Rules for Delaware · Last updated September 13, 2026

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

Delaware turned its registration into a permit in May 2026, so the regulation now talks about permit holders and operating without one. It is $30, after an inspection.

Make a Delaware label

Pennsylvania New Jersey

Key takeaways

A $30 cottage food establishment permit, following a pre-opening inspection.
The application carries a kitchen floor plan, example labels, your product and ingredient list, and proof of training.
No sales cap since December 2023, and direct or farmers market sales only.

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 If your label predates that, it is both over-sharing and out of date.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.

The short version

what the rule is calledCottage food establishment

when an inspector comesBefore you open

annual sales limitNo cap

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.

Up nextPaperwork, training and inspections

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.

What belongs on a Delaware label

Delaware Division of Public Health, checked September 13, 2026

01Product name
02Ingredients by weight
03Allergens
04Net weight
05Name and city
06Home kitchen statement, exact wording
07Date made
08Phone or email
No permit number. Required text at least 10 point.

Make a Delaware label

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.

Nearby places

Nearby guides

Neighboring states look similar until the one difference that matters. Worth a read if you sell across a border, or if someone in the next state over 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 13, 2026. Confirm current prices, policies, or provider instructions before relying on them.

Is this the whole Delaware rule?

No, and you should not treat it as one. This is the official source read carefully on September 13, 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. Delaware Division of Public Health 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.

Go to another place

Free label maker

Rule in front of you? Make the label.

The label maker opens with these requirements already loaded. Build it, then read the finished sticker back against the official source before you print a full sheet.

Make the label Start my free week