Guide
Connecticut cottage food law for home bakers
What a home baker in Connecticut needs before the first sale: registration, the sales cap, online orders, delivery, and the exact label line, each with its source.
“Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection.”
$50,000sales cap
$50to register
Onlinehanded over in person
Last reviewed September 18, 2026. A plain-language summary, not legal advice.
On this page
The short version
Connecticut licenses every cottage food operation every year through the Department of Consumer Protection, with a $50 fee, a pre-licensing inspection, and a $50,000 cap on sales.
You can take orders online, by mail, or by phone, but every sale still has to be handed to the customer in person inside the state; there is no shipping, consignment or wholesale.
Registering
The rule is administered by Department of Consumer Protection; the guide reads Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 21a-62b to 21a-62h, as amended by P.A. 22-8 (eff. 2022-10-01).
You apply to the Department of Consumer Protection each year, complete an approved food safety training course first, confirm your local zoning allows the business, and have your water tested if you are on a private well. The Department examines your kitchen before the first licence is issued, and the fee is $50, though the statute allows the Commissioner to set it as high as one hundred dollars.
Where you can sell, and whether online counts
Advertising and taking orders by Internet, mail or phone are fine, but you or your designee has to hand the product to the customer in person, inside Connecticut. You can sell at the point of production, a farmers market, a local fair or festival, or a charitable event, but never through consignment, wholesale, a grocery store, a restaurant, a school, a day care, a group home, or a long-term care facility.
What goes on the label
Every package needs your name and address, the product's common name, ingredients by weight or volume, allergen information, and the fixed inspection-disclosure sentence in at least ten-point type with clear contrast against the background.
- The name and address of the cottage food operation
- The common or usual name of the product
- Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight or volume
- Allergen information under federal law
- The fixed statement, in at least ten-point type with clear contrast
What you can bake and sell
Baked goods, jams and jellies and similar shelf-stable foods qualify, as long as they need no refrigeration for safety. Maple syrup and honey are named out of the definition entirely, alongside acidified foods, low-acid canned foods, garlic-in-oil, and fresh juices.
- Allowed: Nonpotentially hazardous baked goods, jams, jellies, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods
- Not allowed: Potentially hazardous foods, maple syrup, honey, acidified foods, low-acid canned foods, garlic-in-oil mixtures, and fresh fruit or vegetable juices and beverages
The sales cap
Connecticut caps cottage food sales at $50,000 a year, counted as total annual gross sales per cottage food operation, per calendar year.
Work out how much room you have left this year with the cottage food sales cap checker.
What changed
October 1, 2018: P.A. 18-141 created the cottage food operation licence with an original $25,000 cap.
October 1, 2022: P.A. 22-8 raised the cap from $25,000 to $50,000.
Questions people ask
Do I need to register to sell cottage food in Connecticut?
Yes, Connecticut requires registration before the first sale. An annual licence from the Department of Consumer Protection: complete an approved food safety training course, confirm local zoning allows the business, have a private well tested if you have one, and pass a premises examination before the first licence issues. The fee is $50. A $50 application fee; the statute lets the Commissioner set it as high as one hundred dollars.
What is the cottage food sales cap in Connecticut?
Connecticut caps cottage food sales at $50,000 a year, counted as total annual gross sales per cottage food operation, per calendar year.
Can I take orders online in Connecticut?
Yes, you can take orders online. The handover has to happen in person.
Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Connecticut?
Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is not allowed.
What does my Connecticut cottage food label need to say?
The label must say: Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection.
Sources
Laws change; check the linked source before you sell.
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