Louisiana cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Louisiana asks for no cottage food licence at all. The only paperwork is a parish sales tax certificate, and your exemption ends once your gross annual sales reach $100,000, up from $30,000 since August 1, 2026.

The law names no approved venues and no ban on delivery or online orders, so a baked-goods baker can sell however you like inside the state as long as you never resell through a retailer.

Registering

The rule is administered by Louisiana Department of Health; the guide reads La. R.S. 40:4.9, as last amended by 2026 La. Acts No. 801 (H.B. 403), eff. 2026-08-01.

There is no cottage food registration, application or fee. You only need a current sales tax certificate from the parish where you sell, proving you are set up to collect local sales tax.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

The statute names no approved venues, so you can sell from home, at a market, or by delivery. You can never sell to a retail business or another individual for resale, and every baked good needs a label saying it was not made in a licensed or regulated facility. If you employ anyone to help make breads, cakes, cookies or pies for sale, the exemption does not cover you.

What goes on the label

Louisiana requires only that the label make clear the food came from an unlicensed kitchen; there is no fixed sentence or minimum type size in the statute. Raw, unfiltered honey does not need this label at all.

The statute requires a label 'which clearly indicates that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility' but writes no fixed sentence; raw honey that is not pasteurized, filtered or otherwise processed is exempt from the label rule entirely

• A statement that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility

What you can bake and sell

Breads, cakes, cookies, pies, candies, cane syrup, dried mixes, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, pickles, sauces, syrups and spices all qualify, as long as none of them contain animal muscle or fish protein. Custard and cream-filled baked goods are allowed with extra rules: pasteurized milk only, the filling cooked to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, then chilled to 45 degrees or below and kept there, and never touched by hand once cooked.

• Allowed: Baked goods (breads, cakes, cookies, pies), candies, cane syrup, dried mixes, honey and honeycomb products, jams, jellies and preserves, pickles and acidified foods, sauces and syrups, and spices, none containing animal muscle or fish protein
• Not allowed: Any food outside the low-risk list, anything containing animal muscle or fish protein, and any food containing cannabidiol unless the FDA has approved cannabidiol as a food additive

The sales cap

Louisiana caps cottage food sales at $100,000 a year, counted as gross annual sales per home preparer, all low-risk foods combined.

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

What changed

August 1, 2022: Act 357 (H.B. 828) raised the gross-annual-sales threshold from twenty thousand dollars to $30,000.

August 1, 2026: Act 801 (H.B. 403) raised the gross-annual-sales threshold from $30,000 to $100,000.

Questions people ask

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

Yes, Louisiana requires registration before the first sale. No cottage food licence or permit; you must hold a current sales tax certificate from the sales and use tax collector for the parish where you sell, since the exemption is from the Sanitary Code, not from local tax registration. Fee: Not stated; the statute names a sales tax certificate, not a food-safety fee, and sets no amount for it.

What is the cottage food sales cap in Louisiana?

Louisiana caps cottage food sales at $100,000 a year, counted as gross annual sales per home preparer, all low-risk foods combined.

Can I take orders online in Louisiana?

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 Louisiana?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is allowed.

What does my Louisiana cottage food label need to say?

The label must include: A statement that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility.

Sources

Laws change; check the linked source before you sell.

• R.S. 40:4.9, Low-risk foods; preparation in home for public consumptionlegis.la.gov
• Act 801 of 2026 (H.B. 403), the signed act that set the $100,000 figure in Subsection Blegis.la.gov
• HB 403 (2026) bill history (signed 2026-06-08, effective 2026-08-01)legis.la.gov
• HB 828 (2022), enrolled text (became Act 357)legis.la.gov
• HB 828 bill history (effective date, Act number)legis.la.gov