Colorado cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Colorado runs the Cottage Foods Act on a per-product cap rather than a total for your business: it is ten thousand dollars of net revenue for each kind of food you sell through December 31, 2026, and one hundred fifty thousand dollars of gross revenue for each from January 1, 2027. Registration with the state is voluntary through December 31, 2026 and required from January 1, 2027.

A 2026 law, the Tamale Act, changes this starting January 1, 2027: the per-product limit rises to one hundred fifty thousand dollars of gross revenue with yearly inflation adjustments after that, registration becomes mandatory before your first sale, and you gain the right to sell up to five variations of one food that needs time and temperature control, such as tamales.

Registering

The rule is administered by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; the guide reads C.R.S. § 25-4-1614 (Colorado Cottage Foods Act, added by SB 12-048 eff. 2012-03-15, cap and definitions last amended by SB 15-085 and HB 15-1102 eff. 2015-08-05, further amended by SB 16-058 eff. 2016-05-04); House Bill 26-1033 (the Tamale Act) amends the cap, registration and eligible foods effective 2027-01-01.

Through December 31, 2026 nothing stops you from selling without registering anywhere, though a food safety course from the state extension service or a public health agency is required before you start, and you have to keep that certification current. From January 1, 2027 you must register with the department every year before selling anything, and the state will issue you a registration number to put on your label.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

You can take orders online and choose how you get the food to the buyer, as long as the whole transaction starts and ends inside Colorado and never crosses a state line. Selling to a grocery store, restaurant or other retailer is off the table entirely, and whoever buys from you is not allowed to resell it.

What goes on the label

The disclaimer above has to be printed on every product, along with your name, the address where you made it, a phone number or email, the date it was made and a full ingredient list. At the point of sale you also need a shorter placard or sign carrying the same core warning.

• Identification of the product
• Your name, the address where the food was prepared, and a current phone number or email address
• The date the food was produced
• A complete list of ingredients
• The disclaimer above

What you can bake and sell

Most shelf-stable baked goods, jams, candies and dried foods qualify, along with a modest number of eggs each month. Anything that needs refrigeration once finished, most meats, real buttercream, and a long list of sauces and cut produce stay off your list until the Tamale Act's narrow carve-out for a single time-and-temperature-control food arrives in 2027.

• Allowed: Non-refrigerated, non-potentially-hazardous foods: pickled fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, flour, baked goods including candies, fruit empanadas and tortillas, and up to two hundred fifty dozen whole eggs a month
• Not allowed: Meat products of any kind, including as an ingredient or topping; baked or fried goods filled or topped with cream, custard or meringue; buttercream made with real butter; sauces, condiments and beverages; pumpkin, sweet potato and cream pies; cut fresh produce or juice; and anything containing CBD or THC

The sales cap

Colorado caps cottage food sales at $10,000 a year until December 31, 2026, counted as net revenue for each eligible food product you sell. From January 1, 2027, the cap is $150,000 a year, counted as gross revenue.

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

What changed

January 1, 2027: House Bill 26-1033 (the Tamale Act) lets you also make and sell up to five variations of one food that needs time and temperature control, such as tamales, burritos or tortas, makes annual registration with the department mandatory before you sell anything, raises the per-product limit from ten thousand dollars net to one hundred fifty thousand dollars gross with yearly inflation adjustments after that, and adds your registration number and a state website address to the label.

Questions people ask

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

No, Colorado does not require registration. None mandatory today. The department or a local health agency may run a voluntary electronic registry and you may join it, but nothing in the statute requires you to before selling. Starting January 1, 2027, the Tamale Act makes annual registration with the department mandatory before you sell anything, and the department issues you a registration number. Fee: Not stated for today's voluntary registry, and the 2027 mandatory registration has no posted fee yet.

What is the cottage food sales cap in Colorado?

Colorado caps cottage food sales at $10,000 a year until December 31, 2026, counted as net revenue for each eligible food product you sell. From January 1, 2027, the cap is $150,000 a year, counted as gross revenue.

Can I take orders online in Colorado?

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 Colorado?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is allowed.

What does my Colorado cottage food label need to say?

The label must say: This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.

Sources

Laws change; check the linked source before you sell.

• C.R.S. § 25-4-1614, 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 25 (official codification)content.leg.colorado.gov
• CDPHE, Cottage Foods Actcdphe.colorado.gov
• House Bill 26-1033 (the Tamale Act), enrolled textleg.colorado.gov