Selling food made at home in Maryland

Q: What should I read next?

Can I sell food made in my home kitchen?. 5 min read Do I need to register with the FDA to sell my food product?. 4 min read Does my sauce or salsa need a scheduled process?. 5 min read What does a retail buyer actually ask for?. 4 min read ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 8, 2026; not legal advice.

Sources last read Oct 8, 2026

What Maryland lets you make and sell from a home kitchen, in the state's own words with a link to each, and what changes when a store wants to stock you.

Run the free rules check: no account, no AI.

General information, not advice. This is written for small food makers and cites its sources, but it is not legal, regulatory or food-safety advice, and it cannot account for your product, your state or your facility. Rules change and thresholds are adjusted yearly. Confirm anything you are about to act on with your state agency, a Process Authority, or the FDA.

Who regulates food made at home in Maryland?

The Maryland Department of Health. Its own page for the Cottage Food Business:

Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Cottage Food Businesses

What may I make at home in Maryland?

Each sentence below is quoted from Maryland's own pages as ShelfStep read them on October 8, 2026, with a link to where it is written.

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what may be made at homeMaryland Code, Health–General §21-301 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(b–2) "Cottage food product" means a nonhazardous food, as specified in regulations adopted by the Department, that is sold in the State in accordance with § 21–330.1 of this subtitle and regulations adopted by the Department:”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-301 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what may be made at homeMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“Examples of allowable foods that may be produced under COMAR 10.15.03.27 Food Service Facilities - Farmer's Market, Bake Sales, and Cottage Food Business: Baked breads, cookies and pastries without potentially hazardous topping or fillings: ... Pies, turnovers, and fruit tarts from fruits with a natural pH of 4.6 or less ... Bread, biscuits, tortillas, and muffins ... Cakes and cupcakes Hot-filled canned acid foods such as: ... Fruit jelly, jam, and preserves from fruits with a natural pH of 4.6 or less ... Fruit butters from apple, apricot, grape, peach, plum, prune, quince Non-potentially hazardous candy”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what may be made at homeMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“A food product that is laboratory-tested to confirm it is safe to store at room temperature and not potentially hazardous may be sold as a cottage food (see Product Testing FAQ on the Maryland Department of Health website).”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026

What may I not make at home in Maryland?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what may not be made at homeMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“Examples of foods that cannot be allowed as cottage foods: Baked goods that require any type of refrigeration (e.g., meringue pies, pecan pies, pumpkin pies, cheesecakes, cream and custard pies, and pies and cakes or pastries with cream cheese/buttercream icings or fillings).”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what may not be made at homeMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“Examples of foods that cannot be allowed as cottage foods: ... Low-acid canned foods Acidified foods/pickled products such as corn relish, pickles, salsa, pepper jelly, barbeque sauce, mustard, or condiments Garlic and/or fresh/dried vegetables in oil mixtures Raw-seed sprouts, including but not limited to alfalfa sprouts or bean sprouts Fish or shellfish products Meat or meat products Poultry or poultry products Milk and dairy products Beverages”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026

What must a home-made label say in Maryland?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: the home-made labelMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(c) The owner of a cottage food business may sell only cottage food products that are: ... (2) Prepackaged with a label that contains: ... (ii) The following statement printed in 10 point or larger type in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label: "Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland’s food safety regulations."; and”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: the home-made labelMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(c) The owner of a cottage food business may sell only cottage food products that are: (1) Stored on the premises of the cottage food business; and (2) Prepackaged with a label that contains: (i) The following information: 1. A. The name and address of the cottage food business; or B. The name and phone number of the cottage food business and the identification number assigned to the cottage food business under subsection (d) of this section; 2. The name of the cottage food product; 3. The ingredients of the cottage food product in descending order of the amount of each ingredient by weight; 4. The net weight or net volume of the cottage food product; 5. Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements; and 6. If any nutritional claim is made, nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements;”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: the home-made labelMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(iii) For a cottage food product offered for sale at a retail food store: 1. The phone number and e–mail address of the cottage food business; and 2. The date the cottage food product was made.”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026

Where may I sell food made at home in Maryland?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: where it may be soldMaryland Code, Health–General §21-301 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(b–2) "Cottage food product" means a nonhazardous food, as specified in regulations adopted by the Department, that is sold in the State in accordance with § 21–330.1 of this subtitle and regulations adopted by the Department: (1) Directly to a consumer from a residence, at a farmer’s market, at a public event, by personal delivery, or by mail delivery; or (2) To a retail food store, including a grocery store, or a food cooperative.”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-301 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: where it may be soldMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“Interstate sales or sales outside of Maryland are prohibited.”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026

