Home and Hearth BakerResidential kitchen for retail sale; cottage foods (Cottage Food Operation)
105 CMR 590.001(C) (definitions of Cottage Food Operation, Cottage Food Products, Residential Kitchen, Food Establishment), 105 CMR 590.008 (FC 8-304.25(A)(2)(c) permit category), 105 CMR 590.010(F); DPH Retail Food Code Standards for Permitted Residential Kitchens (April 2019), issued under 105 CMR 590.009(E) · 105 CMR 590.000 as amended by Mass. Register 1375, eff. 2018-10-05 (adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code with Massachusetts amendments)
Yearly sales limit
No state limit
No sales cap in 105 CMR 590 or DPH guidance.
No sales cap in 105 CMR 590 or DPH guidance.
Permit or registration
Yes
Food establishment permit: residential kitchen for retail sale; cottage foods
Local board of health of the city or town where the kitchen is
Fee: Set by each city or town, e.g. Boston $100 a year, Arlington $100, Burlington $100, Northampton $150 (2026 form)
Official page
Food establishment permit: residential kitchen for retail sale; cottage foods
Local board of health of the city or town where the kitchen is
Fee: Set by each city or town, e.g. Boston $100 a year, Arlington $100, Burlington $100, Northampton $150 (2026 form)
Official page
Food safety training
Not required by the state: DPH says cottage-food-only establishments 'do not need to have a Certified Food Protection Manager on staff'. Many boards of health require it anyway (e.g., Boston and Northampton: Food Protection Manager certification and allergen awareness training; Westminster: ServSafe and Allergen Awareness certificates).
Where required locally: Certified Food Protection Manager exam from a DPH-recognized accredited program, plus Massachusetts allergen awareness training
Where required locally: Certified Food Protection Manager exam from a DPH-recognized accredited program, plus Massachusetts allergen awareness training
Where you make it
Only in the home kitchen of the person's primary domestic residence (105 CMR 590.001(C)(2)). DPH standards: only the permittee and people under the permittee's supervision may prepare, package, or handle food; no infants or small children present during preparation; pets kept out of the kitchen during preparation; no living or sleeping rooms used; no family meal prep, laundry, ironing, or entertaining in the kitchen at the same time; ill persons may not work. Potable water from a municipal system or an approved well; private wells tested before permitting and at least once a year with a written record; sewage to a system approved by the board of health.
Selling in person
Allowed directly to consumers, e.g. farmers markets and craft fairs (DPH Q&A). Sales from the home depend on local zoning (Boston does not allow in-person sales at the home). Farmers market sales may need other local licenses.
Phone and online orders
Allowed: DPH says direct-to-consumer sales include 'sales by internet or mail' (DPH Residential Kitchen Q&A, April 2019). Phone orders not mentioned by name.
Delivery and shipping
Not addressed by 105 CMR 590 or DPH guidance
Selling out of state
Not allowed in this app. DPH's 2016 brochure says residential kitchen foods 'may not be sold out-of-state (in interstate commerce)'; DPH's 2019 Q&A says to check federal law and the other state's law. Boston and Arlington say no out-of-state sales.
Stores and wholesale
Not allowed under the retail permit; needs the DPH wholesale residential kitchen license
Examples you can sell
Non-time/temperature control for safety (non-TCS) foods only: baked goods, jams, jellies, and other non-TCS foods (105 CMR 590.001(C)(2)). TCS ingredients from approved sources (milk, cream, eggs) may be used if the final product is not a TCS food (DPH standards, April 2019).
- Baked goods such as cookies and brownies (DPH; Boston ISD)
- Jams and jellies (DPH), including jams and jellies thermally processed in sealed containers
- Confectionery (Boston ISD)
- Vinegars (Boston ISD)
Not allowed
- Foods that need hot or cold holding (TCS foods), e.g. cream-filled pastries, cheesecake, custard (DPH Q&A)
- Cut produce, tomato and barbecue sauce, pickled products, relishes, salad dressings (DPH Q&A)
- Raw or heat-treated meat or fish (DPH Q&A, Boston ISD)
- Processes: acidification, hot fill, thermal processing in sealed containers (except jams and jellies), vacuum packaging, curing or smoking (DPH Q&A)
- Sugar-free jams and jellies (Boston ISD; not stated by DPH)