State Guides5 min read
Ohio Cottage Food Laws 2026: No License or Inspection for Cottage Food
Produce non-potentially hazardous foods in Ohio with no license or inspection. To sell perishable baked goods, home bakeries pay a $10 annual registration fee.
At a glance
- Two main paths.
- A cottage food production operation sells non-potentially hazardous foods without a license or inspection. A home bakery registration allows the sale of potentially hazardous baked goods and requires licensing and inspection by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety.
- No license for cottage food.
- A cottage food production operation is exempt from inspection and licensing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
- Home bakery fee.
- The annual registration fee for a home bakery is $10.
- Where you can sell.
- Cottage food products may only be sold in Ohio. Home bakeries may distribute their products outside of the state of Ohio.
Pick your route
Cottage food production operation
A cottage food production operation produces non-potentially hazardous foods in a home kitchen. "Home" means the primary residence occupied by the residence's owner, on the condition that the residence contains only one stove or oven used for cooking, which may be a double oven, designed for common residence usage and not for a commercial usage, and that the stove or oven be operated in an ordinary kitchen within the residence. This path requires no license or inspection from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Home bakery registration
A home bakery is defined as any person who owns or operates a home bakery with only one oven, in a stove of ordinary home kitchen design and located in a home, used for the baking of baked goods to be sold. Unlike a cottage food operation, a home bakery must be licensed and inspected by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety. This path allows you to make potentially hazardous bakery products, such as cheesecakes, cream pies, custard pies, and pumpkin pies, which require refrigeration.
What you can sell
Under the cottage food path, you can produce non-potentially hazardous foods. Approved items include non-potentially hazardous bakery products like cookies, bread, brownies, cakes and fruit pies; candy including no-bake cookies and chocolate covered pretzels or similar chocolate covered non-perishable items; jams and jellies; fruit butters; granola, granola bars, and granola bars dipped in candy (if fruit is used it must be commercially dried); popcorn, including flavored popcorn, kettle corn, popcorn balls, and caramel corn (not including un-popped popping corn); unfilled baked donuts; waffle cones; pizzelles; dry cereal and nut snack mixes with seasonings; roasted coffee (whole beans or ground); dry baking mixes; dry herbs and herb blends; dry spices and seasoning blends; dry tea blends; flavored honey made by a beekeeper exempt under ORC 3715.012; fruit chutney; maple sugar made by a processor of tree syrup exempt under ORC 3715.012; and dry soup mixes containing commercially dried vegetables, beans, grains, and seasoning.
A cottage food production operation is not permitted to process acidified foods, low-acid canned foods, potentially hazardous foods, or any non-potentially hazardous foods not listed in the rules. Potentially hazardous food requires temperature control because it is capable of supporting the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms. Examples include raw or cooked animal products, cooked vegetables, garlic in oil, cheesecakes, pumpkin pies, custard pies, and cream pies. Acidified food means a low acid food to which acids or acid foods are added, such as beans, cucumbers, and cabbage.
How and where you can sell
Cottage food products may only be sold in Ohio. Properly identified and labeled cottage food products may be sold directly to the consumer from the home where the products are produced. They may also be sold through grocery stores, registered farm markets, farmers markets, and sold or used in preparing food in a restaurant. Cottage foods may also be sold at festivals or celebrations, on the condition that the festival or celebration is organized by a political subdivision of the state and lasts for a period not longer than seven consecutive days.
Properly labeled home bakery products may be sold from your home bakery. Commercially produced foods may be sold through grocery stores, convenience stores, farm markets, farmers markets, and other retail outlets. Home bakery products may also be served as a food item offered by restaurants. Furthermore, home bakeries may distribute their products outside of the state of Ohio.
Labels
Cottage food products require a specific label that includes the statement "This Product is Home Produced" in ten-point type. Home bakery labels must follow federal standards under 21 CFR Part 101. The block below lists the exact label rules for each regime.
Label rules last verified Oct 2, 2026 against 13 official sources.
Make a Ohio labelCottage food production operation (ORC 3715.023; OAC ch. 901:3-20)
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no license or inspection. Exception: labeling requirements do not apply to fruit butter produced at a festival or celebration organized by a political subdivision of Ohio and sold from the production site during it (ORC 3715.022(B)).Required on the label
Contains {major food allergen sources}
This product is home produced.
- Product nameCommon or usual name of the food, accurately identifying or describing the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or ingredients (ODA 'Statement of Identity').
- IngredientsCommon or usual names in descending order of predominance by weight; sub-ingredients listed parenthetically after the compound ingredient.
