Cottage food laws · Minnesota

Yes, you can sell what you bake in Minnesota.

Minnesota has one main path for home cooks — the cottage food exemption — and the entry tier is genuinely free: no registration fee, just a short online training and a label. Bake bread, put up jam, can pickles, and you can be selling to neighbors without a license or a kitchen inspection. The state caps you at $78,000 a year, and a few foods are off the menu (cheesecake is the famous one). Here’s the whole picture, in plain English — including a big change that’s coming, but isn’t here yet.

Verified against Minn. Stat. § 28A.152(2024 edition — the law in force today) and MDA’s cottage food registration page

Last checked June 12, 2026 — every section links its sources.

A friendly guide, not legal advice — we’re not lawyers. Always confirm the details with your own city and state before you sell.

A sunlit front porch with fresh loaves on a table and an OPEN sign

The 2-minute version

Three cards, the whole story. Everything below is detail — with the actual laws linked, so you never have to take our word for it. (At-a-glance reflects current law; the 2025 amendments don’t take effect until August 1, 2027, and are flagged where they land.)

Starting out, under $7,665?

That’s Tier 1 of the cottage food exemption — free MDA online training and free registration. Put the right label on bread, cookies, candy, jam, or home-canned pickles and sell, in person, to a Minnesotan. You still have to take the training and register — “free” doesn’t mean “skip it.”

$0 to startFree trainingNo inspectionNo food-handler card

Growing past $7,665?

From $7,666 to $78,000 a year, that’s Tier 2 — same foods, same rules, but $50-a-year registration and an approved food-safety course once every three years (University of Minnesota Extension is the MDA-approved provider). The $78,000 figure is the hard cap on all your exempt sales combined.

$50/yearCourse every 3 yrsUp to $78,000/yrStill no inspection

Kids’ stands?

Minnesota didn’t write kids into the cottage food law — no special minor exemption, no minimum age. A kid’s cookie table runs under the same rules as an adult’s porch shop: approved shelf-stable foods, labeled, with the sign posted, sold direct. On the free Tier 1 it costs a child nothing to register.

Same rulesNo minimum ageFree on Tier 1
Sound doable? Show me the steps ↓Meet the Minnesota porch bakers already doing it

The way to sell in Minnesota — pick your tier

In shortMost of Minnesota runs through one program — the cottage food exemption, Minn. Stat. § 28A.152. It has two tiers that differ only on cost and training, not on what you can sell: a free Tier 1 (≤ $7,665/yr) and a $50/yr Tier 2 (to $78,000/yr). Two narrower carve-outs sit next door (pet treats, farm/garden products), and the licensed path is what you graduate to past the cap.

Most of Minnesota runs through one program — the cottage food exemption, Minn. Stat. § 28A.152. It has two tiers that differ only on cost and training, not on what you can sell. There are also two narrower carve-outs worth knowing, plus the licensed path you graduate to when you outgrow the exemption.

Path A · the beginner path · most porch shops start here$0 — free

Cottage food, Tier 1

You expect $7,665 a year or less in gross sales. Registration is free, and so is the training: a free MDA online course + exam you take before you register.

No fee, no inspection. This is where most porch shops start.

Pick this path if: you’re starting out, selling shelf-stable goods direct to neighbors, and staying under ~$7,665 a year.

Path B · once you’ve grown$50/year

Cottage food, Tier 2

Same foods, same rules — but your gross sales run $7,666 to $78,000 a year. Registration is $50/year, and instead of the free annual course you take an approved food-safety course once every three years (University of Minnesota Extension is the MDA-approved provider).

Still no inspection.

Pick this path if: your porch shop has grown past ~$7,665 but stays under the $78,000 cap.

The cheesecake test: Minnesota says no. A cheesecake can’t legally come out of a cottage food kitchen on either tier — it needs refrigeration, so MDA classes it as potentially hazardous and off-limits. Refrigerated goods mean the full licensed path below.

Two narrower carve-outs live next door to the cottage program: home-processed pet treats (Minn. Stat. § 25.391) — baked or dehydrated dog and cat treats that ride on your cottage food registration, and uniquely may be shipped by mail or commercial delivery today (human food can’t be); and products of the farm or garden (Minn. Const. art. XIII, § 7; Minn. Stat. § 28A.15, subd. 2) — raw, unprocessed products of land you occupy and cultivate need no license or cottage registration at all, and MDA extends this to honey and maple syrup from your own hives or trees with nothing added.

