California Cottage Food Law: Class A vs. B, Limits, and Labels

California’s cottage food law lets you prepare certain shelf-stable foods in your home kitchen and sell them, as long as you register with your county as a Class A operation or get a Class B permit, stay within the annual sales cap for your class, and follow the state’s rules on labeling, sanitation, and allowed products. The framework lives in the California Health and Safety Code and is administered at the county level by your local environmental health agency.

What You Can Sell

Cottage food operations are limited to non-potentially hazardous foods — products that stay safe at room temperature without refrigeration. The California Department of Public Health maintains the official approved list, and the categories are broader than most new operators expect:

Baked goods: breads, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, muffins, scones, tortillas, donuts, churros, and fruit pies. No cream, custard, meat, or pumpkin fillings.
Candy and confections: fudge, toffee, caramels, brittles, chocolate-covered nonperishables, marshmallows made without eggs, and freeze-dried candies.
Dried and dehydrated foods: dried fruit, fruit leather, granola, trail mixes, dried pasta, roasted coffee, tea, herb blends, and vegetable chips. Jerky is not on the list.
Jams, jellies, and preserves, fruit-based only, limited to fruits recognized in 21 CFR Part 150.
Roasted or pasteurized nuts, nut mixes, and nut butters.
Pure honey and sorghum syrups with no added ingredients.
Frostings and fondants that contain no eggs (except pasteurized), cream, or cream cheese.
Extracts made with at least 35% food-grade alcohol.

The CDPH can add or remove categories, so check the current list before launching a product line.¹ Items that seem shelf-stable but aren’t on the list, like pumpkin pie or cheese-filled pastries, are excluded because of their moisture and protein content.

Class A vs. Class B Operations

Every California cottage food business registers as either Class A or Class B. The class dictates who you can sell to and how closely your kitchen is watched.

Class A: Direct Sales Only

Class A is the entry-level option. You sell directly to the person eating the food — no middlemen. Direct sales include your home, certified farmers’ markets, holiday bazaars, community-supported agriculture subscriptions, bake sales, and food swaps.²

In exchange for the narrower sales channel, you get lighter oversight. You submit a self-certification checklist confirming your kitchen meets state requirements, and the county issues a registration number without inspecting the kitchen first. There are no routine inspections.³ A consumer complaint can still open your kitchen to an investigator.

Class B: Direct and Indirect Sales

Class B adds indirect sales. Grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and other permitted food facilities can buy your products wholesale and resell them.² You keep all the direct channels Class A operators use, too.

The trade-off is a mandatory initial kitchen inspection before you can operate, and the possibility of a routine inspection once a year after that.³ Your permit number is issued only after you pass the first inspection.

Annual Sales Limits

The statute sets base caps of $75,000 per year for Class A and $150,000 for Class B, adjusted upward each year for inflation using the California Consumer Price Index.² For 2025, the adjusted limits are $86,206 for Class A and $172,411 for Class B.⁴ The CDPH updates the figure each January.

These are gross sales, not profit. If you approach the ceiling mid-year, you need to stop selling, upgrade from Class A to Class B, or move to a full commercial food facility permit. Blowing past your class limit puts your registration at risk of suspension or revocation.

How to Register or Get a Permit

Cottage food registrations and permits are handled at the county level by your local environmental health department. The CDPH sets statewide standards and the approved foods list but does not register operators directly.⁵

For a Class A registration, you submit a registration form and a completed self-certification checklist. Once the county approves the paperwork, it issues your registration number and you can begin selling.³

For a Class B permit, you submit the application and then schedule the initial kitchen inspection. The inspector confirms the kitchen and your proposed methods meet state standards. The permit number is issued after you pass.³

Fees vary by county. Expect an initial fee, an inspection fee for Class B, and an annual renewal. Contact your local environmental health department for the current schedule.