- Net quantityNet weight in both U.S. Customary (inch-pound) and metric (SI) units, introduced by 'NET WEIGHT' or an appropriate abbreviation (ODA guidance; ODA's example label reads 'NET WT 8 OZ (227 g)').
- Business or producer nameBusiness name, continuous with the address block (ODA 'Statement of Responsibility').
- AddressStreet address, city, state and zip code.
Depends on your product or how you sell
- Best-by dateWhen: The packaged food has a quality assurance period of 30 days or less AND the business sold $100,000 or more of all products in the preceding year (general Ohio law, ORC 3715.171).A 'sale date' (the date by which the packager recommends the food be sold for consumption) that is legible and understandable to the consumer.
- Nutrition informationWhen: The label makes a nutrient content claim or a health claim.Nutrition Facts panel per 21 CFR Part 101.
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.
Home bakery registration (ORC ch. 911; ODA Home Bakery)
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Unlike the cottage food regime, a home bakery may sell potentially hazardous bakery products that require refrigeration and may distribute outside Ohio (ODA Home Bakery page). The ten-point 'This product is home produced.' statement in ORC 3715.023(A)(5) applies to cottage food production operations only. Label rules here come from ODA's own guidance plus the general misbranding statute; no home-bakery-specific labeling rule was found in ORC ch. 911 or OAC ch. 901:3-1 beyond bread (ORC 911.18).Required on the label
Contains {major food allergen sources}
- Product nameCommon or usual name of the food.
- IngredientsCommon or usual names in descending order of predominance by weight; sub-ingredients in parentheses.
- Net quantityNet weight in both U.S. Customary and SI (metric) units, introduced by 'NET WEIGHT' or an appropriate abbreviation, on the principal display panel within the bottom 30 percent of the label panel.
- Business or producer nameName of the business, continuous with the address.
- AddressStreet address.
Depends on your product or how you sell
Keep Refrigerated
The bakery item requires refrigeration.- Best-by dateWhen: Home bakery product that begins to diminish in quality in 30 days or less (ODA); the underlying statute, ORC 3715.171(B), exempts a place of business that sold under $100,000 of all products in the…A 'sale date' indicating the period of peak quality, as determined by the manufacturer, easily understood by the consumer.
- Storage or handling instructionsWhen: The bakery item requires refrigeration (home bakeries may sell potentially hazardous bakery products such as cheesecakes and cream, custard and pumpkin pies).'Keep Refrigerated' or another similar statement.
- Nutrition informationWhen: The label makes a nutrient content claim or a health claim.Nutrition Facts panel per 21 CFR Part 101.
- Loaf bread: weight statement and business name and addressWhen: The product is a loaf of bread.Visible and legible statement of the loaf's weight plus the business name and address, in a plain position; at most one label per loaf or unit.
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.
Sources (13)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.023
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.01(A)(19)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.022
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.025
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.60 (effective March 20, 2026)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.171
- Ohio Rev. Code ch. 911 (§§ 911.02, 911.18)
- Ohio Adm. Code ch. 901:3-20 (Cottage Food Production)
- Ohio Adm. Code 901:3-1-11 (Food labeling, effective Feb. 12, 2024)
- Ohio Legislature, H.B. 134 (136th General Assembly), bill record and versions API
- Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, Cottage Foods page (page dated April 04, 2018)
- ODA Cottage Food Production Operation Fact Sheet (updated February 2023)
- Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, Home Bakery page (page dated April 04, 2018)
Before your first sale
- To do: Check every product against the approved cottage food list or home bakery rules before producing it for sale.
- To do: Choose your route: start selling cottage food directly, or apply for a home bakery registration if you want to make potentially hazardous baked goods.
- To do: Print labels with all required components, including allergen declarations when a major food allergen is present, as required by 21 CFR Part 101.
- To do: For pricing and first-sales advice, visit your first sales from home.
Common questions
Do I need a cottage food license in Ohio?
No. A cottage food production operation is exempt from inspection and licensing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. However, all food products, including those produced and packaged by cottage food production operations, are subject to food sampling conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture to determine if a food product is misbranded or adulterated.
What is the difference between a cottage food operation and a home bakery?
A cottage food operation produces only non-potentially hazardous foods and is exempt from inspection and licensing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. A home bakery must be licensed and inspected by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, and can produce potentially hazardous bakery products like cheesecakes and cream pies that require refrigeration. The annual registration fee for a home bakery is $10.
Can I sell Ohio cottage food products out of state?
No. Cottage food products may only be sold in Ohio. However, home bakeries may distribute their products outside of the state of Ohio.
Do I need to pay quarterly taxes for my cottage bakery?
The Ohio cottage food laws do not address tax requirements; check with the Ohio Department of Taxation and your local tax authority for your business tax obligations.
