Home and Hearth BakerCottage food operation
MCL 289.4102 (Michigan Food Law, Act 92 of 2000); definitions in MCL 289.1105(1)(j)-(k) · 2010 PA 112 and 113; amended 2012 PA 178; amended 2025 PA 51 (HB 4122, signed 2025-12-23)
Yearly sales limit
$50,000
$50,000 gross sales per year; $75,000 if the operation sells cottage food products at $250 or more per unit. Computed per person within or at a particular domestic residence. MDARD FAQ: each cottage food operator in a home may sell up to the full limit for their own business; household members who are not operators do not count. Statute sets these figures 'until October 1, 2026'; beginning 2026-10-01 and by each October 1 after, MDARD 'may adjust' the limits by an inflation factor (3-year average July-June Detroit CPI, determined by Treasury, never below 1.00, rounded to the whole dollar) (enrolled HB 4122). The adjustment is optional and the statute does not say where it is published. As of 2026-11-03 MDARD pages (Getting Started and FAQ: 'The limit is currently gross sales up to $50,000 yearly'; Selling and Samples; One Pager 03/2026) still show $50,000/$75,000; no adjusted 2026 figure and no 2027 figure has been published. Prior law cap was $25,000 until 2026-03-24.
$50,000 gross sales per year; $75,000 if the operation sells cottage food products at $250 or more per unit. Computed per person within or at a particular domestic residence. MDARD FAQ: each cottage food operator in a home may sell up to the full limit for their own business; household members who are not operators do not count. Statute sets these figures 'until October 1, 2026'; beginning 2026-10-01 and by each October 1 after, MDARD 'may adjust' the limits by an inflation factor (3-year average July-June Detroit CPI, determined by Treasury, never below 1.00, rounded to the whole dollar) (enrolled HB 4122). The adjustment is optional and the statute does not say where it is published. As of 2026-11-03 MDARD pages (Getting Started and FAQ: 'The limit is currently gross sales up to $50,000 yearly'; Selling and Samples; One Pager 03/2026) still show $50,000/$75,000; no adjusted 2026 figure and no 2027 figure has been published. Prior law cap was $25,000 until 2026-03-24.
Permit or registration
No
MDARD (no license, inspection, application, or registration required)
Fee: none
MDARD (no license, inspection, application, or registration required)
Fee: none
Food safety training
No
Where you make it
Kitchen of the operator's primary domestic residence within Michigan; products must also be stored only in the primary domestic residence (MDARD: not in a garage, shed, or other outbuilding)
Selling in person
Directly to consumers; MDARD lists farmers markets, farm stands, roadside stands, craft shows, and similar venues. Statute itself names no venues, only that sales must be direct to the consumer.
Phone and online orders
Allowed since 2026-03-24: sales by internet or mail order, if the operation gives the consumer an opportunity to directly interact with it before the sale (face-to-face or a 2-way virtual meeting). MDARD also allows phone orders and pay-app payment.
Delivery and shipping
Allowed through a third-party food delivery platform, same direct-interaction condition; Michigan consumers only
Selling out of state
No
Stores and wholesale
No
Examples you can sell
Foods that are not time/temperature control for safety (TCS) as defined in the food code. Statute examples: jams, jellies, dried fruit, candy, cereal, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs, and baked goods that do not require temperature control for safety.
- Breads, quick breads, muffins; breads with shredded hard cheese baked in, herbs, spices, nuts, or dried fruit/vegetables
- Cookies and baked goods
- Cakes, including celebration cakes (birthday, anniversary, wedding, cupcakes)
- Shelf-stable pies and baked fruit pies (crusts with butter, lard, or shortening allowed)
- Icings and frostings made only with shelf-stable ingredients; commercially prepared shelf-stable frostings
- Candy and confections made without alcohol, cotton candy, hard candy, maple candy, freeze-dried candy
- Coated or uncoated nuts, chocolate-covered pretzels, marshmallows, Rice Krispies treats
- Fruit jams and jellies in glass jars stored at room temperature
- Granola, dry baking mixes, dry bread mixes, dry dip and soup mixes, dried pasta
- Popcorn, roasted coffee beans or ground coffee, dry tea mixes, powdered drink mixes
Not allowed
- Statutory exclusions: foods regulated under 21 CFR parts 108, 113, 114 (including salsa); canned low-acid fruits or acidified vegetables; other canned foods except standardized jams, jellies, preserves (21 CFR part 150); meat and poultry products; milk products; bottled water and other beverages; home-produced ice
- Pies or cakes needing refrigeration: banana cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue, custard pies, cheesecake
- Cream cheese frostings or icings; frostings with ingredients requiring refrigeration
- Buttercream other than commercially prepared shelf-stable or the two MDARD-listed lab-tested recipes
- Breads with fresh or frozen vegetables, soft cheese, or large chunks of hard cheese
- Caramel apples; confections containing alcohol (truffles, liqueur-filled chocolates)
- Simple syrups, elderberry syrups
- Sauces and condiments (BBQ sauce, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard), salad dressings, salsas, tomato sauces, hummus
- Apple butter, pumpkin butter, other fruit or vegetable butters
- Vegetable jams/jellies (e.g., hot pepper jelly); low-sugar or no-sugar jams or jellies
The statement your labels must carry
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development.
In type at least 11 point.