Cottage food laws · Missouri

Selling homemade food in Missouri

Missouri keeps the paperwork at zero — no license, no permit, no registration, no fee, and no limit on what you earn. The trade-off is that the list of what you can sell is short and specific: baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herbs or herb mixes — and that’s the whole list. If you’re baking cookies or putting up jam in your home kitchen, you can be selling to Missouri neighbors as soon as your label’s printed. Here’s the whole picture, in plain English.

Verified against Missouri Revised Statutes §196.298 and DHSS Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance

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.

What you can sell

A short, closed list: baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herbs or herb mixes — only those three. Don’t assume granola, candy, or roasted coffee is in just because it’s shelf-stable; shelf-stable alone isn’t enough. If it’s not one of the three, the cottage law isn’t your path.

A closed list of 3Shelf-stable alone isn’t enoughCheesecake = no

What it costs

No license, permit, registration, application, or fee exists — the exemption applies automatically when you follow the rules. The old $50,000 income cap was removed in 2022, so there’s no longer a limit on what you earn. No routine inspection, either.

$0 — nothing to fileNo income capNo inspection

Where you can sell

Direct to Missouri buyers — your home, in person, and online, but online only when both you and the buyer are in Missouri. No shipping across state lines, and never wholesale.

Direct, in-stateOnline inside MissouriNo out-of-state
Sound doable? Show me the steps ↓Meet the Missouri porch bakers already doing it

One way to sell in Missouri — a short list, no paperwork

In shortMost states make you weigh two or three legal paths. Missouri’s main one is simple to enter and easy to describe: no application, no registration, no fee, no agency to notify, and no inspection. The catch isn’t the process — it’s the menu. Missouri names the foods you may sell and stops there.

Unlike states that let you sell “anything that doesn’t need refrigeration,” Missouri names the foods you may sell and stops there. DHSS puts it plainly: “The Missouri Cottage Law is very specific that baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herb and dried herb mixes are the only items that can be prepared out of the individuals’ home.” If your product isn’t one of those three, the cottage law isn’t your path.

The Missouri Cottage Law · §196.298$0 · automatic

The whole shape of the path

  • Make food from the closed list — a baked good, a canned jam or jelly, or a dried herb or herb mix — in your home kitchen
  • Put the required label on every package (below)
  • Sell direct to the person buying, inside Missouri — in person or online to in-state buyers; never wholesale, never across state lines

Pick this path if: you’re making a baked good, a canned jam or jelly, or a dried herb mix at home and selling it to Missouri neighbors.

Off the list · where your county allows itAsk your LPHA

A few more shelf-stable foods

Missouri’s Food Code has a separate “individual stand” exemption that some local health agencies allow for other non-refrigerated foods, sold direct from a stand. It is not part of the cottage law and not automatic — it only works “where local codes allow,” so it’s a question for your Local Public Health Agency (LPHA), not an automatic right.

Pick this path if: your product isn’t one of the three — fruit butters, sorghum, cracked nuts, packaged spices or spice mixes, dry soup mixes.

Off the list · raw agricultural commoditySeparate lane

Your own honey, or whole produce

Pure honey you harvest and package on your own farm, and whole unprocessed fruits, vegetables, in-shell nuts, and fresh herbs, sell as raw agricultural commodities without inspection. This is its own $0 lane, separate from the cottage path — not a tier you “upgrade” into.

Pick this path if: you harvest your own honey, or sell whole unprocessed produce.

When you outgrow all of it: refrigerated items (cheesecake, cream pies), salsa, pickles, sauces, freeze-dried fruit, meats, dairy, eggs — or any wholesale or out-of-state sales — leave the home exemptions behind and need an inspected facility (your LPHA for retail; the DHSS Manufactured Food program for wholesale). Many porch shops never need that step.

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

Where you can sell

In shortFrom home, direct to the buyer — and online, but only inside Missouri. The hard boundaries: no out-of-state sales and no wholesale. Farmers-market and stand sales ride a separate local exemption, so ask your LPHA first.

