, small children, and pets must stay out of the kitchen entirely during cottage food work.
  • All food-contact surfaces, equipment, and utensils must be washed, rinsed, and sanitized before each use.
  • Food preparation and storage areas must be free of rodents and insects.
  • No smoking anywhere in the home used for preparing, packaging, or storing cottage food while those activities are underway.
  • Anyone with a contagious illness must stay out of the kitchen during production.
  • All water used as an ingredient or for washing must meet California drinking water standards.

Operators and anyone else handling food must wash their hands and exposed arms before starting any preparation or packaging.6California Department of Public Health. Regulations Cottage Food Sanitation

What Goes on the Label

Every cottage food product needs a label, and the state is specific. Missing even one required element can trigger enforcement.

  • The name of your cottage food operation, plus the city and zip code where it operates. Include a street address if your business isn’t in a current phone directory.
  • Your Class A registration number or Class B permit number, along with the name of the county that issued it.
  • The phrase “Made in a Home Kitchen” (or “Repackaged in a Home Kitchen” if applicable) on the main display panel in 12-point type.
  • A complete ingredient list, ordered from heaviest to lightest by weight.
  • An allergen declaration in plain language for any major food allergen the product contains.

The CDPH labeling guidance lists eight allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans.7California Department of Public Health. Labeling Requirements for Cottage Food Products Federal law has recognized sesame as the ninth major food allergen since January 2023 under the FASTER Act, and federal allergen rules apply to all packaged food sold in the United States. If your products contain sesame, include it alongside the other eight.

Online Orders, Delivery, and Shipping

You can take cottage food orders online. Both Class A and Class B operations can accept orders by phone, through a website, or on any other digital platform. Direct sales can be fulfilled in person, through the mail, or via a third-party delivery service. Class B operators can also fulfill their indirect (wholesale) sales by mail or delivery.

All sales must happen within California. Shipping across state lines would trigger federal food safety regulations that cottage food operations aren’t equipped to meet. Within the state, your labeling and packaging still need to meet every standard that applies to in-person sales.

Employees, Zoning, Insurance, and Taxes

A cottage food operation can have no more than one full-time equivalent employee beyond the operator. Family and household members don’t count toward the limit, and neither do delivery drivers. An employee under the statute includes anyone (paid or volunteer) who prepares, packages, handles, or stores cottage food products. This effectively caps the model at a small, household-scale business.

State law authorizes cottage food operations, but local zoning still applies. Your city or county may regulate noise, foot traffic, signage, and parking under general home-occupation rules. Check with your local planning department before you start. A city or county generally cannot deny you a permit solely because you’re running a cottage food business, but it can enforce land-use rules that apply to any home-based business.

California does not require cottage food operators to carry liability insurance. Standard homeowner’s and renter’s policies almost never cover commercial food production, and unless your business is a corporation or LLC, a product liability claim reaches your personal assets. Farmers’ markets often require proof of liability coverage before assigning a booth. Talk to an insurance agent before your first sale.

Most food sold for human consumption is exempt from California sales tax, but certain items like candy, carbonated beverages, and some snack foods may be taxable. If any of your products fall into a taxable category, you’ll need a seller’s permit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Cottage food income remains subject to state and federal income tax either way, so keep records of every sale and expense from day one.

What Puts Your Registration at Risk

Registrations and permits can be suspended or revoked for cause. The most common trigger is a consumer complaint. If someone reports suspected unsafe food, your local enforcement agency gains the right to inspect your kitchen even if you’re a Class A operator who would otherwise never face one. If a Class A operation is found in violation, the agency can recover its reasonable inspection costs from the operator.

A registration or permit is valid only for the specific person, location, food type, and distribution method it was issued for. You can’t transfer it to someone else or use it at a different address.8California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code Chapter 11.5 Cottage Food Operations Operating without a valid registration or permit, selling unapproved products, or exceeding your sales limit puts you outside the cottage food framework, at which point you’re running an unlicensed food facility under the California Retail Food Code.