Nevada Cottage Food Laws: Your Complete Guide for 2026

"Do I need to register in every Nevada county where I want to sell? This is confusing!"

— Real question from a Nevada cottage food producer

TL;DR: Nevada Cottage Food Laws Quick Answer

Based on Nevada DPBH’s "Cottage Food Operations: A Guide":

• Sales limit: Cottage foods are limited to $35,000 in gross sales per calendar year.[^law]
• Where you can sell: Sales must be direct, person-to-person (examples listed include farmers markets, flea markets, swap meets, church bazaars, garage sales, and craft fairs).[^law]
• Online sales/shipping: You cannot sell cottage foods over the internet (a website may be used for advertising, but not for online ordering).[^law]
• Home inspection: The guide describes cottage foods as being prepared in a private home of the registered individual (and sold directly by the producer). It does not describe a routine home-kitchen inspection as part of the cottage food process.[^law]

Last verified: February 2026 against Nevada DPBH “Cottage Food Operations: A Guide” (PDF).

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Important: Nevada is Split by Local Health Authority

Nevada’s DPBH guide explicitly applies to a set of rural counties (listed on the cover of the guide).[^law] If you live in or plan to sell in other jurisdictions (for example, Southern Nevada/Clark County, Washoe County, or Carson City), you may need to work with that local health authority instead of (or in addition to) the state registration described in the guide.[^law]

If you’re unsure which authority applies to you, start with DPBH Environmental Health and ask where your home kitchen address and your sales locations fall.[^law]

Registration: What We Can Verify (and What We Can’t)

• Verified: The guide states you must have registered as a cottage food vendor and that the foods must be prepared in a private home of the registered individual.¹
• UNKNOWN: Whether every Nevada county requires a separate registration, and which specific forms/fees apply in each local jurisdiction (the guide notes that other local health authorities have their own requirements).¹

Products: What Counts as “Cottage Food” (High-level)

The DPBH guide frames cottage foods as non-potentially hazardous foods and gives examples (like breads and cookies) and examples of items that are not cottage foods (such as baked goods that must be kept cold).¹

Examples of foods/items mentioned in the DPBH guide

The guide includes examples of allowed items such as:

• Baked goods that do not require temperature control (and are not potentially hazardous)¹
• Jams, jellies, and preserves¹
• Hard candies / candies made with commercial chocolate¹
• Dry herbs and seasoning mixes¹
• Dried fruits¹
• Cereals, trail mixes, and granola¹

Examples of fillings/ingredients called out as NOT allowed in those baked goods

The guide’s cover page lists baked-good ingredients/fillings that are not included in the described category (for example: cream, custard, meringue, cream cheese, certain non-commercial frostings with low sugar, garnishes, and fillings).¹

If your product isn’t clearly in a low-risk, shelf-stable category, treat it as UNKNOWN until your regulating health authority confirms it.

Where You Can Sell (Direct, Person-to-Person)

The DPBH guide states sales must be direct person-to-person and provides examples of venue types (farmers markets and other community/temporary market settings).¹

• Verified: You cannot sell through wholesalers, brokers, distributors, restaurants, or via consignment.¹
• Verified: You cannot sell over the internet.¹

Revenue Cap

• Verified: Cottage foods are limited to gross food sales of not more than $35,000 per calendar year (as stated in the DPBH guide).¹
• UNKNOWN: Whether the cap amount, definitions, or exceptions differ under local health authority programs (the guide notes different authorities for different counties).¹

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Sources

Footnotes

1. https://www.dpbh.nv.gov/siteassets/regulatory/environmental-health/cottage-food/cottage-foods-guide-2023-branded.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