Cottage food laws · Ohio

Yes, you can sell what you bake in Ohio.

Ohio gives home cooks two paths, and the difference between them is one of the best deals in the country: a free path for shelf-stable goods, and a $10-a-year path that unlocks refrigerated bakery goods like cheesecake — and the right to ship out of state. Neither has a sales cap. Here’s the whole picture, in plain English.

Verified against the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture

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.

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.

Selling shelf-stable goods?

That’s a Cottage Food Production Operation — fully exempt from state licensing. Put the right label on cookies, breads, cakes, jams, candy, or granola and sell, in Ohio. No registration, no fee, no inspection.

$0 to startNo licenseNo inspectionNo sales cap

Want to sell cheesecake?

That takes a Home Bakery — a $10-a-year registration and one kitchen inspection. In exchange you can make refrigerated bakery goods (cheesecake, cream pie, custard) and ship outside Ohio.

$10/yearOne inspectionRefrigerated OKShips out of state

Kids’ stands?

A young baker selling shelf-stable cookies or breads follows the same free, no-license, no-inspection cottage food path an adult does — the only requirement is the label.

No licenseNo inspectionLabel only
Sound doable? Show me the steps ↓Meet the Ohio porch bakers already doing it

Two ways to sell — pick your path

In shortThe two paths split on one question: does what you make need refrigeration? Shelf-stable → the free cottage path. Refrigerated baked goods → the $10 home bakery.

Ohio’s two home-food paths split cleanly on one question — does what you make need refrigeration? The cleanest way to see it: a cheesecake can’t come out of a cottage food operation (it needs refrigeration), but a home bakery can make it, for $10 a year and one inspection. Same product, two answers.

Path A · most porch shops start here$0 to start

Cottage Food Production Operation

Fully exempt from Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) licensing — no registration, no fee, no inspection. You make food on the shelf-stable list, label it correctly, and sell. Your products are subject only to occasional ODA product sampling.

The one hard line: you can only sell in Ohio.

Pick this path if: everything you sell is shelf-stable — cookies, breads, cakes, fruit pies, jams, candy, dry mixes.

Path B · the refrigerated + shipping door$10/year

Home Bakery

Register your home kitchen with ODA, pass one inspection, and pay $10 a year. In exchange you can make refrigerated bakery products — cheesecake, cream pie, custard pie, pumpkin pie — that the cottage path bans, and you can ship outside Ohio.

The limit: it’s a bakery registration — it covers baked goods, not salsa, canned goods, or meals.

Pick this path if: you want to sell refrigerated baked goods, or ship across state lines.

Neither path covers acidified or canned foods (pickles, salsa), meals, or anything refrigerated that isn’t a baked good — those need a licensed food establishment. (A third path is coming but isn’t law yet: HB 134 would create a “Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation” — $25/year, an inspection, and nearly any homemade food including hot meals. It passed the Ohio House in November 2025 and is in the Senate as of June 2026 — see “What changed”.)

Sources: ORC 3715.01 · ORC 911.02 · ODA — Cottage Food · ODA — Home Bakery

Where you can sell

In shortCottage food: in Ohio only — your home, farm/farmers markets, grocery stores, restaurants, short city/county festivals (≤7 days). A home bakery can do all that plus ship out of state.

Cottage food — in Ohio only, through the channels Ohio law excludes from food-establishment licensing: direct from your home, registered farm markets and farmers markets, festivals organized by a city/county/township that run seven consecutive days or less, and licensed grocery stores and restaurants (properly labeled cottage foods are “acceptable food products” a licensed retailer or restaurant may offer or use). The hard boundary: no sales outside Ohio.

Online ordering / in-state shipping isn’t addressed. Ohio’s cottage food rules spell out the in-person channels above and the no-out-of-state limit, but say nothing — for or against — about selling online or shipping within Ohio. ODA hasn’t published guidance on it; check with ODA Food Safety (614-728-6250) before you take online orders. (A registered home bakery, by contrast, can ship — including out of state.)

Home bakery: from the home bakery, plus grocery stores, convenience stores, farm and farmers markets, other retail establishments, and as items offered by restaurants — and, uniquely, outside Ohio. (Shipping across state lines also brings in federal FDA jurisdiction — worth knowing before you do it.)

Sources: ORC 3717.22 · ORC 3715.023 · OAC 901:3-20-05 · ODA — Home Bakery

What you can sell

In shortCottage food is a fixed shelf-stable list. A home bakery adds the refrigerated baked goods the cottage path bans — cheesecake, cream pie — but stays bakery-only.