From home, direct to the buyer. The cottage law is built around selling food made for sale at the individual’s home, directly to consumers. The food must be sold by the person who made it, or by a household member with extensive knowledge of the product — so a neighbor can ask how it was made and get a real answer.

Online — but only inside Missouri. Since the 2022 update you can take orders and payment over the internet, with one hard boundary written into the statute: “A cottage food production operation shall not sell any foods described in this section through the internet unless both the cottage food production operation and the purchaser are located in this state.” In plain terms: in-state internet sales yes; out-of-state no.

The hard boundaries. No selling across state lines — DHSS: “A cottage food producer may not sell their products across state lines.” Cross a state line and you may fall under federal (FDA) rules. And no wholesale: selling to a store, restaurant, or distributor to resell isn’t cottage food — “If foods are to be wholesaled, they no longer are exempted by the Missouri Cottage Law” and run through the DHSS Manufactured Food program instead.

Farmers markets and stands — the honest nuance. The cottage law’s own text names home sales and in-state internet sales; it doesn’t spell out farmers markets. In practice, market and roadside-stand sales of non-refrigerated foods ride the Food Code “individual stand” exemption — which works “where local codes allow,” requires the same label plus a clearly visible placard at the point of sale, and is the LPHA’s call. So before you book a market booth, ask your LPHA whether your county allows it.

Your county still matters. A local health department can’t regulate cottage production under §196.298. But Missouri also lets LPHAs adopt their own food ordinances “equal to or more stringent” than the state’s, which is exactly what governs the food-code individual-stand exemption and your market/stand options — another reason the LPHA call is worth making.

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

What you can sell

In shortThis is the heart of Missouri’s law. The cottage list is closed — three categories, and nothing else. If a food isn’t one of the three, it can’t be sold under the cottage law, even if it seems shelf-stable.

The closed cottage list (§196.298)

Three categories, and nothing else. Baked goods — the statute defines these as “cookies, cakes, breads, danish, donuts, pastries, pies, and other items that are prepared by baking the item in an oven,” and explicitly not any potentially hazardous (refrigeration-needing) food. Canned jams or jellies — shelf-stable only. Dried herbs and dried herb mixes.

  • Baked goods (non-hazardous)
  • Canned jams or jellies
  • Dried herbs & herb mixes

DHSS is emphatic that this is the entire menu: “The term ‘Cottage Law’ is not an umbrella or all-encompassing term to allow an individual to make any food item out of their home… baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herb and dried herb mixes are the only items.” If a food isn’t one of those three, it can’t be sold under the cottage law — even if it seems shelf-stable. And even within jams and jellies, some are out: DHSS rules out “No Sugar Added,” “Sugar Free,” and hot-pepper jams and jellies, because the altered pH or water activity can make them potentially hazardous.

Not allowed under the cottage law

  • Cut produce
  • Goods garnished with fresh fruit
  • Freeze-dried foods
  • Salsa, pickles & sauces
  • Sprouts & wild mushrooms
  • Meats, dairy & eggs
  • Cheesecake & cream pies
  • Pet foods

DHSS’s own list, “and more.” Cheesecake test: fails. Cheesecake, meringue, and cream pies all need refrigeration, which puts them outside every Missouri home exemption. DHSS: “Meringue and/or cream pies are not exempted by the Missouri Cottage Law. These products are potentially hazardous foods. They will need to be made in an approved and inspected facility.”

The local “individual stand” add-on — only where your county allows it. A separate exemption in the Missouri Food Code lets some counties permit other non-refrigerated foods from an individual stand: fruit butters, sorghum, cracked nuts, packaged spices and spice mixes, dry soup mixes. This is not part of the cottage law and not automatic — it works “where local codes allow,” needs a point-of-sale placard, and is your LPHA’s decision.

(The safety line under all of this: a non-potentially-hazardous food is one with a water activity of 0.85 or below, or a pH of 4.6 or below measured at 75°F — the Food Code threshold DHSS uses.)

