Arizona cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Arizona registers cottage food preparers online with the Department of Health Services, sets no sales cap, lets her take orders online, and puts one fixed allergen and inspection sentence on every label.

Out-of-state sale rides on federal law rather than a flat ban, and a shelf-stable item can travel by mail, a courier or a signed shelf in someone else's store.

Registering

The rule is administered by Arizona Department of Health Services; the guide reads A.R.S. §§ 36-931 to 36-933, added by 2024 Ariz. Laws Ch. 18 (H.B. 2042), approved March 29, 2024.

She registers online with the Department of Health Services, completes a food handler training course from an accredited program and keeps her certification active. The registration renews every three years, and she has thirty days to update her information after a change. Neither the statute nor the Department's own registration rule and step-by-step guide names a fee; the whole application walkthrough has no payment step.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

She can take orders online, and Arizona ties an out-of-state sale to whatever federal law allows rather than banning it outright, a real difference from most states' cottage food rules. A shelf-stable cottage food can travel by mail, a third-party carrier or through a store's shelf, kept in a separate section with a sign. A dairy, meat or poultry item has to be sold and handed to her customer in person.

What goes on the label

The statement below goes on the package and, if she sells online, in a prominent notice on the listing, along with her name and registration number, the ingredients and production date, and a Department web address for reporting illness or checking her registration.

"This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection."

• The food preparer's name and registration number
• All ingredients in the cottage food product and its production date
• A disclosure if the product was made in a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities
• A Department website address for reporting foodborne illness and verifying registration status

What you can bake and sell

Most home-kitchen foods qualify if they are not potentially hazardous, and the Department can allow potentially hazardous ones by rule, which now reaches some dairy, meat and poultry under federal exemptions. Alcohol, unpasteurized milk, most fish and shellfish, and non-exempt meat or poultry stay out.

• Allowed: Any home-kitchen food that is not potentially hazardous, plus potentially hazardous foods the Department allows by rule, which in practice reaches some dairy, meat and poultry under federal exemptions
• Not allowed: Alcoholic beverages, unpasteurized milk, fish and shellfish products, and meat or poultry unless from a federally exempt or inspected source, plus marijuana or marijuana byproducts

The sales cap

Arizona sets no cap on cottage food sales; h.B. 2042 (2024 Ariz. Laws Ch. 18) rewrote the cottage food article and sets no cap.

Work out how much room you have left this year with the cottage food sales cap checker.

What changed

September 14, 2024: H.B. 2042 (2024 Ariz. Laws Ch. 18) added potentially hazardous cottage foods, the online-sale notice, third-party-carrier delivery, retail-store sale in a separate display, and tied out-of-state sale to federal law.

Questions people ask

Do I need to register to sell cottage food in Arizona?

Yes, Arizona requires registration before the first sale. Register online with the Department of Health Services as a cottage food preparer, complete an accredited food handler training course, keep the certification active, and renew registration every three years. Fee: Not stated; the Department's own registration rule and step-by-step guide walk the whole application with no payment step, but neither says in words that the fee is zero.

Has the cottage food sales cap in Arizona changed over time?

no cap from September 14, 2024.

Can I take orders online in Arizona?

Yes, you can take orders online. You can hand an order over in person or send it anywhere inside the state.

Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Arizona?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is allowed.

What does my Arizona cottage food label need to say?

The label must say: This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection.

Sources

• A.R.S. § 36-931, Definitionsazleg.gov
• A.R.S. § 36-932, Labeling; food handler certification; sale and delivery requirementsazleg.gov
• A.R.S. § 36-933, Applicability of article; rules; enforcementazleg.gov
• 2024 Ariz. Laws Ch. 18 (H.B. 2042), chaptered textazleg.gov
• R9-8-101.02, Cottage Food (registration rule, Arizona Administrative Register)azdhs.gov
• The Arizona Cottage Food Program, How to Register (step-by-step guide)azdhs.gov