Cottage food — a fixed list

  • Cookies, breads & brownies
  • Cakes & fruit pies
  • Candy & fudge
  • Jams, jellies & fruit butters
  • Fruit chutneys
  • Granola & granola bars
  • Popcorn, kettle & caramel corn
  • Dry herb, tea & soup blends
  • Roasted coffee
  • Dry baking mixes

Plus flavored honey (by an exempt beekeeper), maple sugar (by an exempt producer), unfilled baked doughnuts, waffle cones, pizzelles, and dry cereal/nut snack mixes. The fine print: chocolate-covered non-perishables are fine, but not candy-covered fresh fruit; no reduced-oxygen packaging. If it’s not on the rule’s list, you can’t sell it as cottage food.

Not allowed as cottage food

  • Cheesecake & cream pies
  • Acidified / canned (salsa, pickles)
  • Anything refrigerated
  • Meals
  • Off-list foods

ODA’s fact-sheet examples of barred potentially-hazardous foods: “raw or cooked animal products, cooked vegetables, garlic in oil, cheesecakes, pumpkin pies, custard pies, cream pies.” (Other items you’ll see listed elsewhere — fresh pasta, hummus, jerky — are correct under the fixed-list rule, but come from county-health and OSU Extension materials, not ODA’s own fact sheet.)

Home bakery — adds refrigerated baked goods

  • Cheesecake
  • Cream pie
  • Custard pie
  • Pumpkin pie
  • …plus everything a cottage operation bakes

ODA’s Home Bakery guidance allows “potentially hazardous bakery products … which require refrigeration,” held in a mechanical refrigerator at 45°F or below. It’s a bakery registration, though — it does not unlock salsa, canned goods, or meals.

Sources: OAC 901:3-20-04 · ORC 3715.025 · ODA — Home Bakery

The rules that actually matter

In shortNo sales cap on either path. Cottage food is Ohio-only and a closed list; a home bakery can ship but stays bakery-only. No food-handler course either way.

  • No sales capNeither path has a revenue or volume limit — none in the statutes, the rules, or either ODA fact sheet.
  • Cottage food is Ohio-onlySelling outside Ohio is a listed prohibition. (A home bakery, by contrast, can ship out of state.)
  • Cottage food is a closed list; a home bakery is bakery-onlyIf it’s not on the cottage list, you can’t sell it as cottage food — and acidified/canned/potentially-hazardous foods are out regardless. The $10 home-bakery registration covers baked goods (including refrigerated ones), not salsa, canned goods, or meals.
  • No food-handler course on either pathNeither path requires a food-handler card. Cottage food carries no license or inspection at all (products are subject to ODA sampling); the home bakery has one inspection and a $10 registration, but no course.

Sources: ORC 3715.01 · ORC 911.02 · OAC 901:3-20-05 · OAC 901:3-20-03

Getting set up

In shortPath A is nothing to file — confirm your products are on the list and label them. Path B is a $10/year registration, kitchen criteria, and one inspection.

Path A — Cottage Food (nothing to file)

  1. Confirm your products are on the rule’s listOAC 901:3-20-04 is the fixed list.
  2. Label them correctlyThe ten-point “This product is home produced” line plus the standard elements — copy the sample below.

That’s it — no registration, no license, no inspection, no food-handler course. Your products may be sampled by ODA.

Path B — Home Bakery ($10/year)

  1. Get your kitchen readyODA’s home-bakery standards: walls/ceilings/floors in good repair and cleanable (no carpeted floors); no pets in the home; pest-free; a mechanical refrigerator with a thermometer holding 45°F or below; an annual negative coliform test if you’re on a private well.
  2. Contact ODA’s Division of Food Safety to arrange the inspectionfoodsafety@agri.ohio.gov; the home-bakery fact sheet lists 1-800-282-1955 ext. 4366, and the division’s current main line is 614-728-6250.
  3. Pay the $10 annual registrationRenew by September 30 each year. No food-handler course is required for this path either.

Sources: OAC 901:3-20-04 · ORC 911.02 · ODA — Home Bakery

Labels

In shortOhio’s two paths carry different labels — get the path right first. Cottage food carries the ten-point “This product is home produced”; a home bakery does not (refrigerated items carry “Keep Refrigerated”).

Cottage food label

  • Product name (statement of identity)
  • Net quantity — the statute calls for net weight and volume — in both U.S. customary and metric
  • Ingredients, descending by weight, with allergens declared (FALCPA)
  • The name and address of the business (street may be omitted if the business is in the local phone directory)
  • The verbatim statement, in ten-point type: “This product is home produced.”
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ingredients: flour (wheat), water, honey, butter (milk), yeast, salt.
Contains: wheat, milk.
Maple Lane Bakery · 123 Maple Lane, Worthington, OH 43085
Net Wt 24 oz (680 g)
This product is home produced.
Cottage food label — required elements.

