Guide · License cost
Cottage food license cost in Maryland
Informational only, not legal advice.
Maryland does not charge a state cottage food license fee.
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (Last Updated 11/2025), Appendix C · Verified Oct 21, 2026
No license fee. MDH's decision tool says there is "No fee for review" of retail-store requests. The food safety course required for retail-store sales and any laboratory product testing are provided by outside organizations; MDH does not set their prices.
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (Last Updated 11/2025), Appendix C · Verified Oct 21, 2026
What else Maryland requires
Does Maryland require a cottage food permit?
Maryland does not require a state-issued permit for cottage food.
Source: Md. Code, Health–General § 21-330.1(b) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
A cottage food business is not required to be licensed by MDH if it complies with § 21-330.1. Before selling to a retail food store, the owner must submit the product label and food safety course documentation to MDH and wait for written notice that the requirements are met (COMAR 10.15.03.27C(6)–(7)). MDH says some local jurisdictions may have more restrictive laws or ordinances.
Source: Md. Code, Health–General § 21-330.1(b) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
No license, registration, or inspection is needed to sell directly to consumers. Foods must be non-potentially hazardous, made, prepackaged, and labeled in the home kitchen, stored on the premises, and sold only in Maryland. A business may ask MDH for a unique identification number to print on labels instead of its home address, using MDH's ID and Retail Sales Request Form. To sell to a retail food store, submit the store label and proof of an ANSI-accredited, MDH-approved food safety course completed in the past 3 years through the same form; MDH reviews it and issues a compliance letter, and the business may not sell to a store until notified in writing. MDH charges no fee for the review.
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (Last Updated 11/2025) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Retail-store requirements: COMAR 10.15.03.27C(6)–(7). "No fee for review and no license is required" and "Changes in products/business locations/labeling/sales locations must receive approval" (for the retail-store route) are from the guidelines' Appendix C decision tool. Laboratory results for products that need testing must be submitted with a retail-store or ID-number request (MDH FAQ #28). Owners must follow all applicable county and municipal laws (§ 21-330.1(e)).
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (Last Updated 11/2025) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Do I need training or a home inspection in Maryland?
Maryland does not require food safety training.
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated 11/2025), Q5 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Training is required only to sell to a retail food store: an MDH-approved, ANSI-accredited basic food safety course completed in the past 3 years covering basic food safety, cleaning and sanitizing, personal hygiene, pest control and prevention, and receiving, storing, preparing, and serving food (Health–General § 21-330.1(g); COMAR 10.15.03.27C(6)).
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated 11/2025), Q5 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Maryland does not require a home kitchen inspection.
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated 11/2025), Q6 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
No preliminary or routine inspection. On a complaint or illness report, MDH or the local health department may enter and inspect the home kitchen and collect samples, and the owner may not refuse access or interfere (Health–General § 21-330.1(f); COMAR 10.15.03.27C(4)–(5)).
Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated 11/2025), Q6 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Is there a sales cap in Maryland?
Maryland caps cottage food sales at $100,000 a year.
Source: 2026 Md. Laws ch. 320 (HB 535), amending Health–General § 21-301(b–1)(3) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products may not exceed $100,000, effective October 1, 2026 (raised from $50,000). DLS says the cap was raised from $25,000 to $50,000 in 2022. As of 2026-10-21, COMAR 10.15.03.02B(17-1), MDH's guidelines (11/2025), and the statute text on the General Assembly website still show $50,000.
Source: 2026 Md. Laws ch. 320 (HB 535), amending Health–General § 21-301(b–1)(3) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
The cap is in the statutory definition of a cottage food business: a business with annual revenues from the sale of cottage food products not exceeding $100,000. Chapter 320 was approved by the Governor on April 28, 2026 and took effect October 1, 2026.
Source: 2026 Md. Laws ch. 320 (HB 535) — bill page · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Cottage food fees in other states
Of the 20 states this site covers, including Maryland, 14 charge no state fee, 3 charge one, and 3 leave fees to local governments.