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

What Delaware actually decides

The May 2026 amendment matters more than the fee. It turned the registration into a permit throughout, so "permit holder" and "operating without a permit" are the regulation's own words now. Any guidance written before that will describe a registration and understate what non-compliance means.

The permit is $30 and follows a pre-opening inspection. The application is detailed for the price: a floor plan of the kitchen, example labels, the product and ingredient list, proof of training, and the venue types you plan to sell at. A private well needs an analysis.

Training is required and structured around presence rather than paperwork: at least one person is on location during hours of operation who has passed the test that is part of a food safety program approved by the Office of Food Protection. DPH names University of Delaware among the providers.

December 2023 removed the $25,000 cap and changed the label. The owner name and full home address came off, replaced by the town or city plus "Delaware". The label now needs a phone number or an email rather than both, and sesame was added to the major allergens. If your label predates that, it is both over-sharing and out of date.

One caveat on the sourcing. The agency's own page did not spell out the allowed-food list, so those came from the statute and secondary sources rather than from Delaware Division of Public Health directly. Everything else on this page was read off an official source on September 13, 2026. If one of those points decides your case, ask them.

What you can sell in Delaware

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.

• Cakes, cookies and brownies
• Breads, rolls and muffins
• Fruit pies and pastries
• Jams, jellies and other fruit preserves
• Candy products such as fudge, lollipops, chocolates, tortes, hard candy and rock candy
• Any other non-TCS food on the Division's approved list. Delaware makes that list binding but does not publish it anywhere reachable, so you attach your own product list to the application for approval.
• Only the specific products named on your own permit, and nothing else

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 time or temperature control for safety food
• Bakery items whose finished product contains a TCS component such as cream filling or meat
• Anything containing cannabis
• Anything not on the Division's approved list, and anything not listed on your own permit

Where you are allowed to sell it

The researched record lists direct sales, farmers markets.

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 Cottage food establishment permit before you sell; the listed cost is $30. The May 2026 amendment turned the registration into a permit throughout, so "permit holder" and "operating without a permit" are now the regulation's own words. The application carries a floor plan of the kitchen, example labels, the product and ingredient list, proof of training, and the venue types you plan to sell at. A private well needs a satisfactory chemical and bacteriological analysis before the permit issues, and a test within 60 days of the application is accepted. DPH takes the fee when the establishment is inspected and approved for operation. Plan review is required for new construction, conversion or renovation, at no fee. Delaware is a face-to-face regime: online sales are barred outright, wholesale and sales to resellers or food establishments are barred, and the permit is displayed at every farmers market, craft fair or other approved venue where you sell.

Training is required: A food safety program approved by the Office of Food Protection. At least one person is on location during hours of operation who has passed the test that is part of an approved program. DPH names University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, Delaware Tech, Delaware State University and the Delaware Restaurant Association as providers.

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.

• The kitchen must be a residential-style kitchen in the producer's permanent, primary residence.
• No animals or pets anywhere in the establishment while you prepare, package or handle food.
• Food preparation and dry storage surfaces are smooth, durable and easily cleanable, with no carpeting, and at least 50 foot-candles of light wherever anyone works with food, utensils or equipment.
• Keep a written recall plan current, code products well enough to identify a violative lot, and keep batch records and distribution records for three years.
• Screens on any window or door kept open for ventilation, covered vermin-proof refuse containers outdoors, tamper-resistant rodent bait stations, and toxics, medicines and first aid stored away from food preparation areas.

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.

• 2023-12-11: The $25,000 gross annual sales cap was removed. The owner name and full home address came off the label, replaced by the town or city plus "Delaware". The label now needs a phone number or an email rather than both, and sesame was added to the major food allergens.
• 2026-05-11: Registration became a permit throughout: the annual $30 registration is now an annual $30 permit, a registration holder is a permit holder, and operating without one is operating without a permit. The major food allergens are listed inline in the labelling rule instead of in a definition. The required statement, the 10 point rule and the list of label items are unchanged.

Start this weekend

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

• Draw the kitchen floor plan before you apply. It is part of the application, not an afterthought.
• Get the approved food safety training, and make sure a trained person is present during operating hours.
• Update an older label: town or city instead of your full address, phone or email rather than both, and sesame listed.
• Get a well analysis if you are not on public water.
• Read the current regulation, not a pre-May-2026 guide. This is a permit now, not a registration.