How much may I sell in a year in Maryland?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: a yearly sales ceilingMaryland General Assembly, 2026 Laws of Maryland Chapter 320 (HB 535) says:“(b–1) "Cottage food business" means a business that: ... (3) Has annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products in an amount not exceeding [$50,000] $100,000. ... SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect October 1, 2026.”Maryland General Assembly, 2026 Laws of Maryland Chapter 320 (HB 535) · Read Oct 8, 2026

What do I do before I start in Maryland?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what comes before the first saleMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(b) A cottage food business is not required to be licensed by the Department if the owner of the cottage food business complies with this section.”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what comes before the first saleMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(g) Before the owner of a cottage food business may sell a cottage food product to a retail food store, the owner shall submit to the Department: (1) Documentation of the owner’s successful completion of a food safety course approved by the Department; and (2) The label that will be affixed to the cottage food product in accordance with subsection (c)(2) of this section.”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what comes before the first saleMaryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) says:“(e) The owner of a cottage food business shall comply with all applicable county and municipal laws and ordinances regulating the preparation, processing, storage, and sale of cottage food products.”Maryland Code, Health–General §21-330.1 (Maryland General Assembly) · Read Oct 8, 2026
Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what comes before the first saleMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“The owner of a cottage food business may not sell or offer for sale a cottage food product to a retail food store until notified by the Maryland Department of Health, in writing, that the requirements of the regulation are satisfactorily met.”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026

What happens when I outgrow Maryland's home-kitchen rules?

Maryland's Cottage Food Business rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesMDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) says:“Foods that cannot be offered under cottage foods require a health department food license.”MDH, Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (last updated 11/2025) · Read Oct 8, 2026

Beyond a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan lays out the path a commercial kitchen or a co-packer takes, step by step, for each kind of product.

Source to check: FDA food facility registration

FDA's definition of a food facility21 CFR 1.227 says:“Facility means any establishment, structure, or structures under one ownership at one general physical location, or, in the case of a mobile facility, traveling to multiple locations, that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States. ... The private residence of an individual is not a facility.”21 CFR 1.227 · Read Oct 8, 2026

Source to check: Acidified foods under a state's own rules

A state’s own rules for acidified foods21 CFR 108.25(i) says:“Wherever the Commissioner finds that any State regulates the commercial processing of acidified foods under effective regulations specifying at least the requirements of part 114 of this chapter, the Commissioner shall issue a notice stating that compliance with such State regulations shall constitute compliance with this section, if the State through its regulatory agency or each processor of acidified foods in the State files with the Food and Drug Administration the registration information and the processing information prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section.”21 CFR 108.25(i) · Read Sep 20, 2026

Where does the path start, whatever you make in Maryland?

Whatever the product, ShelfStep's standard plan opens with the same six steps, and the third is the one this page is about: where you are allowed to make it. Each step's reason is the app's own.

1.
Write the recipe down with exact amounts
Cost, price, nutrition and the label are all worked out from this. Write it in the units you actually use; ShelfStep converts for the label. What matters is that someone else could make the same batch from what is written.
2.
Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen
The planned storage helps the reviewer assess the process, shelf life and packaging.
In the plan: It decides which rules you follow.
3.
Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale
This finds out whether the state’s rules allow making this in a home kitchen or point to a commercial one — and that changes the cost and the timeline of everything after it. It is much cheaper to find out now than after buying packaging.
In the plan: Your state's home-kitchen rules, in its own words. Whether they cover your product is for your state's agency to say.
4.
Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured
These measurements give your reviewer information about the batch; they do not establish safety or storage conditions on their own.
In the plan: The two numbers the acidified-food rules name. Measured on the finished product, once it has settled.
5.
Get a Process Authority's letter on how it is made safe
Ask a qualified reviewer which process and storage conditions your product needs. This is where you ask someone qualified, a Process Authority, to put in writing how the product is made safe. Buyers, insurers and inspectors may ask for that document, and it cannot be obtained after the fact for product you have already sold.
In the plan: Needs the pH first. Their letter sets out the process they ask you to hold to, and the storage line for your label.
6.
Look into FDA registration
Registration is how FDA knows your facility exists; the plan is what an inspector or a buyer’s audit asks to see. Both are far easier to do now than during either.
In the plan: Look into registration with FDA. Any filing your Process Authority letter names belongs here too.

How much do other states let a home kitchen sell in a year?

