Who the Texas cottage food law covers
Texas calls you a "cottage food production operation": an individual working from their own home, or a nonprofit working from the home of one of its directors or officers. You sell what you make yourself, directly to consumers or to a registered cottage food vendor.
Which foods you can sell
Since Senate Bill 541, the rule is simple: every food is allowed except a short list. Cookies, breads, candy, jams, pickles, dry mixes and roasted coffee all qualify. Foods that need refrigeration, like cheesecake or cream pies, are allowed too, with extra rules.
These foods stay off limits:
- Meat, poultry and products made with them
- Seafood, fish and shellfish
- Ice and ice products, including shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles and gelato
- Low-acid canned goods
- Products with CBD or THC
- Raw milk and raw milk products
Pickled fruit or vegetables, fermented vegetables and plant-based acidified canned goods are allowed, but each batch needs its own number on the label, and DSHS points you to tested recipe sources for them.
Where and how you can sell
You sell directly to the consumer and hand over the food at the point of sale or at a place the buyer picks. You can also give out samples anywhere, and donate shelf-stable foods to events like a bake sale.
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Direct to consumers, delivered in person | Yes |
| Online orders | Yes, if you, an employee or a household member delivers |
| Shipping by mail or courier | No |
| Wholesale to a registered cottage food vendor | Yes, except refrigerated (TCS) foods |
| Wholesale to other stores or restaurants | No |
A cottage food vendor buys from you and resells to consumers at a farmers' market, farm stand, restaurant or retail store. The vendor registers with DSHS, posts a sign with the home-kitchen statement, and the label shows the date the food was made.
Selling online means posting all the label information on your website before you take payment. Your address or DSHS number only has to appear on the label itself.
Registration, permits and training
Most Texas cottage food businesses need no license at all. Local health departments may not require a permit, charge a fee or inspect your kitchen for direct sales. Registering on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry is only required in two cases, and optional in a third:
- Required: you sell time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods
- Required: you are a cottage food vendor buying from operations at wholesale
- Optional: you want a DSHS number on your label instead of your home address
Everyone who runs a cottage food operation must complete a food handler course accredited under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 438, Subchapter D.
Refrigerated (TCS) foods
A TCS food needs time and temperature control to stay safe. Keep it at 41°F or below (cold) or 135°F or above (hot) while you store and deliver it. TCS foods can't be wholesaled to vendors or donated.
When you outgrow the cottage food law
Past $150,000 a year, selling to stores yourself, or shipping orders? Then you need a licensed food manufacturer or food establishment permit, and federal labeling applies in full: ingredient list, net quantity and in most cases a Nutrition Facts panel.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →