California Cottage Food Law 2026: What Home Bakers Need to Know

Yes, you can sell baked goods from home in California under the California Cottage Food Law if your products are on the approved cottage food list and you have county approval before your first sale.

California gives home bakers real flexibility: Class A operators can sell directly to customers through porch pickup, farmers markets, online orders, in-state delivery, and in-state shipping. Class B operators can do all of that and also sell wholesale to stores, cafes, restaurants, and other permitted third-party retailers statewide.

The trade-off is paperwork. California requires county registration or permitting, annual sales-cap tracking, exact label wording, and food processor training. The sections below focus on the rules that matter most for a home baker planning weekly pickups, market sales, or a small wholesale path.

Can I Sell From Home in California?

California's Cottage Food Law permits home bakers to sell approved non-potentially hazardous foods from a residential kitchen after county registration or permitting.

Approved cottage food products are shelf-stable foods that do not require refrigeration to prevent bacterial growth. If your product needs to be kept cold to be safe, it cannot be sold under a Cottage Food Operation (CFO) registration or permit.

The most important California-specific detail that trips up new bakers: unlike Texas, California requires county registration or permitting before your first sale. There is no "figure it out later" option. Your approval comes from your county environmental health department, and requirements vary slightly by county.

What You Can (and Cannot) Sell

California permits shelf-stable, non-potentially-hazardous foods (NPHF). If a product requires refrigeration to be safe, it is not permitted under a CFO registration or permit.

Revenue Cap and Sales Channels

California limits annual gross cottage food sales and separates operators into Class A direct-sale registration and Class B direct-plus-indirect permitting.

Understanding the Revenue Caps

Following AB 1144 (effective January 1, 2022), California CFOs operate under different base caps depending on permit class, with both figures adjusted annually for California CPI inflation:

• Class A CFOs: $75,000 base — CDPH's latest posted adjusted-limit sheet lists $86,206 for 2025.
• Class B CFOs: $150,000 base — CDPH's latest posted adjusted-limit sheet lists $172,411 for 2025.

Both caps are calculated on gross sales — the full amount customers pay you, before any deductions for ingredients, packaging, or expenses. As of this review on May 7, 2026, CDPH's cottage food page still linked to the 2025 adjusted-limit sheet, so verify the current posted limit with CDPH or your county before assuming your cap.

What Happens When You Hit the Cap?

If your operation exceeds the cap, you legally graduate out of the cottage food framework. You must transition to a licensed commercial kitchen or co-packing facility to continue selling. The $75,000 statutory base Class A cap works out to about $1,440 per week before CPI adjustment; most weekly-batch home bakers will not hit the Class A limit, but tracking gross sales still matters.

Class A: Direct Sales and Shipping

A Class A CFO registration is a self-certification process — you attest that you understand the safety rules, but no routine physical kitchen inspection is required. Class A covers:

• Home pickup (customer comes to your address)
• Certified farmers markets and farm stands
• Community events, fairs, and festivals
• Bake sales and charity events
• Online orders with in-person pickup or delivery
• Third-party delivery services (DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats) — all within California
• Mail order and shipping within California

Class A does not cover indirect sales to third parties (wholesale to retailers or restaurants).

Class B: Direct, Statewide Indirect Sales, and Shipping

A Class B CFO permit's key advantage is statewide indirect sales — the right to sell wholesale to third parties anywhere in California without county-by-county approval. Class B includes everything Class A allows, plus:

• Indirect sales to third parties for resale — restaurants, cafes, specialty food stores, and retail shops, statewide
• Mail order and shipping within California

AB 1144 (effective January 1, 2022) expanded Class B's indirect sales rights from county-level to statewide. Before AB 1144, Class B operators needed approval from each county's health department to sell there; now a single permit covers the whole state.

The trade-off: Class B requires an annual physical inspection of your home kitchen by your county environmental health department.

If you want to sell wholesale to a café, restaurant, or store, you need a Class B permit.

Local Jurisdiction Complications

Cottage food permits come from your county, not the state. A few things to know:

• Permit fees vary significantly — some counties charge $100, others $400+
• Some cities within a county separately require a home occupation or business license
• Check with your specific county environmental health department, not just the state CDPH page, for current local requirements

Permit and Registration Requirements

Operating a cottage food business in California requires Class A registration or a Class B permit from your county environmental health department.

AB 1616 established the statewide framework, and AB 1144 later expanded statewide sales rights and raised the base revenue caps. CDPH maintains statewide guidance and approved food lists, but counties administer applications, inspections, and fees.

Class A vs. Class B: Which Do You Need?

Applying for a California CFO Permit

1. Contact your county environmental health department for the Class A registration or Class B permit packet.
2. Complete the application — typically including your business name and address, product list, operating details, and any county-specific forms.
3. Complete food processor training within 3 months of registration or permitting; if your county asks for proof with the application, complete it earlier.
4. For Class B: schedule and pass the home kitchen inspection.
5. Pay the county fee. Class A often runs $100–$300; Class B often runs $250–$500+ because of inspection costs.
6. Receive your CFO registration or permit number and the name of the issuing county. Both must appear on every product label.

Allow several weeks to a few months for processing. Do not begin selling until your registration or permit is in hand.

Food Handler Training

California requires anyone who prepares or packages cottage food to complete an approved food processor course. Per California Health and Safety Code §114365.2(d), training must be completed within three months of becoming registered or permitted and renewed every 3 years during operation. CDPH says ANSI-accredited retail food handler courses satisfy the requirement, and the course may not exceed 4 hours.

