Washington Cottage Food Laws: Permit, $35,000 Cap, and Labels

Washington’s cottage food laws, set out in RCW 69.22, let you make and sell certain shelf-stable foods from your home kitchen without renting commercial space, provided you hold a permit from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), keep annual gross sales at or under $35,000, and sell only directly to consumers inside Washington.¹ The permit costs $355 and is valid for two years.² The rules reach further than most new producers expect, especially around what you can ship, who can be in your kitchen, and whether your homeowners insurance covers you.

What You Can Make at Home

Only non-potentially hazardous foods qualify, meaning items that stay safe at room temperature. WAC 16-149-120 sets the approved list.³ You can make:

Baked goods such as breads, rolls, muffins, cookies, bars, cakes, and fruit pies
Standardized jams, jellies, fruit butters, and preserves that follow federal identity standards and include a cook step like a hot water bath
Repackaged dry herbs, spice blends, dry soup mixes, teas, and coffees from approved suppliers
Hard candies, toffee, brittles, and similar sugar-based confections

Anything requiring refrigeration is out. That rules out custard pies, cheesecakes, cream-filled pastries, meat-filled items, and anything sold frozen or refrigerated. Pies with unbaked fresh fruit don’t qualify either.³ Your permit lists only the specific products WSDA has approved for your operation.

The $35,000 Sales Cap

Your operation cannot exceed $35,000 in annual gross sales.¹ Gross means every dollar a customer pays before you deduct ingredients or any other expense. The statute lets WSDA raise the cap by rule, but the department has not done so as of 2026.²

Pass the threshold and your permit is at risk. Growing beyond it means moving into a licensed commercial kitchen under a different food processing permit. Track sales carefully.

Where You Can Sell and How Customers Get the Food

Cottage food goes directly from you to the person eating it. Wholesale is prohibited: no grocery stores, no restaurants, no coffee shops, no third parties who would resell.¹ All sales must stay inside Washington.

Online sales are where producers get tripped up. You can advertise and take orders through a website or social media, but you cannot ship by mail or courier. Every sale has to end with a person-to-person handoff.² Farmers markets work. Front-door pickup works. Local delivery you handle yourself works. Mailing a box of cookies to Spokane doesn’t.

What Has to Go on Every Label

Each product you sell needs a label with all of the following:¹

Your registered business name and WSDA-issued permit number
The common name of the product
A full ingredient list in descending order by weight, including sub-components of compound ingredients
Net weight or volume
Allergens identified per federal labeling rules (milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame)
The exact statement “Made in a Home Kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria,” in at least 11-point font and a color that contrasts clearly with the background⁴

Any nutritional claim (“low sugar,” “high fiber,” and so on) triggers additional nutritional labeling under WSDA rules. Most cottage food producers skip claims entirely to avoid the complication.

Getting the Permit

Gather These Before You Apply

Start with a Washington State Business License through the Business Licensing Service. The cottage food application asks for the Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number from that license.⁵

Everyone handling food in your operation needs a Washington State Food Worker Card, which you obtain by passing a food safety exam through your local health department. Signed copies go in the application packet.¹

If your home runs on a private well, you need a coliform bacteria test done at least 60 days before you apply, and the water must test potable. That test repeats annually.⁵

You’ll also submit a floor plan showing every area where you prepare, package, or store food, including preparation equipment, food contact surfaces, wash and sanitize stations, hand-washing areas, storage, and any pet or child barrier zones.

Fee, Term, and the Inspection

The application fee is $355 and is nonrefundable once WSDA receives it. The permit lasts two years from issuance.⁶

After WSDA reviews your paperwork, a Food Safety Compliance Specialist contacts you to schedule an in-person inspection of your home kitchen. The visit happens during normal business hours and must occur before the permit issues.⁶ The inspector walks every permitted area, checks that the setup matches your floor plan, and leaves a report noting anything that needs correction.²

If you fail, you fix the issues, submit documentation, and pay $125 for a re-inspection. Fail a second time and the application is denied.² Preparing fully before the first visit saves real money.

Pet, Child, and Sanitation Rules Inside the Kitchen

Washington’s production rules in WAC 16-149-080 go beyond generic cleanliness and set specific limits on who and what can be in the kitchen.

No infants or children under six years old can be present in the kitchen during production. A child barrier blocking access to the production area is allowed, but young children cannot be in the room.⁷ Older children and other household members cannot enter during production unless they are helping prepare food under your supervision.

Pet rules reach beyond production hours. Pets are banned from kitchen and packaging areas during operation. You cannot wash pet cages, bowls, or similar items in the kitchen at any time, even when you aren’t making food. Litter boxes cannot be stored, used, or cleaned anywhere in the cottage food operation, including storage rooms.⁷ If you own pets, your application needs a written pet management plan showing how you will keep them out of production and storage areas.

Carpets and rugs are not allowed in the preparation area, though cleanable floor mats are fine. Pump hand soap and disposable paper towels are required in both the kitchen and the primary bathroom. Workers wash hands before preparation and avoid bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods by using gloves, bakery papers, tongs, or other utensils.¹ No one works in the kitchen while sick.

Your Homeowners Policy Probably Doesn’t Cover You

Standard homeowners policies contain business exclusions in the property, liability, and medical payment sections. If a customer gets sick from your food or injures themselves picking up an order at your home, a personal homeowners policy will likely deny the claim.

Product liability policies written for cottage food producers fill that gap, covering third-party injuries or property damage tied to your products and operations. Annual premiums typically start around $300 and vary with sales volume and product type. Washington does not require cottage food producers to carry liability insurance, but some farmers markets require proof of coverage before letting you set up a booth, so you may need a policy either way.

Taxes on Cottage Food Income

Income from your operation is taxable whether or not anyone sends you a 1099. You report revenue and expenses on Schedule C of your federal return. Deductible expenses commonly include ingredients, packaging, labeling supplies, farmers market booth fees, and the WSDA permit fee itself.

If part of your home is used exclusively and regularly for the business, you may qualify for the home office deduction on IRS Form 8829.⁸ The operative word is exclusively. A kitchen that also feeds your family doesn’t qualify. A storage area used only for the business might.

Keep clean records from the start. The IRS looks at factors including whether you keep accurate books, make real efforts to be profitable, and depend on the income for your livelihood when deciding whether an activity is a business or a hobby.⁹ A hobby classification strips your ability to deduct business expenses against that income. Washington also imposes a Business and Occupation (B&O) tax on most business activity, so check your obligations with the Department of Revenue.

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 69.22 – Cottage Food Operations
2
Washington State Department of Agriculture. Cottage Food Operation
3
Legal Information Institute. Washington Administrative Code 16-149-120 – Allowable Cottage Food Products
4
Legal Information Institute. Washington Administrative Code 16-149-110 – Labeling
5
Washington State Department of Agriculture. Application for Cottage Food Operation Permit
6
Washington State Department of Agriculture. Cottage Food Operation Permit
7
Washington State Legislature. WAC 16-149-080 – Production Requirements
8
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
9
Internal Revenue Service. Here’s How to Tell the Difference Between a Hobby and a Business for Tax Purposes