Texas Cottage Food Law: SB 541, Labels, and Sales Limits

The Texas cottage food law lets you make and sell many foods from your home kitchen directly to consumers without a license, inspection, or government fee, as long as your gross cottage food sales stay under $150,000 a year. Shelf-stable items can be sold with no registration at all. Refrigerated items are now allowed too, but only if you register (for free) with the Department of State Health Services under changes that took effect September 1, 2025.¹

Foods You Can Sell Without Registering

The heart of the law covers non-TCS foods: things that don’t need refrigeration or temperature control to stay safe.² You can sell these directly to consumers with no state registration required.

Baked goods that don’t require refrigeration: cookies, cakes, breads, pastries, pies, donuts, and Danish
Candy, including chocolate and chocolate-dipped items
Nuts, coated or uncoated, and unroasted nut butters
High-acid fruit butters (apple, apricot, grape, peach, plum, quince, prune), canned jams, and jellies
Dehydrated fruits and vegetables, dried beans, popcorn, cereal, granola, and dry mixes
Vinegar, mustard, roasted coffee, dry tea, dried herbs, and herb mixes
Pickled fruits or vegetables and fermented vegetable products with a finished pH of 4.6 or below
Plant-based acidified canned products with a finished pH of 4.6 or below

The statute also has a catch-all: any food that doesn’t require temperature control for safety can qualify.³ If you’re unsure where your recipe falls, you can ask DSHS for a determination, and the agency may direct you to have the recipe tested at an approved lab for pH and water activity.

Selling Refrigerated Foods After SB 541

Refrigerated cottage food used to be off-limits. Since September 1, 2025, you can sell TCS (time/temperature control for safety) items like cream-filled pastries, custard pies, and cheesecakes if you register with DSHS through its online portal.¹ Registration is free.

The handling rules are stricter than for shelf-stable products. Cold items must stay at or below 41°F, and hot items at or above 135°F, in storage and during delivery. The label must show the date the food was made. Either the label or an accompanying receipt must include this safe handling statement in at least 12-point font: “SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria, keep this food refrigerated or frozen until the food is prepared for consumption.”² Two more limits apply to TCS foods: no wholesale, and no donations.

pH Rules for Pickled, Fermented, and Acidified Products

Pickled fruits and vegetables, fermented products, and plant-based acidified canned goods all need a finished pH of 4.6 or below.³ You have three ways to establish that your recipe meets the threshold:

Use a recipe from a source DSHS has approved
Have a certified laboratory confirm your finished product reaches 4.6 pH or below
Use a recipe approved by a qualified food process authority

Without one of those, you have to test every batch yourself with a calibrated pH meter. pH strips aren’t accurate enough. A one-time lab test for a single recipe usually runs $15 to $35, which is cheaper over time than testing every batch you make.

Where and How You Can Sell

Cottage food has to go directly to consumers. That includes in-person sales at farmers’ markets, farm stands, fairs, and your home, as well as orders taken through a website or social media.¹ Delivery has to be personal: you, an employee, or a member of your household must hand off the product. Third-party couriers like DoorDash or UPS aren’t allowed.

For online sales, all required labeling information has to appear on your website before the customer pays. The physical label on the food must include your address or your unique DSHS identification number. Both you and the buyer must be in Texas; interstate shipping under the cottage food law is not permitted.

Wholesale Through a Cottage Food Vendor

SB 541 also created a wholesale option for shelf-stable products. You can sell non-TCS cottage foods at wholesale to a registered “cottage food vendor,” defined as a person located in Texas who has a contractual relationship with you and sells directly to consumers on your behalf.¹ The vendor can then place your products at farmers’ markets, farm stands, restaurants, and retail stores.

Both you and the vendor need to be registered with DSHS. The vendor has to display a prominent sign near your food carrying the same disclosure statement required on your labels. Any wholesaled item must show the production date on the label. TCS foods are excluded from wholesale entirely.

Labeling Requirements

Every product needs a label, from a single cookie to a jar of hot sauce. DSHS sets the specifics, and the required information includes your business name and home address, the common name of the product, and disclosure of any major allergens present.² The nine major allergens you must call out are eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, milk, wheat, fish, shellfish, and sesame. A vague “may contain allergens” statement is not enough; you have to list the specific allergens.

Every label also has to include this disclosure in all capital letters: “THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.” If an item is too large or bulky for conventional packaging, the required information can appear on an invoice or receipt instead.²

If you’d rather not put your home address on every label, you can register with DSHS and use the unique identification number they issue you. Pickled, fermented, and acidified canned products carry one extra rule: each label must include a unique batch number that ties back to your production records.

Food Handler Training

Every cottage food operator must complete a basic food safety training program accredited under Chapter 438 of the Health and Safety Code. This is the same food handler certification available from many online providers, typically $7 to $15. Anyone else who helps you prepare, package, or handle products must hold the same certification, work under the direct supervision of someone who does, or be a member of your household.⁴

Annual Sales Cap and Sales Tax

Your total gross income from cottage food sales cannot exceed $150,000 a year. That number is indexed for inflation starting in 2025, so the threshold may rise slightly in future years.¹ Gross income means total revenue before expenses, not profit. Cross the cap and you no longer qualify as a cottage food operation; you would need to move into a licensed food establishment.

Sales tax depends on what you sell. Bakery items sold without plates or eating utensils are generally exempt from Texas sales tax. Candy and snack foods are typically taxable. If everything you sell is exempt, you don’t need a Sales and Use Tax Permit from the Comptroller. If any of your products are taxable, you need the permit and have to collect and remit tax.

Free Samples

Since September 1, 2025, cottage food producers can offer free samples at any location without a local permit or fee. The sanitation rules are straightforward:

Wear clean disposable gloves or wash your hands with potable water right before preparing samples. Hand sanitizer is not a substitute for water.
Wash any produce in potable water to remove soil or visible material, and keep a jug of potable water on hand.
Any TCS sample must stay at or below 41°F or be discarded within two hours of cutting or preparation.
Cutting and serving surfaces and utensils must be smooth, nonabsorbent, and easy to clean, or disposable.

You can only sample foods you’re legally allowed to sell as a cottage food producer. Samples don’t need to be individually packaged or labeled.

Local Governments Cannot Add Rules

Cities, counties, and local health departments cannot require you to get a permit, pay a fee, or hold a license to produce, sell, or sample cottage foods.¹ Local governments also cannot use zoning to ban or regulate a cottage food business. If a government official knowingly requires a permit or fee in violation of the law, the statute provides for that person’s termination. When a city or county pushes back, pointing to Chapter 437 of the Health and Safety Code usually settles it.

1
Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Cottage Food Production
2
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 437-0193 – Packaging and Labeling Requirements for Cottage Food Production Operations
3
The National Agricultural Law Center. Texas Code 437.001 – Definitions
4
The National Agricultural Law Center. Texas Code 437.0195 – Production of Cottage Food Products