About The Cottage Food Law Library
An independent reference to the cottage food law of every US state, verified against the source and dated on the page.
The Cottage Food Law Library is an independent publishing project. We keep a plain-language reference page for the cottage food law of every US state and the District of Columbia, so a home baker or a jam maker can find the real rules for their own state in one place instead of piecing them together across agency PDFs and forum threads.
Who is behind it
A small editorial team researches, verifies and maintains these pages. We are not a government agency, a law firm or a permit issuer. We do not present ourselves as any of those. We are a reference publisher. Our job is to read what each state's statute and enforcing agency actually say and to write it out in plain words, with the source and the date on the page so you can check our work.
Why we built it
The honest answer to "can I sell this from my kitchen?" sat buried and contradictory. A state agriculture page said one thing, a county health page said another and a forum thread written for a different state said a third. No single page told a person the truth for their own state. This library is our attempt to fix that, one verified state page at a time.
How it stays free
The reference pages are free to read and always will be. We also publish a paid companion, The Cottage Food Launch Kit, for people who want the done pieces for their state rather than just the rules: an ordered checklist, a fill-in label template, an allowed-foods checker and a first-market plan. Buying it is optional and it supports the free library. We say this plainly rather than hiding the commercial side, because a reference people trust has to be honest about how it is funded. You can read what the kit includes on the kit page.
Our standards
We do not invent facts, sources, people or credentials. Where an official source does not confirm something, the page says so instead of guessing. Every state page carries the date we last read it against the source and a link to that source. If you find something out of date or wrong, we want to hear it. Here is how we verify every page. If you spot a mistake, here is how to tell us about it.
An independent reference project, not a state agency or law firm. Educational information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with your state before you sell.