Who the New Jersey cottage food law covers
The rules are in N.J.A.C. 8:24-11. Anyone who makes and sells food to consumers needs either a Cottage Food Operator permit or a license as a retail food establishment. The permit is only for New Jersey residents and covers food made in the private kitchen of your own residence, at no other location.
The permit is tied to your address. Move house and you apply for a new one, and your labels change with the new town.
Which foods you can sell
A cottage food product is a non-TCS food: it stays safe without time or temperature control. The Department of Health lists these:
- Breads and rolls
- Cakes and cupcakes
- Cookies and pastries
- Candy, brittle, toffee
- Fudge
- Chocolate-covered nuts
- Dried fruit
- Dried herbs and seasonings
- Dried pasta
- Dry baking mix
- Jams, jellies, preserves
- Fruit pies (not pumpkin)
- Granola and trail mix
- Processed honey
- Nut butters
- Popcorn and caramel corn
- Roasted coffee, dried tea
- Vinegar and mustard
- Waffle cones and pizzelles
Other non-TCS foods can be added on written application. Raw, unprocessed honey is not a cottage food at all and needs no permit.
Never use these ingredients in a New Jersey cottage food:
- Cream, sour cream, custard, pudding, cheese and cream cheese
- Meat and fish
- Vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh herbs, fresh flowers, peppers, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots
- Cooked rice, beans, mushrooms, tofu and soy protein foods
- Alcohol, CBD and THC
- Home-grown or foraged plants
Cream cheese, meringue, Swiss meringue, buttercream (French and German included), whipped cream and ganache frostings are out. Freeze-drying or dehydrating fruit with a machine is not allowed either.
Where you can hand over your food
You can advertise, take orders and accept payments by mail, phone or internet. The handover itself has to happen at one of these places:
| Place | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Your home (not for eating there) | Yes |
| The customer's home in New Jersey | Yes |
| A New Jersey farmers market or farm stand | Yes, with local market and health permits |
| A temporary event like a craft fair or county fair | Yes, with a temporary food permit |
| Another New Jersey location where the law allows it | Yes |
| Retail stores, coffee shops, delis and wholesalers | No |
| Mail, courier or third-party delivery | No |
| Anywhere outside New Jersey | No |
A pop-up table inside an existing store or restaurant is not allowed, and neither are cooking or decorating classes. Food has to be finished at home, not prepared on site at an event.
How to get a Cottage Food Operator permit
A food safety specialist reviews every product. The review takes 16 weeks from a complete application, and the clock pauses while you send anything missing. Adding products later means a new full application and another $100.
Your home kitchen is not inspected. A health authority may still enter to check compliance or investigate a complaint, for example about contamination or foodborne illness.
When you outgrow the New Jersey cottage food law
Shipping orders, selling to shops or going past $50,000 takes a commercial kitchen. Mail order and retail sales go through your local health department, and selling to stores needs a Wholesale Food-Cosmetic License. From there, federal labeling applies, often with Nutrition Facts.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →