Texas cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Texas rewrote its cottage food law in 2025: the cap tripled to $150,000 a year and now moves with inflation, the product rule flipped to a short exclusion list, and a registered cottage food vendor may stock her non-refrigerated goods. What did not change is delivery: an order taken online must be handed over in person by her, an employee or someone in her household.

No permit, no local fee, a food handler card, and a label line in capitals.

Registering

The rule is administered by Texas Department of State Health Services; the guide reads Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 437, as amended by Senate Bill 541 (2025), in force since 2025-09-01.

Nothing to file for direct sales, and no city or county may charge her a permit or a fee. She completes an accredited food handler course. Registering with the Department is for three things only: selling foods that need time and temperature control, selling through a cottage food vendor, and getting a unique identification number to print in place of her home address.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

She may sell from home, at markets and fairs, and by internet or mail order, if the consumer buys directly from her and she or someone in her household personally delivers. Before taking payment online she shows the label information on the site. No courier, no third-party delivery, nothing across the state line.

What goes on the label

The statement below, in capitals, with her operation name, her address or identification number, the product's common name and the allergens. A food that needs the fridge adds the date made and the safe-handling line.

"THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."

Printed in capitals as the statute writes it

• The name of the operation
• Her address, or the unique identification number the Department issues on registration
• The common name of the product
• The allergens, by name
• For an online order, the same label information shown before payment is taken

What you can bake and sell

The 2025 law lists what is out instead of what is in: meat and poultry, seafood, ice, low-acid canned goods, raw milk and anything with CBD or THC. Everything else, baked goods above all, is in; foods that need refrigeration come with registration and a safe-handling line.

• Allowed: Since September 2025 almost any food that is not on the exclusion list, baked goods first
• Not allowed: Meat and poultry, seafood, ice, low-acid canned goods, raw milk, anything with CBD or THC; foods that need refrigeration need registration and a safe-handling line

The sales cap

Texas caps cottage food sales at $150,000 a year, counted as annual gross income from the sale of food, adjusted for inflation by the Department.

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

What changed

September 1, 2025: Senate Bill 541: cap $50,000 to $150,000 with inflation adjustment, exclusion-list products, cottage food vendors, unique identification numbers.

Questions people ask

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

No, Texas does not require registration. No permit and no local fee for direct sales; a food handler card for the operator; registration with the Department only to sell time and temperature controlled foods, to sell through a cottage food vendor, or to print a unique identification number instead of her address. Fee: None for direct sales.

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

$150,000 a year from September 1, 2025, up from $50,000 on September 1, 2013, counted as annual gross income from the sale of food, adjusted for inflation by the Department.

Can I take orders online in Texas?

Yes, you can take orders online. The handover has to happen in person.

Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Texas?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is not allowed.

What does my Texas cottage food label need to say?

The label must say: THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.

Sources

• DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Productiondshs.texas.gov
• Senate Bill 541 (2025), enrolled textcapitol.texas.gov