Rules for California · Last updated September 9, 2026

California cottage food law (2026): what you can sell and label

California splits home food sellers into two classes, and the class you pick decides whether an inspector ever walks into your kitchen. Most people choose before they understand the difference.

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Key takeaways

Class A registers and self-certifies. Class B is permitted after an inspection and can sell through shops.
You register with your county, not the state, and the fee is set county by county.
An approved food processor course is due within three months of registering, then every three years.

What California actually decides

California is one of the few states that makes you choose a lane up front. Class A covers direct sales to the person eating the food. Class B covers indirect sales, which means shops and restaurants, and it is the only class that can do that. The choice is not cosmetic: a Class A operation registers, files a self-certification checklist, and is never routinely inspected, while a Class B operation cannot open until the county inspects it and issues a permit, and may be inspected once a year after that.

Both go through your local enforcement agency, which is your county health department, not the state. That is also why nobody can tell you what this costs. Orange County publishes $128 a year to renew Class A, $384 for Class B, and a $225 initial review covering up to ten labels. Your county will differ. There is no statewide figure to look up.

The approved food list is a genuine list, not a prohibited-list rule, and it is narrower than people expect. Breads, cookies, pastries and tortillas are in. Anything with cream, custard or a meat filling is out, as is every dairy product, every canned vegetable, and fresh or cut fruit. If your recipe is not on the CDPH list, the answer is no rather than maybe.

The caps are $75,000 for Class A and $150,000 for Class B, both adjusted annually against the California Consumer Price Index. The current adjusted figures are not published on any state or county page we could reach, so confirm yours with the county before you plan against it.

One caveat on the sourcing. The agency's own page did not spell out the permit or registration, the current sales cap figure or the date a recent change took effect, so those came from the statute and secondary sources rather than from California Department of Public Health and your county health department directly. Everything else on this page was read off an official source on September 9, 2026. If one of those points decides your case, ask them.

The short version

what the rule is calledCottage food operation, Class A and Class B

when an inspector comesBefore you open

annual sales limit75,000 USD

What you can sell in California

Straight from the official record. Read these as categories rather than a menu, because one recipe can cross the line on its own: a filling that needs refrigeration, a pH that needs testing, or a process that needs an authority to sign it off.

Baked goods without cream, custard, or meat fillings, such as breads, biscuits, churros, cookies, pastries, and tortillas
Candy, such as brittle and toffee
Chocolate-covered nonperishable foods, such as nuts and dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried pasta
Dry baking mixes
Fruit pies, fruit empanadas, and fruit tamales
Granola, cereals, and trail mixes
Herb blends and dried mole paste
Honey and sweet sorghum syrup
Jams, jellies, preserves, and fruit butter
Nut mixes and nut butters

What is outside the rule

If your product is on this list, the answer is not "ask nicely". It is a different licence, a different kitchen, or both.

Any potentially hazardous food
Baked goods with cream, custard, or meat fillings
Meat, poultry, and seafood products
Dairy products, including cheese and ice cream
Canned or pickled vegetables and low-acid canned goods
Fresh or cut fruit and vegetable products
Any food not on the CDPH approved food products list

Where you are allowed to sell it

The researched record lists direct sales, farmers markets, online orders, delivery, in-state shipping, retail or wholesale, restaurants.

One channel being open does not open the rest. Shipping, delivery and wholesale each turn on the product and where it is going, so check the route you actually plan to use.

Up nextPaperwork, training and inspections

Paperwork, training and inspections

The researched record lists Class A registration or Class B permit from the local (county) enforcement agency before you sell; the listed cost is Set by each county. Orange County publishes $128 a year to renew Class A, $384 a year to renew Class B, and a $225 initial review fee covering up to ten labels. A statewide figure does not exist.. A Class A operation may not open until it registers with the local enforcement agency and files an approved self-certification checklist, and it is not subject to initial or routine inspections after that: the county may only enter on a consumer complaint suggesting unsafe food. A Class B operation may not open until the local enforcement agency issues a permit, which follows an initial inspection, and may then be inspected up to once a year. Class B is also the only class that may sell indirectly, through shops and restaurants.

Training is required: Food processor course approved by the department. Whoever prepares or packages cottage food must finish an approved food processor course within three months of registering and again every three years. The course may not run longer than four hours. Counties usually phrase the deadline as 90 days.

Before you open is what the record says about inspections. Confirm what that means for your product and your local authority, because the two can differ.

Kitchen rules people miss

None of these fit on a label, which is exactly why they get skipped. Read them before the first batch, not after.

No cottage food preparation may take place at the same time as other domestic activities such as family meal preparation or dishwashing.
Infants, small children, and pets must not be in the kitchen during cottage food preparation.
Food contact surfaces must be cleaned and sanitized before each use, and the area must be free of rodents and insects.
Smoking is prohibited in the kitchen while cottage food is being prepared or packaged.
Water used in preparation, handwashing, and equipment sanitizing must meet potable drinking water standards.

What changed, and when

A dated change means an older checklist can be confidently wrong. Read the instrument itself at the official source before you trust anything written before these dates.

2026-07-01: California moves to standardized food date labels, "BEST if Used by" for quality and "USE by" for safety, with sell-by dates kept off consumer-readable packaging, for products manufactured on or after that date. Whether it reaches cottage food operations is unclear: AB 660 never mentions them and does not amend the cottage food chapter.

What belongs on a California label

California Department of Public Health and your county health department, checked September 9, 2026

01Product name
02Ingredients by weight
03Allergens
04Net weight
05Business name
06Home kitchen statement, exact wording
07Permit number
Required text at least 12 point.

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In this order, so the label is the last thing you check and not the first thing you guess.

Decide Class A or Class B first. If you ever want a café to carry your product, you need Class B and an inspection.
Call your county enforcement agency for the actual fee and the current adjusted sales cap. The state page will not have them.
Check every recipe against the CDPH approved list before buying packaging. This is an approved-list state.
Book the approved food processor course. It is due within three months of registering, and counties usually say 90 days.
Set the kitchen rules up as habits: no family cooking at the same time, no kids or pets in the room, surfaces sanitized before each use.

Nearby places

Nearby guides

Neighboring states and Mexico look similar until the one difference that matters. Worth a read if you sell across a border, or if someone on the other side gave you advice.

Pairs well with

Keep going

ToolCottage food label makerTurn your recipe, allergens and required statement into a printable label.GuideCottage food business guideThe wider framework: product, kitchen, sales channel, label and local checks.GuideCottage food label requirementsEvery field a cottage food label needs, in the order to check them before you print.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Details were checked against public sources on September 9, 2026. Confirm current prices, policies, or provider instructions before relying on them.

Is this the whole California rule?

No, and you should not treat it as one. This is the official source read carefully on September 9, 2026 and put in one place. Your city, your county, the market you sell at and your own product can each add a layer this page does not know about. California Department of Public Health and your county health department is the authority, not us.

Can I just use the label maker and skip this?

The label maker opens with the fields this jurisdiction requires, so it will get the sticker right. What it cannot do is tell you whether the recipe is allowed, whether your kitchen qualifies, or whether you can sell through the channel you had in mind. A correct label on a product you are not allowed to sell is still a problem.

Does the right label make me compliant?

No. The label is the last step and the most visible one, which is why it gets all the attention. The recipe, the kitchen, the training, the registration and the sales route all sit upstream of it, and any one of them can be the thing that is actually wrong.

More cottage food laws

Selling somewhere else too?

The rule changes with the kitchen, the product and the sales route. Pick another place to compare.

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