When you outgrow it — over $78,000 a year, or you want refrigerated foods, sales to a store or restaurant, or wholesale — that’s a licensed retail food handler under chapter 28A, with a commercial/inspected kitchen. A real step up; many porch shops never need it.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration · MN eLicense — registration portal · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training

Where you can sell

In shortUnder current law (§ 28A.152, subd. 2) every sale is direct to the person who’ll eat it: farmers markets, community events, from your home (subject to local ordinance), fundraising donations, and online (you deliver it personally). No shipping of human food today — you hand-deliver; in-state shipping becomes legal Aug 1, 2027. Pet treats may ship today. No selling to stores or wholesale, and home-canned products stay in Minnesota.

Under current law (Minn. Stat. § 28A.152, subd. 2), every sale must be direct to the person who’s going to eat it:

Farmers’ markets and community events — yes. MDA reads a farmers’ market as three or more sellers assembling at a defined public location to sell products of a farm or garden, and a community event as an organized event with a defined start and end time where multiple vendors are open to the public.

From your home — yes, but subject to local ordinance. Your city, county, or township can layer on business-licensing, zoning, and home-sales-prohibition rules; the exemption doesn’t override them.

Donations for fundraising — yes.

Online — yes. You can take orders and payment over the internet, but you (the person who prepared the food) must deliver it personally, and your website must display the statement “These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.”

Shipping by mail or commercial delivery — not allowed for human food today. MDA is explicit: “Cottage foods intended for humans are not allowed to be shipped in the mail or by commercial delivery at this time.” You hand-deliver. (This is the rule that changes Aug 1, 2027 — see “What changed.”) Pet treats are the exception: they may be shipped today.

The hard boundaries: no selling to stores, restaurants, wholesalers, or resellers — direct-to-consumer only. And home-canned products may not be sold outside Minnesota.

Who can register. Under today’s law the seller is an individual, who “can organize your business as an entity recognized in state law.” (The detailed entity rules many guides list — sole proprietorship, single-member LLC, two-member same-residence LLC — and a rule that holding a food-handler license disqualifies you are part of the 2027 changes, not current law. See “What changed.”)

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · MDA — Cottage Food Law Guidance · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration

What you can sell

In shortThe rule behind the list: cottage food must be non-potentially-hazardous — shelf-stable, not needing refrigeration. MDA keys this to an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower or a water activity of 0.85 or below. Baked goods, candy, jams, home-canned acidified pickles and salsa, fermented foods, dried items — yes. Cheesecake, dairy, charcuterie, fresh-cut fruit — no.

You CAN make and sell

The rule behind the list: cottage food must be non-potentially-hazardous — shelf-stable, not needing refrigeration to stay safe. MDA keys this to a food with an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower or a water activity of 0.85 or below. Categories below are MDA’s training list, verbatim.

  • Baked goods (breads, cookies, cakes, fruit pies)
  • Candy & confections
  • Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters
  • Icings, frostings, sugar art
  • Acidified home-canned fruits, vegetables & pickles — incl. salsa (pH ≤ 4.6), MN only
  • Fermented foods, vinegar, condiments
  • Dried, dehydrated & roasted items (beans, herbs, nuts, seeds)
  • Freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, candy & gelatin
  • Hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed oil & powder (as ingredients)
  • Baked or dehydrated dog & cat treats (pet-treats carve-out, § 25.391)

Depending on the recipe, some of these can still be potentially hazardous and may need pH or water-activity testing — MDA says a standardized (Extension/USDA-approved) canning recipe followed exactly doesn’t need testing; a non-standard recipe should be tested.

You CANNOT make and sell

  • Animal or aquatic foods (jerky, baked salmon, pickled eggs, charcuterie)
  • Foods made from milk (yogurt, ice cream, butter)
  • Cooked plant food (cooked rice, steamed green beans)
  • Raw sprouts, cut melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens
  • Garlic-, vegetable-, or herb-based oil mixtures (pesto)
  • Foods with cannabinoids (THC, CBD)
  • Cheesecake
  • Fresh-cut fruit topping & chocolate-covered fresh fruit
  • Fruit/vegetable juice that isn’t heat treated
  • Eggrolls, spring rolls & tamales

MDA’s training says it plainly: “Fresh cut fruits, cheesecake, and charcuterie are considered potentially hazardous foods. They may not be prepared and sold under the cottage food exemption.” (Butter baked into cookies is fine; standalone dairy isn’t.)

Sources: MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training · MDA — Cottage Food Law Guidance · Minn. Stat. § 25.391 (pet treats)

The rules that actually matter

In short$78,000/yr gross-receipts cap on all exempt sales combined. The $7,665 line is a fee/training tier, not a sales cap. Direct-to-consumer only. No shipping of human food today (pet treats may ship). Home-canned products stay in Minnesota. No inspection on either tier — but training is mandatory. Local rules still apply.