Not every state sets a yearly ceiling on home-kitchen sales, and those that do set very different ones. What the written-up states other than Maryland say, each in its own words:

California's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingCDPH, Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit 2026 says:“January 1, 2026 2024-2025 3.1 $88,878 $177,756”CDPH, Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit 2026 · Read Sep 25, 2026

Colorado's Cottage Foods Act rules: a yearly sales ceilingCDPHE, Cottage Foods Act says:“Net revenue allowance If I produce muffins, does the Act allow me to earn up to $10,000 for each type (blueberry, banana, chocolate chip)? Yes.”CDPHE, Cottage Foods Act · Read Oct 24, 2026

Connecticut's Cottage Food Operator rules: a yearly sales ceilingDCP, Sales and Doing Business in Connecticut says:“Yes, there is a yearly gross sales limit of $50,000. You must maintain records of all sales.”DCP, Sales and Doing Business in Connecticut · Read Oct 24, 2026

Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(1)(a) A cottage food operation must comply with the applicable requirements of this chapter but is exempt from the permitting requirements of s. 500.12 if the cottage food operation complies with this section and has annual gross sales of cottage food products that do not exceed $250,000. (b) For purposes of this subsection, a cottage food operation’s annual gross sales include all sales of cottage food products at any location, regardless of the types of products sold or the number of persons involved in the operation.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026

Indiana, home-based vendors: a yearly sales ceilingIDOH, Homestead and Small Farm Food Processor Guidance says:“No annual gross income restrictions”IDOH, Homestead and Small Farm Food Processor Guidance · Read Sep 25, 2026
Indiana, homestead vendors: a yearly sales ceilingIndiana Code, 2026 edition (IC 16-42-5.3 and 16-42-5.4) says:“Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "homestead vendor" means a person that prepares and sells food products or meat products from: (1) property or at a farmers market; and (2) which the person does not receive more than one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in gross sales from food products or meat products in a single year.”Indiana Code, 2026 edition (IC 16-42-5.3 and 16-42-5.4) · Read Sep 25, 2026

Kentucky's Home-Based Processor rules: a yearly sales ceilingKRS 217.015 (Kentucky General Assembly) says:“and who has a gross income of no more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) annually from the sale of the products;”KRS 217.015 (Kentucky General Assembly) · Read Oct 24, 2026

Louisiana, the date Act 801 took effect: a yearly sales ceilingLouisiana State Legislature, HB403 (2026 Regular Session) says:“06/08 H Effective date: 08/01/2026. 06/08 H Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 801.”Louisiana State Legislature, HB403 (2026 Regular Session) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Louisiana's Low-Risk Foods (R.S. 40:4.9) rules: a yearly sales ceilingLouisiana State Legislature, House Summary of Senate Amendments, HB 403 (2026 Regular Session) says:“1. Changes gross annual sales limit for producers of low-risk, homemade foods from $30,000 to $100,000. ... Proposed law increases the gross annual sales limit for this exemption from $30,000 to $100,000, after which a producer would no longer qualify for the exemption.”Louisiana State Legislature, House Summary of Senate Amendments, HB 403 (2026 Regular Session) · Read Oct 24, 2026

Michigan's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingMDARD, Cottage Food: getting started FAQ says:“The limit is currently gross sales up to $50,000 yearly, however, $75,000 is allowable if the cottage food operation sells cottage food products at a price of $250 or more per unit.”MDARD, Cottage Food: getting started FAQ · Read Oct 8, 2026
Michigan's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingMichigan Compiled Laws 289.4102 says:“(5) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the gross sales of cottage food products by a cottage food operation must not exceed $50,000.00 annually until October 1,2026. ... Beginning October 1, 2026, and by each October 1 thereafter, the department may adjust the gross sales amounts set under this subsection by the amount calculated by multiplying the sales limit in effect during the immediately preceding fiscal year by the inflation adjustment factor and rounding to the nearest whole dollar.”Michigan Compiled Laws 289.4102 · Read Oct 8, 2026

Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: a yearly sales ceiling2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“An individual selling exempt foods under this section is limited to total sales with gross receipts of $78,000 or less in a calendar year.”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026

Mississippi's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingMSDH, Cottage Food Operation: Frequently Asked Questions says:“You are limited in the amount of sales you can have selling Cottage Foods, which is $35,000 in gross annual sales.”MSDH, Cottage Food Operation: Frequently Asked Questions · Read Oct 24, 2026

Nevada's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingNRS 580.600 (Nevada Legislature) says:“(a) "Cottage food operation" means a natural person who manufactures or prepares food items in his or her private home or, if allowed by the food safety authority, in the kitchen of a fraternal or social clubhouse, a school or a religious, charitable or other nonprofit organization, for sale to a natural person for consumption and whose gross sales of such food items are not more than $100,000, as adjusted pursuant to subsection 6, per calendar year.”NRS 580.600 (Nevada Legislature) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Nevada's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingNRS 580.600 (Nevada Legislature) says:“Beginning with Fiscal Year 2026-2027, the amount of gross sales of a cottage food operation specified in paragraph (a) of subsection 7 must be adjusted for each fiscal year by the Department by adding to the amount the product of the amount multiplied by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (All Items) published by the United States Department of Labor from July 2025 to the July preceding the fiscal year for which the adjustment is calculated. The Department shall publish the adjusted amount on the Internet website of the Department on or before September 30 of each year.”NRS 580.600 (Nevada Legislature) · Read Oct 24, 2026

