Texas Can you legally sell food from home in Texas?

Cottage Food Law

Texas passed their first (very restrictive) cottage food law in 2011 (SB 81). Over the years, they have faced massive resistance to improving their law, but they also have the largest cottage food advocacy group of any state. After passing major improvements in 2013 (HB 970), 2019 (SB 572), and 2025 (SB 541), they now have one of the best food freedom laws in the country.

Producers in Texas can sell most types of foods (including perishable foods) from almost anywhere in the state, and they can sell up to $150,000 of products per year. However, perishable foods can only be sold directly to a consumer.

Other than taking a basic food safety course, no licenses or permits are required, and a local government cannot regulate a cottage food business. However, there are a few instances where a business needs to register with the health department, such as if they want to sell perishable foods.

Overall, starting a cottage food business in Texas is extremely easy and flexible.

Table of Contents

Selling Allowed Foods Limitations Business Labeling Resources Forum

Selling Where can you sell homemade food products?

Allowed Venues

Events Farmers markets Home Online Restaurants Retail stores Roadside stands

Allowed Services

Delivery Home Pickup Wholesale

Prohibited Services

Catering Mail order

You can sell non-perishable products indirectly through retail stores and food service establishments, as well as through other businesses selling at farmers markets and farm stands. When you sell your products indirectly, you must add the production date to your labels, and the business selling your products must display a sign that says: “THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION”.

Before a customer pays online, you need to inform them of most labeling information.

Allowed Foods What food products can you sell from home?

Candy

Brittles Buttercream frosting Candies Chocolate Confections with alcohol Cotton candy Fudge Truffles

Condiments

Honey Ketchup Mustards Nut butters Oils Pickles Salsas Sauces Syrups Vinegars

Dry goods

Cereals Coffee beans Dried fruit Dried vegetables Herbs Mixes Pasta noodles Spices & Seasonings Tea leaves

Other

Carbonated drinks Extracts Fermented foods Frozen produce Hardboiled whole eggs Juices Kombucha Whole eggs

Pastries

Churros Cones Danish Empanadas & Tamales Other Pastries Pies

Preserves

Acidified foods Applesauce Chutneys Fruit butters Jams & jellies Marmalades Other Preserves

Snacks

Candied apples Caramel corn Chocolate-covered fruit Chocolate-covered items Crackers & Pretzels Fruit leathers Granola Kettle corn Marshmallows Nuts & seeds Popcorn Vegetable chips

Prohibited Foods

Low-acid canned foods Meat jerkies Pet food

There are probably more prohibited foods, but the ones above have been confirmed

Unlike most states that say which items you can sell, Texas specifies which items you can’t sell. All other products are allowed.

Your products cannot contain these items:

Meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry products
Seafood, including seafood products, fish, fish products, shellfish, and shellfish products
Ice or ice products, including shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, and gelato
Low-acid canned goods
Products containing cannabidiol or tetrahydrocannabinol
Raw milk and raw milk products

To sell perishable items (like cheesecakes, soups, casseroles, etc), you must:

Register with the health department
Only sell them directly (not at wholesale)
Keep the products at a safe temperature until the time of sale

If you sell acidified (pickled) or fermented foods, you must follow additional requirements.

Only high-acid or acidified fruit butters, which have a final pH of 4.6 or below, are allowed.

You can sell whole eggs at farmers markets, but there are some additional requirements in the egg law, which are summed up here. You cannot sell eggs elsewhere.

Only "non-potentially hazardous" foods are allowed, but certain non-PHFs may not be allowed. Most foods that don't need to be refrigerated (foods without meat, cheese, etc.) are considered non-potentially hazardous. Learn more

Limitations How will your home food business be restricted?

Limitations

Commercial equipment prohibited Commercial kitchen prohibited Interstate sales prohibited Primary residence Sales limit

There may be more limitations, but the ones above have been confirmed

Sales are limited to $150,000 per year

The sales limit will increase annually to account for inflation.

Business What do you need to do to sell food from home?