  • $78,000 in gross receipts per calendar yearAll your exempt sales combined. The statute: “An individual selling exempt foods under this section is limited to total sales with gross receipts of $78,000 or less in a calendar year.” The $7,665 line is a fee/training tier, not a sales cap — under it everything’s free; over it (up to $78,000) it’s $50/year plus the every-three-years course.
  • Direct to the consumer onlyNo stores, restaurants, wholesale, or resale. And home-canned products stay in Minnesota — they can’t be sold across state lines.
  • No shipping of human food todayYou deliver in person — pet treats are the one thing that may ship. (In-state shipping of human cottage foods becomes legal Aug 1, 2027 — see “What changed.”)
  • No inspection, but training is mandatoryThere’s no kitchen inspection on either tier and no pre-approval visit — but you must complete the training before you register. And local rules still apply: city/county/township business licensing, zoning, and any home-sales prohibitions sit on top of the state exemption.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration · MDA — Cottage Food Law Guidance · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training

Getting set up

In shortTier 1 (free, ≤ $7,665/yr): take MDA’s free online training + exam, register free through eLicense (deemed accepted 30 days after a complete submission), label your products, post the sign, check local rules. Tier 2 ($50/yr): take the approved food-safety course (UMN Extension, renewed every 3 years), register for $50/yr, same labeling and local-rules steps. No inspection on either.

No kitchen inspection, no food-handler permit, and no state business license is part of the exemption itself — on either tier.

Tier 1 — free (≤ $7,665/yr)

  1. Take MDA’s free online training + examYou take it before you register, and renew it each year.
  2. Register with MDA through the state eLicense portalFree on this tier. Registration is deemed accepted 30 days after a complete submission.
  3. Label your products and post the required signAt your point of sale (next section).
  4. Check your local rulesYour city, county, or township may have business-licensing, zoning, or home-sales requirements.

No kitchen inspection, no food-handler permit, no state business license is part of the exemption itself.

Tier 2 — $50/yr ($7,666–$78,000/yr)

  1. Take the approved food-safety courseUniversity of Minnesota Extension is the MDA-approved provider; renew the course every three years while actively selling.
  2. Register with MDA — $50/year via eLicense
  3. Same labeling, sign, and local-rules stepsStill no inspection.

Pet treats & farm/garden products

  1. Pet treats: register under the cottage food programMDA folds pet treats in, so the same tier fees apply; same labels and sign; baked or dehydrated dog/cat treats only — and these may be shipped.
  2. Farm/garden products: no registration at allRaw products of land you occupy and cultivate — and, per MDA, honey and maple syrup from your own hives or trees with nothing added.

Questions on registration? MDA’s Licensing & Registration line is 651-201-6062 / MDA.Licensing@state.mn.us, listed on the eLicense page.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration · MN eLicense — registration portal · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training

Labels

In shortEvery cottage food package carries: your full name OR business name, your address OR cottage food registration number, the production date, ingredients incl. allergens, and the verbatim statement “These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.” The same statement goes on a clearly-visible point-of-sale sign and on your website if you sell online.

Minnesota cottage food label

  • Your full name OR your business name — Minnesota lets you use either the individual’s name or the operation’s name
  • Your address OR your cottage food registration number — the registration number can stand in for the address
  • The date the food was produced
  • Ingredients, including allergens (for human food)
  • This exact statement, word for word: “These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.”
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ingredients: flour (wheat), water, honey, butter (milk), yeast, salt.
Contains: wheat, milk.
North Star Kitchen · CFR #12345 · Produced June 12, 2026
These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.
Minnesota cottage food label — note the verbatim “not subject to state inspection” statement.

The same statement is required two more places: on a clearly visible sign at your point of sale (farmers’ market table, home stand), and displayed on your website if you sell online. Pet treats carry the same statement plus your name/registration-or-address, production date, and ingredients. There’s no statutory minimum type size in the cottage food section — MDA asks only that the sign be “clearly visible,” so we don’t invent a point size.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training

What changed recently

In shortThe headline is a change that hasn’t happened yet: a 2025 rewrite (HF2446 / Laws 2025 ch. 34 art. 5) takes effect August 1, 2027 — single flat $30/yr tier, in-state shipping, training for everyone, a CPI-adjusted cap, and an entity-type list plus a food-handler-license disqualifier. None of these are current law. A heads-up: the Revisor’s default statute page already shows the 2027 text; the in-force version is the 2024 edition.