California Cottage Food Labeling Requirements

Every California cottage food product must display the required state and federal label elements before it is sold.

California has some of the strictest cottage food labeling requirements in the nation. You cannot hand a customer an unmarked bag. Every product you sell must feature a legally compliant label.

Required Label Elements

According to the California Health and Safety Code, your label must include:

1. The product name (e.g., "Artisan Sourdough Bread")
2. Your CFO business name and address information — CDPH requires the CFO name, city, and zip code. If the CFO is not listed in a current telephone directory, include the street address too.
3. Your CFO registration or permit number and the name of the issuing county
4. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
5. Major allergen information (wheat, milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, fish, shellfish, sesame)
6. Net weight or volume (e.g., "Net Wt. 16 oz (454g)")
7. The required disclaimer statement — see exact wording below

The Exact Required Disclaimer

Your label must feature this statement, printed in at least 12-point type:

"Made in a Home Kitchen"

If your product uses commercially-produced ingredients that you repackage (rather than bake from scratch), the required statement is instead:

"Repackaged in a Home Kitchen"

This wording is specified in California Health and Safety Code §114365.2. The 12-point minimum font size is required — do not use smaller type. The longer phrase sometimes cited elsewhere ("...that is not inspected by the State or local health department") is from other states' laws; it is not required in California.

Website, Social Media, and Menu Disclosures

California also requires public advertisements for a cottage food operation — including websites, social media posts, newsletters, newspapers, and other public announcements — to include the county of approval, the registration or permit number, and the "Made in a Home Kitchen" or "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" statement.

That means an Instagram order post, market menu, or storefront page should not just show product names and prices. Add your county, CFO number, and home-kitchen statement anywhere you are publicly advertising the products.

REQUIRED vs. RECOMMENDED Label Elements

Common Labeling Mistakes California Bakers Make

• No CFO number or missing county name: The CFO registration or permit number and issuing county are both required. Many bakers design labels before county approval arrives and forget to update them.
• Wrong disclaimer wording or too small: Use "Made in a Home Kitchen" or "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" as applicable, and keep it at least 12-point type.
• Missing net weight: A federal labeling requirement that also applies to cottage food. A standard sourdough loaf weighs approximately 750g (1 lb 10 oz) — estimate and include it.
• Ingredients not in descending weight order: Flour comes before butter in most baked goods. List by predominant weight.
• Omitting the issuing county: California requires the county name alongside the registration or permit number — a detail many bakers miss.
• Forgetting ad disclosures: Your website, social media menu, or public order post should include your county of approval, CFO number, and the home-kitchen statement.

For full allergen formatting guidance and label design templates, see the cottage food labeling requirements guide.

Now That You Know the Rules — Here's How to Start Selling

Once you know what is legal, the next job is turning those rules into a workable first-sale plan.

The biggest mistake new California cottage bakers make is trying to manage their business through Instagram DMs and Venmo requests. When you are tracking a strict revenue cap and baking to customer pre-orders, you need a system.

Before opening your first order window, sanity-check your margins with the home bakery pricing guide so your revenue cap room turns into actual profit.

1. Choose your CFO class — Class A is usually enough for porch pickups, farmers markets, online direct orders, in-state delivery, and in-state shipping. Choose Class B when you want wholesale or indirect sales.
2. Apply through your county environmental health department — download the Class A registration or Class B permit packet. Class A is self-certification. Class B requires scheduling an inspection. Allow several weeks.
3. Confirm every first-run product is actually approved — check the CDPH allowed-foods list before you build your menu, especially if you want to branch beyond ordinary baked goods.
4. Wait for your registration or permit number and issuing county before printing labels — every California label needs both. Use the cottage food labeling guide as your checklist before printing.
5. Complete food processor training — state law gives you 3 months after registration or permitting, but some counties may ask for proof earlier. Keep the certificate where you can show it if your county asks.
6. Choose the right sales channels for your class — Class A covers direct sales, online direct orders, in-state delivery, and in-state shipping. Add wholesale or other indirect sales only if you are approved as Class B.
7. Set up your ordering system — for Class A bakers, a structured pre-order system handles weekly batches and tracks your revenue against the sales cap. Read the home bakery pre-order guide, then use a MyPorch storefront with pickup and delivery scheduling to keep everything organized.
8. Take your first orders — start with your existing network. Your first 10 customers are almost always people who already know you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recent Law Changes to the California Cottage Food Law

• July 1, 2026 — AB 660 date-label terms take effect: This is not a cottage food permit change, but it affects optional freshness or safety date wording on food labels manufactured on or after July 1, 2026. Avoid consumer-facing "sell by" language and use current approved California date-label terms if you add a date.
• 2025 — CDPH adjusted sales-cap sheet: CDPH's posted adjusted-limit sheet lists Class A at $86,206 and Class B at $172,411 for 2025. As of this review, CDPH's cottage food page still linked to that 2025 sheet.
• 2022 — AB 1144 (effective January 1, 2022): Raised the annual gross sales cap for Class A from $50,000 to $75,000 base, and for Class B from $50,000 to $150,000 base. Caps now adjust annually for inflation. AB 1144 also expanded in-state carrier shipping to both Class A and Class B, and extended Class B indirect sales rights statewide.
• 2014 — AB 1252: Expanded the original Homemade Food Act, adding product categories and refining the Class A and Class B permit framework.
• 2013 — AB 1616: The California Homemade Food Act went into effect, establishing the cottage food framework and the Class A/Class B permit structure for the first time.

_Laws change. Verify current requirements at the California Department of Public Health before selling._