Kitchen and Sanitation Rules

Your home kitchen doesn’t need a commercial remodel, but it does have to meet specific standards while cottage food work is happening:

No other domestic activity in the kitchen during preparation, packaging, or handling — no family meals being cooked, no dishwashing, no laundry, no guests.
Infants, small children, and pets stay out of the kitchen entirely during cottage food work.
Food-contact surfaces, equipment, and utensils are washed, rinsed, and sanitized before each use.
Preparation and storage areas stay free of rodents and insects.
No smoking anywhere in the home during preparation, packaging, or storage.
Anyone with a contagious illness stays out of the kitchen.
All water used in preparation, washing, and handwashing meets California drinking water standards.
Operators and anyone else handling food wash their hands and exposed arms before starting.⁶

These form the self-certification checklist Class A operators sign and the inspection criteria Class B operators must pass.³

Labeling Requirements

Every cottage food product needs a label, and missing even one required element can trigger enforcement. The label must include:

The name of your cottage food operation, plus the city and zip code where it operates. If your business isn’t listed in a current phone directory, add a street address.
Your registration number (Class A) or permit number (Class B), with the name of the county that issued it.
The phrase “Made in a Home Kitchen” (or “Repackaged in a Home Kitchen”) on the main display panel in 12-point type.
A complete ingredient list, ordered from heaviest to lightest by weight.
A plain-language allergen declaration for any major food allergen in the product.

The CDPH labeling guidance lists eight allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans.⁷ Federal law has recognized sesame as the ninth major allergen since January 2023 under the FASTER Act, and federal allergen labeling rules apply to all packaged food sold in the United States, so include sesame when it’s an ingredient.

Online Orders, Delivery, and Shipping

You can take cottage food orders by phone, through a website, or on any other digital platform. Direct sales can be fulfilled in person, through mail delivery, or using a third-party delivery service. Class B operators can also fulfill indirect sales to retailers by mail or delivery.⁵

All sales must occur within California. Shipping across state lines falls outside what a cottage food operation is authorized to do. In-state shipments still have to meet every labeling and packaging requirement that applies to in-person sales.

Employee Limits

A cottage food operation can have no more than one full-time equivalent employee beyond the operator. Family and household members of the operator don’t count against the limit, and neither do delivery drivers.² An employee under the statute is anyone, paid or volunteer, who prepares, packages, handles, or stores cottage food. If you need more labor than one outside worker plus your household, you’ve outgrown the model.

Zoning, Insurance, and Taxes

State authorization doesn’t override local land use. Your city or county may regulate home-based businesses for noise, foot traffic, signage, and parking. Check with your local planning or zoning department before you launch. A locality generally can’t deny you a permit just for running a cottage food business, but it can enforce land-use rules that apply to any home-based operation.

California does not require cottage food operators to carry liability insurance. Skipping it is still a risk. Unless your business is a corporation or LLC, a product liability claim reaches your personal assets, and standard homeowner’s and renter’s policies rarely cover commercial food production. Farmers’ markets often require proof of liability coverage before issuing a booth.

Most food sold for human consumption is exempt from California sales tax, but certain items including candy, carbonated beverages, and some snack foods can be taxable. If any of your products fall into a taxable category, you need a seller’s permit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Cottage food income is subject to state and federal income tax regardless of sales tax status, so keep detailed sales and expense records from day one.

Losing Your Registration or Permit

Registrations and permits can be suspended or revoked. A consumer complaint is the most common trigger — a report of suspected unsafe food gives your local agency the right to inspect your kitchen, even if you’re Class A.³ If a Class A operator is found in violation, the agency can recover its reasonable inspection costs from the operator. Class B operators face the same suspension and revocation risks for noncompliance.

A registration or permit covers one person, one location, one type of food sales, and one distribution method. You can’t transfer it or move it to a different address.⁸ Operating without a valid registration, selling unapproved products, or exceeding your sales cap pushes you outside the cottage food framework and into unlicensed food facility territory under the California Retail Food Code.

1
California Department of Public Health. Approved Cottage Foods List
2
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 113758
3
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 114365
4
California Department of Public Health. Cottage Food Operation Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit
5
California Department of Public Health. Cottage Food Operations
6
California Department of Public Health. Regulations Cottage Food Sanitation
7
California Department of Public Health. Labeling Requirements for Cottage Food Products
8
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code Chapter 11.5 Cottage Food Operations