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

The rules that actually matter

In shortNo sales cap, no wholesale ever, in-state only, made in your home kitchen. The real limit isn’t a dollar figure — it’s the closed three-item list. No routine inspection, but health departments keep complaint-investigation authority.

  • The closed list is the real limitThree categories, nothing else — that’s the binding constraint, not a dollar figure. Missouri removed the old $50,000 annual-gross-income limit in the 2022 update; DHSS: “There is no longer a limit to how much a cottage food producer can make annually.”
  • Direct-to-consumer only — and in-stateNo wholesale, ever — no selling to a store, restaurant, or distributor to resell. And no sales across state lines, including by internet. Online sales are fine only when both you and the buyer are in Missouri.
  • Make it in your home kitchen“Home” is “a primary residence that contains a kitchen and appliances designed for common residential usage” — your ordinary residential kitchen, not a rented or commercial space. Taxes, local business licensing, and zoning are separate from food law (and not researched here — see the disclaimer).
  • No routine inspection — but not zero oversightNo one inspects your kitchen on a schedule, and a local health department can’t regulate your production. Health departments do keep complaint records and retain the authority to investigate a foodborne illness or outbreak.

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

Getting set up

In shortMissouri’s cottage path has no state step — no form, no fee, no registration, no notification. The exemption is automatic when you follow the rules. In most states, step 1 is an application and a fee. In Missouri it’s reading a three-item list.

  1. Check your product against the closed listIs it a baked good, a canned jam or jelly, or a dried herb or herb mix, and shelf-stable? If not, the cottage law doesn’t cover it.
  2. Make your labelNext section — it’s the one thing the law actually requires.
  3. If your product isn’t on the list, call your LPHABefore you sell — to ask whether your county allows the Food Code “individual stand” exemption for other non-refrigerated foods. (LPHA directory: health.mo.gov/living/lpha/lphas.php)
  4. If you’ll sell at a market or stand, confirm with your LPHAConfirm your county allows it, and plan for the point-of-sale placard in addition to the label.
  5. Sort out the non-food basicsSales tax registration, any local business license, and zoning are separate from food law — check with your county or city.
  6. Keep it direct and in-stateSell to the buyer, inside Missouri, in person or by in-state internet order.

That’s it. Compare: in most states, step 1 is an application and a fee. In Missouri it’s reading a three-item list.

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

Labels

In shortEvery item carries a label. The statute requires only the operation’s name and address plus a statement that the food is not inspected — no exact words mandated and no type-size floor. DHSS fills in the rest as guidance.

Missouri cottage food label

  • The name and address of the cottage food production operation — the statute keys this to your operation’s (business) name and address, not your personal legal name
  • The common name of the food
  • All ingredients, listed in descending order by weight
  • The net weight of the food
  • Any allergens in the food
  • The not-inspected statement — the statute requires only “a statement that the food is not inspected,” with no exact words mandated and no required type size; DHSS suggests the wording shown in the sample
Oatmeal Cookies
Maple Street Kitchen · 123 Maple St, Columbia, MO 65201
Ingredients: flour (wheat), butter (milk), oats, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, salt.
Contains: wheat, milk, eggs.
Net Wt 8 oz (227 g)
This product is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Missouri cottage food label — the wording DHSS suggests.

Missouri did not promulgate a labeling rule, so there’s no single mandated word-for-word sentence and no required type-size floor — the statute’s floor is only “a statement that the food is not inspected by the department or local health department,” and the wording above is DHSS guidance, the closest thing to an authoritative string. Selling from a market or individual stand? Add a clearly visible placard at the point of sale carrying that same not-inspected message, alongside the labeled package.

Sources: RSMo §196.298 · DHSS guidance (PDF)

What changed recently

In shortStable since August 28, 2022, when HB 1697 removed the $50,000 cap and added in-state internet sales. A 2026 food-freedom expansion (HB 3108) was filed and died in committee — a signal expansion has interest, but today’s law is the closed three-item list.

