Who the Nevada cottage food law covers
A Nevada cottage food operation is a natural person who prepares food in the kitchen of their private home and sells it directly to an end consumer. A partnership, family business or company with employees doesn't qualify, and the food can't be made in a restaurant, commissary or other permitted kitchen.
You must live and make the food in Nevada. Someone from another county can sell in Clark County too, after registering with the Southern Nevada Health District.
Which foods you can sell
The law lists the allowed categories. Anything else is not a cottage food:
- Nuts and nut mixes
- Candies, but not cream-based chocolates like ganache and truffles
- Jams, jellies and preserves from standardized recipes with the fruits in 21 CFR Part 150
- Vinegar and flavored vinegar, strained before bottling
- Dry herbs and seasoning mixes
- Dried fruits
- Cereals, trail mixes and granola
- Popcorn and popcorn balls
- Baked goods that need no time or temperature control
Baked goods are cooked with dry heat, never fried or steamed. They can't contain cream-based frostings, cream cheese, buttercream with egg (Swiss, Italian or French), custards, pumpkin or pecan pie fillings, fresh fruit toppings or soft cheese. Fruit butter and sugar-free or no-sugar-added jams are out.
Pickles and other acidified foods made at home fall under Nevada's separate craft food law, run by the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Where and how you can sell
Every sale is a person-to-person exchange, to a buyer who eats the food themselves. All food, samples included, is packaged at home before it leaves for the point of sale.
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| From your home | Yes, in person |
| Licensed farmers market, flea market, swap meet | Yes, with the market manager's approval |
| Church bazaar, garage sale, craft fair | Yes |
| Website or social media | For information and advertising, with no shipping option |
| Mail or third-party delivery | No |
| Consignment, wholesale, restaurants and other permitted food establishments | No |
Phone and online orders are a gray area. One answer in the Southern Nevada Health District FAQ says customers may order by phone or internet when you deliver the food in person yourself; another says the law prohibits selling by telephone or via the internet. Ask your registering authority before you take orders that way. Free samples are fine if they are allowed foods, packaged at home.
Registration, fee and who to call
Who registers you depends on where you live. In Clark County, the Southern Nevada Health District pre-screens a signed application, then you finish it in its online portal, pay a one-time, non-refundable $220 fee and wait for the approval letter. You can't operate before that letter arrives.
| Area | Registering authority |
|---|---|
| Clark County | Southern Nevada Health District |
| Reno, Sparks and Washoe County | Northern Nevada Public Health |
| Carson City | Carson City Health and Human Services |
| Churchill, Mineral, Eureka and Pershing counties | Central Nevada Health District |
| All other areas | Nevada Department of Agriculture Food Program |
The SNHD registration doesn't expire while it stays accurate. Moving house, changing your name or adding a new food category means contacting the district. You also need the business licenses that apply, such as with the Nevada Secretary of State and your city or county.
Assembly Bill 352 moves the whole cottage food program to the Nevada Department of Agriculture, which will register every operation statewide. Until that switch, the local authorities above handle registration.
When you outgrow the Nevada cottage food law
Over $100,000, shipping orders, selling to shops or cafes, or hiring help all take a permitted food establishment. An operator caught working outside the cottage food limits is treated as an unpermitted vendor, and the food can be confiscated.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →