Wisconsin cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Wisconsin has no cottage food statute for baked goods. A Lafayette County Circuit Court order stops the state from requiring a food processing license when she bakes a not-potentially-hazardous item at home and sells it directly to a consumer, and it sets no dollar cap and asks for no registration.

The exemption covers baked goods only. A separate 2022 court order that reached unbaked homemade foods, such as candy and roasted coffee beans, was reversed on appeal in 2024, so those items need a license again even though her baked goods do not.

Registering

The rule is administered by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; the guide reads No cottage food statute for baked goods. The exemption comes from Lafayette County Circuit Court orders in Kivirist v. DATCP, Case No. 16 CV 6 (Final Order Sept. 29, 2017), which the Wisconsin Court of Appeals left standing while reversing a broader Dec. 28, 2022 extension to unbaked foods in Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP, 2024 WI App 69 (Nov. 19, 2024). Home-canned acidified foods sit under Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b) with their own, separate exemption..

There is nothing to register. No statute or agency form governs this exemption, because the right to sell rests on the circuit court's order rather than a licensing law. DATCP still enforces general food safety law if a complaint or illness comes in, and a business that also cans low-acid or acidified foods for sale has a separate, small exemption under Wis. Stat. 97.29(2)(b) with its own sign and label rule.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

The order covers a direct sale to the person buying the food. DATCP's own guidance and the court record describe only that direct, in-person relationship, not shipping or a third party carrying the order, so treat mail order and delivery as outside what is currently protected until a court or the legislature says otherwise.

What goes on the label

Nothing requires a specific label sentence for a court-exempted baked good, though naming the ingredients and saying the kitchen is not licensed is good practice and expected if she ever cans a pickle or jam under the separate, small canning exemption, which does require a printed sign and a label naming her, the canning date and the ingredients.

Neither the court order nor DATCP's guidance requires a specific label sentence for this exemption; nothing stops her from disclosing that the kitchen is not licensed

What you can bake and sell

The dividing line is dry heat: a cookie, loaf or pie baked in an oven above 140 F counts, whether or not it started out needing refrigeration, as long as the finished, ready-for-sale product does not. A dehydrated item, a candy, or anything that still needs refrigeration after baking falls outside the exemption and needs a license.

• Allowed: A baked good, meaning a food exposed to dry heat above 140 F in a closed oven, waffle maker or Dutch oven, that is not potentially hazardous once finished and is shelf stable with no refrigeration needed
• Not allowed: A baked good that is potentially hazardous once finished; anything dried in a dehydrator rather than baked; and, since the 2024 reversal, unbaked homemade foods such as candy, fudge, dried herbs and roasted coffee beans, which again need a license. Pickled or home-canned goods fall under the separate Wis. Stat. 97.29(2)(b) exemption instead

The sales cap

Wisconsin sets no cap on cottage food sales; the Kivirist final order (Sept. 29, 2017, Lafayette County Case No. 16 CV 6) bars enforcement of the licensing statutes against a home baker selling not-potentially-hazardous baked goods directly to consumers, and names no dollar limit.

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

What changed

November 19, 2024: The Court of Appeals in Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP, 2024 WI App 69, reversed a Dec. 28, 2022 circuit court order that had extended the licensing exemption from baked goods to any not-potentially-hazardous homemade food, so unbaked items such as candy, fudge, dried herbs and roasted coffee beans need a license again; DATCP's enforcement of that broader rule had already been paused by a May 30, 2023 stay pending the appeal.

Questions people ask

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

No, Wisconsin does not require registration. None for baked goods. The court order bars DATCP from requiring a food processing plant license for a home baker selling not-potentially-hazardous baked goods directly to consumers, so there is no form, signup or number for this path. Fee: No license or registration process applies to this exemption, so there is no fee.

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

no cap from September 29, 2017.

Can I take orders online in Wisconsin?

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

Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Wisconsin?

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

What does my Wisconsin cottage food label need to say?

The label must include: .

Sources

• DATCP, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goodsdatcp.wi.gov
• Lafayette County Circuit Court, Decision and Order on Summary Judgment, Dec. 28, 2022 (as DATCP posts it)datcp.wi.gov
• Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP, 2024 WI App 69 (Nov. 19, 2024)wicourts.gov
• DATCP, Home-Canned Foods (the Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b) home canning exemption)datcp.wi.gov