New Jersey's Cottage Food Operator Permit rules: a yearly sales ceilingN.J.A.C. 8:24-11, Cottage Food Operator Rules (NJDOH) says:“(b) The gross annual sales (that is, before deductions of taxes and operating expenses) that a cottage food operator generates from the sale of cottage food products shall not exceed $ 50,000.”N.J.A.C. 8:24-11, Cottage Food Operator Rules (NJDOH) · Read Oct 8, 2026

Oklahoma's Local Food Freedom Act rules: a yearly sales ceilingODAFF, Food Safety says:“The maximum allowable earnings for a local food business is $250,000 each year in sales.”ODAFF, Food Safety · Read Oct 24, 2026
Oklahoma, the date the $250,000 limit starts: a yearly sales ceilingOklahoma House of Representatives, news release, 7 May 2026 says:“The measure increases the allowable annual sales cap for local food businesses from $75,000 to $250,000 and clarifies how products can be sold and delivered to consumers. ... The measure takes effect Nov. 1, 2026.”Oklahoma House of Representatives, news release, 7 May 2026 · Read Oct 24, 2026

Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: a yearly sales ceilingODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ (March 2026) says:“In 2026, this means you can sell up to $52,700 of Cottage Foods and up to $50,000 of Processed Farm Direct foods in the calendar year.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ (March 2026) · Read Sep 25, 2026

Rhode Island's Cottage Food Manufacture rules: a yearly sales ceilingR.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27-6.2, Cottage food manufacture (Rhode Island General Assembly) says:“(6) Total annual gross sales for a cottage food operation shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per calendar year. ... The director of health shall request documentation to verify the annual gross sales figure of any cottage food operation.”R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27-6.2, Cottage food manufacture (Rhode Island General Assembly) · Read Oct 24, 2026

Texas's Cottage Food Production Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingTexas Health and Safety Code §437.001 says:“(B) has an annual gross income of $150,000 or less from the sale of food described by Paragraph (A), as the department annually adjusts for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor in function;”Texas Health and Safety Code §437.001 · Read Sep 25, 2026

Vermont's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingVermont Department of Health, Manufactured Food Rule (effective 1/15/2026) says:“6.1.1 The following food manufacturing establishments are exempt from the requirement to obtain a license: ... 6.1.1.2 A cottage food operation, as defined in this rule, that has gross annual sales of $30,000 or less from the sale of cottage food products.”Vermont Department of Health, Manufactured Food Rule (effective 1/15/2026) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Vermont, food processors with sales of $10,000 or less: a yearly sales ceilingVermont Department of Health, Manufactured Food Rule (effective 1/15/2026) says:“6.1.1 The following food manufacturing establishments are exempt from the requirement to obtain a license: : 6.1.1.1 A non-bakery food manufacturing establishment that has gross annual sales of $10,000 or less; and”Vermont Department of Health, Manufactured Food Rule (effective 1/15/2026) · Read Oct 24, 2026

Washington's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingRevised Code of Washington, chapter 69.22 says:“the annual gross sales of cottage food products may not exceed $35,000. The determination of the maximum annual gross sales must be computed on the basis of the amount of gross sales within or at a particular domestic residence and may not be computed on a per person basis within or at an individual domestic residence.”Revised Code of Washington, chapter 69.22 · Read Sep 25, 2026

Wisconsin, home-canned foods: a yearly sales ceilingWis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) says:“c. The person receives less than $5,000 per year from the sale of the food products.”Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) · Read Oct 24, 2026

Wyoming's Wyoming Food Freedom Act rules: a yearly sales ceilingWyoming Statutes § 11-49-102, Definitions says:“"Producer" means any person who grows, harvests, prepares or processes any food or drink products on the person's owned or leased property, does not produce more than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) individual food or drink products annually and does not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00) in gross revenue annually from the food and drink products;”Wyoming Statutes § 11-49-102, Definitions · Read Oct 24, 2026

How do I sell a particular product from Maryland?

Each product page below shows which of Maryland's lines name one kind of product, where the state says you may sell it, and the plan's steps to a store shelf.

What should I read next?

Can I sell food made in my home kitchen?5 min read Do I need to register with the FDA to sell my food product?4 min read Does my sauce or salsa need a scheduled process?5 min read What does a retail buyer actually ask for?4 min read

Check the rules for your own product

The rules check runs the same deterministic engine ShelfStep uses inside the app, on your answers, and quotes the sentences each rule rests on, with their links and the day ShelfStep read them. It does not decide which apply. It is free, needs no account and uses no AI. A ShelfStep workspace then keeps your plan, your records and the dates, free for one product.

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