Food handler course

Before selling, you must take an approved food handler training course, such as Learn2Serve’s online course which takes a couple of hours to complete and costs $10.

Registration

You might need to register with the health department, depending on what you want to do with your business.

Registration is free and is done online, but the process is not intuitive. Use the guidance document while registering.

Registration is only required if:

You want to sell perishable items, like cheesecakes, soups, casseroles, etc. (You do not need to register in order to sell acidified foods, like salsa.)
You don’t want to put your home address on your product labels. The health department will give you an ID number to put on your labels instead.
You want to sell someone else’s cottage food products at a farmers market or farm stand. Please note that if a 3rd party vendor (like a grocery store) sells your products, they need to register with the health department, not you.

Requirements for pickled, acidified, and fermented foods

If you sell acidified (pickled) or fermented foods, you must follow additional requirements.

First, you must ensure that the pH of your items are at 4.6 or below. There are two ways to do this:

You can use an approved recipe. The health department has listed some approved recipe sources on its website. If you want to use your own recipe, you can get it approved by either testing it in a laboratory, or having it approved by a process authority.
You can check the finished pH of every batch with a calibrated pH meter.

Second, you must also add a batch number to each of these items, and keep records for 12 months that include:

The batch number
The recipe used
The recipe source, or testing results
The date the batch was made

Pickled cucumbers are exempt from all of these additional requirements.

Texas’ law explicitly states that local governments cannot prohibit your cottage food business. Governments cannot license, permit, charge fees to, or regulate the production of your business, and if any member of local government knowingly tries to do so, they will lose their job. However, zoning laws might still prevent you from selling in a specific location.

Labeling How do you label cottage food products?

Label Requirements

Allergens Business address Business name Product name Statement

Sample Label

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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

Forrager Cookie Company

123 Chewy Way, Cookietown, TX 73531

Contains: milk, eggs, wheat, soy

If you sell perishable items, those labels must also include:

The production date
This statement: “SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria, keep this food refrigerated or frozen until the food is prepared for consumption.” (if you’d like, you can provide this statement to the customer on an invoice or receipt instead of putting it on the label)

If you sell your products indirectly, you must add the production date to your labels.

If you don’t want to include your home address on your labels, you can register with the health department and get an identification number to put on your labels instead.

If you sell acidified (pickled) or fermented products, you must add a batch number to each item, and keep batch records for 12 months.

If you sell online, you must inform the customer of all labeling information (except for your home address) before you collect payment. Although you do not need to post your home address online, you still need to include it on the physical label(s) that comes with their order.

If you sell honey, there are some additional labeling requirements.

Resources Where can you find more information about this law?

Links

SB 541 (2025) SB 572 (2019) HB 970 (2013) Official Website About Food Freedom Law Unofficial (but better) Website About Food Freedom Law Homemade Texas Facebook Page Texas Facebook Group (for existing CFOs only) Homemade Texas Association

Department

Texas Department of State Health Services

Contacts

Department: Texas Department of State Health Services
Email: foodestablishments@dshs.texas.gov
Telephone: 512-834-6753
Address: 1100 West 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756-3199

Law Dates

September 2011: SB 81
July 2012: 37 TexReg 5276
September 2013: HB 970
August 2014: 39 TexReg 5759
February 2018: 43 TexReg 0579
September 2019: SB 572
January 2020: 44 TexReg 7985
October 2022: 47 TexReg 6584
September 2025: SB 541

Watch this video to see how Texas’ initial cottage food law was created.

After extensive issues with local government entities restricting cottage food businesses, Texas is now the only state that has language in their law that punishes local government officials who don’t follow the law. It states that if a someone in government knowingly tries to regulate or prohibit a cottage food business, they must be fired.

A couple bills were introduced in 2015 (HB 2600) and 2017 (HB 1926), but they died in their legislative sessions. The bills were similar, and would have created a new type of home food business, termed a “home food processor”. It would not have affected the current cottage food law. Home food processors would have been able to sell from any venue (including indirect sales), ship within Texas, and make more food items (like perishable baked goods).