State Guides3 min read
Michigan Cottage Food Laws 2026: No License, Direct Sales Only
Sell shelf-stable foods from a Michigan home kitchen with no license, up to $50,000 a year ($75,000 for items priced at $250 or more) as of October 2026.
At a glance
- No license or registration.
- MDARD has no application, registration or permit for cottage food. You still follow the food law's labeling and safety rules, and other state, tax and local rules still apply.
- Shelf-stable foods only
- foods that are safe at room temperature, such as baked goods, jams, candy and dry mixes.
- Sales cap
- $50,000 in gross sales a year, or $75,000 if you sell products at $250 or more per unit (MCL 289.4102). The law lets MDARD raise both figures for inflation each October 1, starting in 2026; on October 3, 2026, MDARD still listed $50,000 and $75,000.
- Direct to customers in Michigan.
- No wholesale or consignment. Online and mail orders are allowed if the customer can talk with you before buying.
What you can sell
The law covers food that does not need time or temperature control for safety. It names jams, jellies, dried fruit, candy, cereal, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs and shelf-stable baked goods (MCL 289.1105). MDARD's allowed foods list goes further, including celebration cakes, cooked fruit pies, freeze-dried candy, nut butters and roasted coffee.
Not allowed include:
- Pies and cakes that need refrigeration: cream, custard, pumpkin and lemon meringue pies, cheesecake, and cream cheese frosting.
- Buttercream, unless it is commercially made and shelf-stable or one of the two tested recipes on MDARD's list.
- Salsa, hot sauce, barbecue sauce and other condiments, fruit butters such as apple butter, and canned, acidified or pickled foods.
- Meat, poultry, milk products and beverages, including kombucha and cider.
If a recipe is not on the list, call MDARD at 800-292-3939 before you sell it.
How you can sell
- In person: at farmers markets, craft shows, roadside stands or from home, straight to the customer. A market can still require its own license or rules from its vendors.
- Online, by mail or through a delivery app: allowed only if the customer has a chance to talk with you first, face to face or by video call, and only to customers in Michigan.
- Not allowed: selling to a store or restaurant for resale, consignment, or having a shop or farm stop hold orders for pickup.
Your kitchen
- Use the kitchen of your primary home. A house, apartment or rental counts; a second home, motor home or rented commercial kitchen does not.
- Store products only in your home.
- Each person in a household who runs their own cottage food business gets their own sales cap.
- Local zoning and other local rules still apply, so check with your city or township.
MSU Extension offers an MDARD-funded online course on safe production, packaging, labeling and storage. The law does not require it.
Labels
Products must be packaged and labeled before sale. Michigan has two label versions. By default you print your business name and address. If you register with the MSU Product Center, which is optional and costs at most $50 once, you print your name, phone number and registration number instead of your address.
Label rules last verified Oct 3, 2026 against 5 official sources.
Make a Michigan labelCottage food operation not registered with the MSU Product Center (name and address on the label)
More
Product Center's voluntary cottage food registration program. The label identifies the operation by its name and address. Products must be prepackaged and labeled before sale.Required on the label
Contains: {allergens}
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development.
- Product nameThe name of the cottage food product.
- IngredientsAll ingredients, in descending order of predominance by weight.
- Net quantityNet weight or net volume.
- Business or producer nameThe name of the business of the cottage food operation.
- AddressThe physical address of the home kitchen.
Depends on your product or how you sell
- Nutrition informationWhen: A nutritional claim is made for the product.Appropriate labeling as specified by federal labeling requirements.
- Labeling information on the invoice (cakes that are not easily packaged)When: The product is a wedding cake, birthday cake or other specialty cake that is not easily packaged.All of the labeling requirements go on the invoice, and the invoice is delivered with the cake.
- Hand-printed label legibilityWhen: The label is hand-printed.Clearly legible, written with durable, permanent ink, and printed large enough to equal the font-size requirement (at least the equivalent of 11-point for the home-kitchen statement).
The cottage food rules say nothing about date made. That does not make them optional: general food labeling rules may still apply, and the label generator lets you add them.
Cottage food operation registered with the MSU Product Center (name, telephone number and registration number on the label)
More
The label identifies the operation by its name, telephone number and registration number in place of the home address. Products must be prepackaged and labeled before sale.Required on the label
Contains: {allergens}
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development.
- Product nameThe name of the cottage food product.
- IngredientsAll ingredients, in descending order of predominance by weight.
- Net quantityNet weight or net volume.
- Business or producer nameThe name of the business of the cottage food operation.
- Phone numberThe telephone number of the business of the cottage food operation.
- Registration numberThe registration number issued to the cottage food operation by the MSU Product Center.
Depends on your product or how you sell
- Nutrition informationWhen: A nutritional claim is made for the product.Appropriate labeling as specified by federal labeling requirements.
- Labeling information on the invoice (cakes that are not easily packaged)When: The product is a wedding cake, birthday cake or other specialty cake that is not easily packaged.All of the labeling requirements go on the invoice, and the invoice is delivered with the cake.
- Hand-printed label legibilityWhen: The label is hand-printed.Clearly legible, written with durable, permanent ink, and printed large enough to equal the font-size requirement (at least the equivalent of 11-point for the home-kitchen statement).
The cottage food rules say nothing about date made. That does not make them optional: general food labeling rules may still apply, and the label generator lets you add them.
General labeling law: Yes, other law applies on top, per the saved pages.
Sources (5)
Before your first sale
- To do: Check each product against MDARD's allowed foods list.
- To do: Print labels, with the home-kitchen statement in at least 11-point type.
- To do: Ask each market about its own vendor rules.
- To do: Set up a way to talk with online customers before they buy.
- To do: Keep sales records; an MDARD inspector can ask for them.
Common questions
Do I need to collect sales tax?
Possibly. MDARD says sales tax is generally not charged on prepackaged food that is not for immediate consumption, and recommends asking the Michigan Department of Treasury which of your products are taxable.
Can I ship to customers?
Yes, to customers in Michigan, as long as they could talk with you before the sale. Shipping to other states is not allowed.
Can I use a commercial kitchen instead?
Not under the cottage food rules. Food made in a rented kitchen, even a licensed one, needs a food establishment license.
