Question 1

Does Missouri require a cottage food permit?

Accepted Answer

Missouri does not require a state-issued permit for cottage food. DHSS: "There is no food permit or license for cottage food production operations, but products must meet the labeling requirements listed by law." Foods outside the Cottage Law must meet local public health agency food safety rules and may need an approved commercial kitchen with routine inspection. No permit, license, or registration. A cottage food production operation is an individual operating out of their home (a primary residence with a kitchen and appliances designed for common residential use) who makes baked goods, canned jams or jellies, or dried herbs or herb mixes and sells them only directly to consumers. Products must carry the required label. Only the person who prepared the food, or a household member with extensive knowledge of it, may sell it. Who may sell: DHSS Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance. Selling wholesale takes a product out of the Cottage Law; wholesalers must be inspected under the DHSS Manufactured Food program. Local public health agencies may adopt food ordinances equal to or more stringent than state regulations (DHSS guidance), but § 196.298(3)(1) says a local health department shall not regulate production at a cottage food production operation.

Question 2

Do I need training or a home inspection in Missouri?

Accepted Answer

Missouri does not require food safety training. RSMo § 196.298 contains no training requirement and says a cottage food production operation is not subject to any state health or food code laws or regulations other than that section and its rules. DHSS's guidance names no training requirement. Missouri does not require a home kitchen inspection. DHSS: cottage foods are made "for sale to the public without being subject to routine inspection." Local health departments may not regulate production at a cottage food production operation; they and DHSS must keep a record of complaints, and state and local health departments keep their authority to investigate food-borne disease or outbreaks (§ 196.298(3), (6)).

Question 3

Is there a sales cap in Missouri?

Accepted Answer

Missouri sets no overall annual sales cap for cottage food. DHSS: "There is no longer a limit to how much a cottage food producer can make annually." The $50,000 annual gross income cap was removed by 2022 H.B. 1697, effective Aug. 28, 2022; the current RSMo § 196.298 contains no sales limit.

State	State fee	Source
Arizona	No state fee	ADHS Cottage Food Program — Frequently Asked Questions
California	Set locally	Cal. Health & Safety Code § 114365.6
Florida	No state fee	FDACS — Cottage Foods
Georgia	No state fee	GDA — Cottage Food Update: House Bill 398 & FAQ
Illinois	Set locally	410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, Sec. 4), subsec. (c)
Indiana	No state fee	Indiana Department of Health — Indiana Home-Based Vendor Handbook (Summer 2025), FAQ
Maryland	No state fee	MDH Office of Food Protection — Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses (Last Updated 11/2025), Appendix C
Massachusetts	Set locally	105 CMR 590.000 (Massachusetts Retail Food Code), as published by MDPH, § 590.008 (FC 8-303.20(C))
Michigan	No state fee	MDARD — Cottage Food: Selling and Samples
Missouri	No state fee	Missouri DHSS — Missouri Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance (Aug. 2023)
New Jersey	$100	N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 (Cottage Food Operators), as published by NJDOH, § 8:24-11.6
New York	Free	NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets — Home Processing
North Carolina	No state fee	NCDA&CS Food & Drug Protection — Home Processor
Ohio	No state fee	Ohio Dept. of Agriculture — Cottage Food
Pennsylvania	$35	3 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57 (Food Safety Act), § 5734(c)
Tennessee	No state fee	Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture — Tennessee Food Freedom Act
Texas	No state fee	Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production
Virginia	No state fee	VDACS — Virginia's Home Food Processing Exemptions FAQ (Rev. Jul 2026)
Washington	$355	Washington State Dept. of Agriculture — Cottage Food
Wisconsin	No state fee	DATCP — Home-Canned Foods

Cottage food license cost in Missouri

What else Missouri requires

Does Missouri require a cottage food permit?

Do I need training or a home inspection in Missouri?

Is there a sales cap in Missouri?

Cottage food fees in other states

What you can sell in Missouri