Home bakery label

  • Product name, net quantity, ingredients (descending by weight, allergens declared)
  • The name and address of the business
  • NO “This product is home produced” line (the statute ties that to cottage food operations)
  • Refrigerated items carry “Keep Refrigerated” (or a similar statement); a sale date if quality drops within 30 days
Classic Cheesecake
Ingredients: cream cheese (milk), sugar, eggs, sour cream (milk), graham crust (wheat), vanilla.
Contains: milk, eggs, wheat.
Maple Lane Bakery · 123 Maple Lane, Worthington, OH 43085
Net Wt 32 oz (907 g)
KEEP REFRIGERATED
Home bakery label — note: no “home produced” line.

Neither path needs a nutrition-facts panel unless you make a nutrient or health claim. The label maker below builds the cottage food label; a home bakery swaps the “home produced” line for “Keep Refrigerated” on refrigerated items.

Sources: ORC 3715.023 · OAC 901:3-20-02 · ODA — Home Bakery

What changed recently

In shortThe home bakery is now a “registration,” not a “license” (HB 96, eff. Sept 30, 2025) — same $10 fee. A third path, HB 134, passed the House in 2025 and sits in the Senate.

  • Home bakery is now a “registration” — Sept 30, 2025ORC 911.02 was amended by House Bill 96 (the FY2026–27 state budget); the terminology changed from “license” to “registration,” and the fees are unchanged — $10 a year for a home bakery, $200 for a standard bakery, renewed by September 30. (ODA’s 2019 fact sheet still says “license” — that wording is now stale against the statute.)
  • A new “low-risk” vendor license — Feb 12, 2024A low-risk mobile retail food establishment license lets farm and home-based vendors sell prepackaged foods (including refrigerated and frozen) at farmers markets using ice or gel packs instead of mechanical refrigeration. (Effective date from OSU Extension reporting; confirm the rule citation before relying on it.)
  • HB 134 — a third path — pending, not lawA proposed Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation: $25/year, an ODA home inspection, and nearly any homemade food including hot meals and canned goods, sold direct to consumers. It passed the Ohio House in November 2025 and is in the Senate as of June 2026. (A reported ~$150,000/year cap is a secondary-source detail — verify against the bill text before relying on it.)

Sources: ORC 911.02 · ODA — Home Bakery

Common questions

Can I sell cheesecake from home in Ohio?
Not as a cottage food operation — cheesecake needs refrigeration, which the cottage path bans. But a Home Bakery can make it, for $10 a year and one kitchen inspection, held at 45°F or below.
What’s the difference between cottage food and a home bakery in Ohio?
Cottage food is free, no inspection, shelf-stable goods, Ohio-only. A Home Bakery is $10/year and one inspection, but it adds refrigerated baked goods (cheesecake, cream pie) and out-of-state shipping. A home bakery stays bakery-only — it doesn’t cover salsa, canned goods, or meals.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell in Ohio?
No — neither the cottage food path nor the home bakery has a sales or revenue cap.
Can a grocery store carry my cookies in Ohio?
Yes — properly labeled cottage foods are acceptable food products a licensed grocery store or restaurant may offer or use.
Can I ship my baked goods out of state from Ohio?
Not on the cottage food path — it’s Ohio-only. A registered Home Bakery can ship out of state, which also brings in federal FDA rules.
Can I sell homemade food online in Ohio?
Ohio’s cottage food rules don’t address online sales or in-state shipping either way — they spell out the in-person channels and the in-Ohio-only limit. Check with ODA Food Safety (614-728-6250) before you take online orders. A registered Home Bakery can ship.
Do I need a food-handler card to sell homemade food in Ohio?
No — neither the cottage food path nor the home bakery requires one.
Can I sell salsa or pickles from home in Ohio?
No — acidified and canned foods are out on both home paths. That’s the licensed-food-establishment route (or HB 134, if it becomes law).

Sources: ORC 911.02 (home bakery $10 + Sept 30 renewal) · OAC 901:3-20-05 (cottage prohibitions, Ohio-only) · ORC 3715.023 (retail/restaurant authorization)

You won’t be doing this alone

91 porch bakers are already selling across Ohio 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 91 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 Ohio’s official sources and wrote down what they say (every claim above links to its source). Ohio’s two home-food paths carry different rules and different labels — make sure you know which one you’re on. ODA’s home-bakery fact sheet still uses the older “license” wording the statute changed to “registration” in 2025; the fee and process are unchanged. Local zoning and sales-tax rules are separate 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.