Home and Hearth BakerCottage food production operation
Tex. Health & Safety Code 437.001(2-b), (3), (8), 437.0191, 437.0192, 437.0193, 437.0194, 437.01953, 437.01955, 437.0195, 437.01965; 25 TAC 229.661 (Chapter 229, Subchapter EE) · SB 81 (82nd Leg., 2011); amended by HB 970 (83rd Leg., 2013), SB 572 (86th Leg., 2019), and SB 541 (89th Leg., 2025, by Sen. Kolkhorst; Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 303)
Yearly sales limit
$150,000
Annual gross income of $150,000 or less from sales of cottage food, 'as the department annually adjusts for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)' (437.001(2-b) as amended by SB 541, eff. 2025-09-01; was $50,000). As of 2026-11-03 DSHS has not published an adjusted figure; its cottage food page still says $150,000, with no adjustment mentioned. 25 TAC 229.661(b)(3) still says $50,000 (last amended 2022); the statute controls.
Annual gross income of $150,000 or less from sales of cottage food, 'as the department annually adjusts for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)' (437.001(2-b) as amended by SB 541, eff. 2025-09-01; was $50,000). As of 2026-11-03 DSHS has not published an adjusted figure; its cottage food page still says $150,000, with no adjustment mentioned. 25 TAC 229.661(b)(3) still says $50,000 (last amended 2022); the statute controls.
Permit or registration
Only for TCS (refrigerated) foods. Optional for shelf-stable foods: register to print a DSHS ID number on labels instead of the home address (437.0193(b-1), 437.01953).
Cottage Food Registration (DSHS)
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Retail Food Program
Fee: Not stated by DSHS. The City of Mansfield guide (updated 2026-01-28) says registration is free (see open questions)
Official page
Cottage Food Registration (DSHS)
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Retail Food Program
Fee: Not stated by DSHS. The City of Mansfield guide (updated 2026-01-28) says registration is free (see open questions)
Official page
Food safety training
Yes
Basic food safety education or training program for food handlers accredited under Health and Safety Code Chapter 438, Subchapter D (437.0195(a)); DSHS accepts a Food Manager Certification. Helpers must also be trained, be directly supervised by a trained person, or live in the household (437.0195(b)). A food handler certificate from an accredited program is valid for two years (25 TAC 229.178(d)(1)); DSHS says a card is good until the expiration date printed on it.
Basic food safety education or training program for food handlers accredited under Health and Safety Code Chapter 438, Subchapter D (437.0195(a)); DSHS accepts a Food Manager Certification. Helpers must also be trained, be directly supervised by a trained person, or live in the household (437.0195(b)). A food handler certificate from an accredited program is valid for two years (25 TAC 229.178(d)(1)); DSHS says a card is good until the expiration date printed on it.
Where you make it
The individual's home, or for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the home of a director or officer of the nonprofit (437.001(2-b), (5-a) as amended by SB 541). DSHS registration requires a home address, not a P.O. box. No home kitchen rules (pets, one oven, etc.) are set in the statute or on the DSHS page.
Selling in person
Allowed: directly to consumers, delivered at the point of sale or another location the consumer chooses (437.001(2-b)). The statute and DSHS page do not list or limit places. Samples may be given anywhere in Texas (437.01955).
Phone and online orders
Internet sales allowed only if the consumer buys online from the operation, it is personally delivered, and all label information is posted legibly on the operation's website before payment (437.0194(b)). Phone orders are not specifically addressed.
Delivery and shipping
Allowed: the operator, an employee, or a household member must personally deliver Internet orders (437.0194(b)(1)); direct sales may be delivered to a location the consumer chooses (437.001(2-b))
Selling out of state
No
Stores and wholesale
Only to a cottage food vendor: non-TCS foods may be sold wholesale to a vendor (437.0194(a-1)); the vendor must register with DSHS and may resell at farmers' markets, farm stands, food service establishments, or retail stores, with a sign and the date made (437.01965). No other wholesale.
Examples you can sell
Any food except meat and poultry (and their products), seafood/fish/shellfish (and products), ice and ice products, low-acid canned goods, products with CBD or THC, and raw milk and raw milk products (437.001(2-b)(A) as amended by SB 541). Refrigerated (TCS) foods are allowed only with DSHS registration and are outside this app's scope.
- Baked goods that do not need refrigeration, such as cookies, breads, cakes, fruit pies (any non-excluded food is allowed)
- Candy
- Jams and jellies
- Dry mixes, granola, snack mixes
- Pickled fruit or vegetables, fermented vegetable products, and plant-based acidified canned goods, from an approved recipe source (DSHS)
Not allowed
- Meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry products
- Seafood, including fish and shellfish and their products
- Ice or ice products, including shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, and gelato
- Low-acid canned goods
- Products containing cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
- Raw milk and raw milk products
- Time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods unless registered with DSHS and kept at 41 F or below or 135 F or above (outside this app's scope)
The statement your labels must carry
THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.