  • The headline is a change that hasn’t happened yet — effective August 1, 2027In 2025 the Legislature passed a major rewrite of the cottage food law (HF2446, enacted as Laws of Minnesota 2025, ch. 34, art. 5, §§ 14–19), but it takes effect August 1, 2027 — subdivisions 1–5 are amended by §§ 14–18 and a new subdivision 8 is added by § 19, all effective that date. Until then, the 2024 statute governs, which is what this page describes.
  • A heads-up that trips up cold readers — the Revisor’s default page shows the 2027 textThe Revisor’s default statute page (revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/28A.152) already shows the 2027 text. The in-force version is the 2024 edition (…/statutes/2024/cite/28A.152). If you read the statute online and see entity-type lists or a food-handler rule, you’re reading next year’s law.
  • What actually changes on Aug 1, 2027 — not current lawOne tier, flat $30/year for everyone (replacing today’s free Tier 1 / $50 Tier 2 split); in-state shipping becomes legal — you’ll be able to ship human cottage foods by mail or commercial delivery within Minnesota (still no out-of-state sales); training for all registrants; the $78,000 cap becomes CPI-adjusted every two years (July 2025 baseline), so it drifts upward; and entity types and a food-handler rule arrive — the law shifts from “individual” to “person,” expressly allowing a sole proprietorship, a single-member LLC, or a two-member LLC where both members live at the same residence, and adds that holding a food-handler license under § 28A.04 disqualifies you from the exemption. None of these entity/food-handler rules are in force today.
  • Pet treats get a parallel 2027 updatePet treats (§ 25.391) get a parallel update (Laws 2025, ch. 34, art. 3, §§ 14–15), also effective Aug 1, 2027. No substantive 2024 or 2026-session changes to the cottage food rules surfaced in this pass.

Sources: Laws of Minnesota 2025, ch. 34 (HF2446) · Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed.) · Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (Revisor default — shows 2027 text) · MDA — Cottage Food Law Guidance

Common questions

Can I sell cheesecake from home in Minnesota?
No. Cheesecake needs refrigeration, so MDA classes it as potentially hazardous — it’s on the can’t-sell list, and Minnesota has no home-bakery tier that adds refrigerated goods. That’s the licensed-establishment path.
Can I sell salsa?
Yes — home-canned salsa that’s acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower counts as a home-canned vegetable product and is sellable within Minnesota. Home-canned items can’t be sold out of state.
Can I ship cookies to my sister in another state?
No — two reasons. Human cottage foods can’t be shipped at all today (you hand-deliver), and home-canned products can’t be sold outside Minnesota even after shipping opens up. In-state shipping becomes legal August 1, 2027; out-of-state stays closed. Pet treats can be shipped today.
Is the free tier really free?
Yes — under $7,665 a year, registration costs nothing and the training is free. You still have to take the training and register; “free” doesn’t mean “skip it.”
Do I need a kitchen inspection?
No — neither tier is inspected, and there’s no pre-approval visit. The trade-off is the mandatory training.
Do I need a food-handler license — or does having one disqualify me?
Under today’s law, no license is required, and a food-handler license doesn’t affect your eligibility. (The rule that holding a food-handler license disqualifies you is part of the 2027 changes, not current law — see “What changed.”)
Can a coffee shop or grocery store carry my goods?
No — the exemption is direct-to-consumer only. Selling to a store or restaurant is the licensed-food-handler path.
Can my city stop me?
Possibly — the state exemption doesn’t override local business-licensing, zoning, or home-sales rules. Check your city, county, or township before you sell from home.
What about honey or maple syrup?
If you make it from your own hives or trees with nothing added, you don’t need a cottage registration or a license at all — it falls under the farm/garden products exemption.
Is there a limit on how much I can earn?
$78,000 a year in gross receipts, all exempt sales combined. Past that, you’re into the licensed path.

Sources: Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 (2024 ed. — cap, direct-sales, label statement, fee tiers) · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Registration · MDA — Cottage Food Law Guidance · MDA — Cottage Food Producer Training

You won’t be doing this alone

55 porch bakers are already selling across Minnesota under these exact laws. Browse their pages and learn from people two steps ahead of you — what they sell, how they price, how they talk about their bread. Cottage bakers are famously generous with what they’ve learned, and most are a DM away on Instagram.

See all 55 in the directory →List your porch shop — always free to list

This page is educational, not legal advice — we’re not lawyers, just neighbors who read Minnesota’s official sources and wrote down what they say (every claim above links to its source). This page summarizes Minnesota state law as it stands today — the 2024 cottage food statute. Minnesota passed a major rewrite in 2025 that takes effect August 1, 2027; we’ve dated those changes clearly, but if you’re reading the statute online, note the Revisor’s default page already shows the future text. Cities, counties, and townships set their own business-licensing, zoning, and home-sales rules — check yours. Always double-check the details with your own city and state before you sell. When something here and the law disagree, the law wins; if you spot that happening, tell us and we’ll fix it.