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

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.

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.

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.

Start this weekend

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.