Can I sell this food from my home kitchen?
Cottage food laws set which foods you can sell from a home kitchen without a commercial license. The answer depends on your state and on whether the food needs refrigeration to stay safe. This tool checks your state's own published list, then tells you whether the category you make is allowed, what registration your state asks for and where the rule comes from.
Two things decide it. First, whether your state lists your food as an allowed cottage food. Second, whether your state also wants a registration or permit before you sell, which is true even for an allowed food in many states. Pick your state, then your food, to see both.
Email me the result plus a free state checklist
Pick your state above, then get the one-page checklist for it, the whole path in order, in your inbox.
Instant download, plus law-change alerts for your state. Unsubscribe anytime.
How this checker decides
Every US state publishes the foods it allows and prohibits under its cottage food law. This tool offers you the categories your own state named, so the verdict is a direct lookup, never a guess about a food your state did not address. Shelf-stable foods like baked goods, jams, candy, granola and dried mixes are allowed in nearly every state. Foods that need refrigeration to stay safe, most meat, seafood and fresh dairy, are the common prohibitions.
An allowed food can still need a filing first. Nineteen states ask you to register or get a permit before you sell, even for a food that is clearly allowed, so the tool shows the registration rule beside every verdict. When your product is not on your state's list, the tool sends you to the full state page rather than guessing a yes.
Browse the full 50-state directory → or read what counts as a cottage food.
Can-I-sell-this FAQ
Do I need a license to sell food from home?
It depends on your state. Seventeen US jurisdictions require no state registration to sell most homemade foods. The rest ask for a registration, a permit or a license. A handful add a food-safety course or a home-kitchen inspection. Pick your state in the checker to see which applies and where the rule comes from.
How do I know which foods I can sell under cottage food law?
Each state publishes the foods it allows and prohibits under its cottage food law. Shelf-stable foods like baked goods, jams, candy and granola are allowed almost everywhere. Foods that need refrigeration to stay safe, most meat, seafood and fresh dairy, are prohibited in most states. This checker reads your state's own list rather than a national rule of thumb.
Is there a tool to check if I can sell a specific food?
Yes. This checker lets you pick your state and a food category, then tells you whether your state lists it as allowed or prohibited, what registration your state asks for and the statute the answer traces to. For a food your state does not name, it points you to the full state page instead of guessing.
This tool organizes and explains what each state publishes. It is educational information, not legal advice. It does not come from a state agency. Rules change and some products or counties carry extra conditions. Confirm your own product with your state before you sell.