  • No change to the cottage law since August 28, 2022That’s when HB 1697 took effect and reshaped §196.298: it removed the $50,000 annual-income cap and added in-state internet sales (you can sell online as long as both you and the buyer are in Missouri). The statute’s history line confirms the current text is that 2022 version, with no later amendment.
  • 2026: a food-freedom expansion was filed, and diedHB 3108 (“Homemade Foods,” Rep. Bruce Sassmann) would have gone far beyond the closed list — letting a broadly defined “producer” sell non-hazardous foods, eggs, and dairy through third-party vendors including retail shops and grocery stores. It was introduced January 28, 2026, referred to the Government Efficiency Committee, had a hearing scheduled April 16 but was not heard, and never came out of committee; the 2026 regular session adjourned May 15, 2026 — so the bill died. It’s a signal that expansion has legislative interest — worth a re-check next session — but today’s law is the closed three-item list.

Sources: HB 3108 summary (PDF) · HB 3108 action history · 2026 session adjourned sine die

Common questions

What exactly can I sell from home in Missouri?
Three things, and only three: baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herbs or herb mixes — all shelf-stable. If it’s not one of those, the cottage law doesn’t cover it, even if it seems shelf-stable.
Do I need a license or permit?
No. DHSS: “There is no food permit or license for cottage food production operations, but products must meet the labeling requirements listed by law.” Anyone selling you a Missouri cottage food license is selling something that doesn’t exist.
Is there a limit on how much I can earn?
No — the old $50,000 cap was removed in 2022. There’s no longer a limit on annual income. The real limit is the closed three-item list, not a dollar figure.
Can I take orders on my website?
Yes, with one boundary: both you and the buyer must be in Missouri. The statute bars internet sales unless “both the cottage food production operation and the purchaser are located in this state.”
Can I ship to my sister in Kansas?
No — Missouri cottage foods can’t be sold across state lines. Cross the line and you may fall under federal (FDA) rules.
Can I sell cheesecake from home in Missouri?
No — cheesecake needs refrigeration, which puts it outside every home exemption. DHSS rules cream and meringue pies out for the same reason; those need an approved, inspected facility.
Can I sell salsa, pickles, or BBQ sauce?
No — those are acidified or low-acid canned foods (a botulism risk if mishandled) and must be made in an inspected facility, often with a process-authority recipe review.
Can I sell at a farmers market?
Often yes, but it’s your county’s call. The cottage law itself addresses home and in-state internet sales; market and roadside-stand sales of non-refrigerated foods ride the Food Code “individual stand” exemption, which works “where local codes allow” and needs a placard at the point of sale — so ask your LPHA first.
What about hot-pepper jam, or “sugar-free” jam?
Out — DHSS excludes “No Sugar Added,” “Sugar Free,” and hot-pepper jams and jellies because the changed sugar or acidity can make them potentially hazardous.
Can I sell my own honey?
Yes — pure honey you harvest and package on your own farm sells as a raw agricultural commodity without inspection. Bringing in honey from another farm to package, or adding ingredients, makes you an inspected operation.
Can a grocery store or restaurant carry my cookies?
No — that’s wholesale, which isn’t cottage food at any volume. Direct to the buyer, always.
Does anyone inspect my kitchen?
Not routinely — no pre-approval, no scheduled visits, and a local health department can’t regulate your production. Health departments do keep complaint records and can investigate a foodborne illness.

You won’t be doing this alone

48 porch bakers are already selling across Missouri under these exact rules. 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 48 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 Missouri’s official sources and wrote down what they say (every claim above links to its source). Missouri’s cottage list is short and closed — three food categories — and a few more foods may be sellable through a local “individual stand” exemption only where your county allows it, so your Local Public Health Agency is the deciding voice on anything off the list and on market sales. Sales tax, local business licensing, and zoning are separate from food law and set locally — 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.