Updated for the law in effect since March 24, 2026

Michigan Cottage Food Law, in plain English

Michigan lets you make certain shelf-stable foods in your own home kitchen and sell them directly to customers, with no license and no inspection. Since March 24, 2026 you can also sell online and ship or deliver anywhere in Michigan, up to $50,000 a year. Here is everything the law and MDARD require, with links to the source for each rule.

By the Ajinto teamChecked against MCL 289.4102 and MDARD's guidance on September 24, 2026

What Michigan's cottage food law is

The cottage food exemption is section 4102 of the Michigan Food Law (MCL 289.4102). It exempts a "cottage food operation" from the licensing and inspection that food businesses normally need, as long as you make only non-potentially-hazardous foods: foods that stay safe at room temperature without refrigeration. MDARD, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, oversees it.

The exemption covers licensing and routine inspection only. You still have to follow the labeling and adulteration rules in the Food Law, and MDARD can still act on complaints. For buyers, here's what cottage food means.

What changed in 2026

House Bill 4122 (2025 Public Act 51) took effect on March 24, 2026. It:

• Raised the sales limit to $50,000 a year, or $75,000 for operations selling products at $250 or more per unit (think tiered wedding cakes).
• Allowed internet and mail-order sales and delivery through third-party food delivery platforms, to customers in Michigan only.
• Added the "directly interact" condition for those sales (see below).
• Indexed the limits to inflation. Starting October 1, 2026, MDARD may adjust them each year using the Detroit Consumer Price Index.
• Created an optional MSU Product Center registration so you can put a registration number and phone number on labels instead of your home address.

What you can sell

MDARD keeps the official list. By category, Michigan cottage food includes:

• Cakes & Cupcakes. Shelf-stable icings, fondant, or one of MDARD's two approved buttercream recipes — no cream cheese frosting, custard, or whipped cream.
• Cookies & Bars. Cookies, brownies, blondies, decorated sugar cookies.
• Breads. Sourdough, loaves, rolls, bagels, quick breads. Shredded hard cheese or dried vegetables in the dough are fine; fresh vegetables and soft cheese aren't.
• Pies & Pastries. Baked fruit pies, muffins, scones, hand pies — no pumpkin, custard, cream, or meringue pies.
• Candy & Chocolate. Fudge, caramels, brittle, hard candy, chocolate-covered treats, freeze-dried candy — no caramel apples or alcohol.
• Jams & Jellies. Full-sugar fruit jams and jellies only — no pepper jelly, low-sugar jam, fruit butters, or pickles.
• Granola & Snacks. Granola, popcorn, trail mix, coated nuts, nut butters, dry cereal.
• Dry Mixes & Pantry. Baking and soup mixes, dried herbs, spice blends, roasted coffee, dried pasta, dry tea.

A few rules surprise people:

• Buttercream is allowed only from one of two lab-tested recipes MDARD names, followed exactly. Cream cheese frosting is never allowed.
• Pumpkin bread is fine; pumpkin pie isn't. Pies that need refrigeration (pumpkin, custard, cream, meringue) are out.
• Nut butters are allowed, as are breads with shredded hard cheese baked into the dough.
• Only full-sugar fruit jams and jellies. No pepper jelly, low-sugar jam or apple butter.
• Honey and maple syrup aren't cottage foods; they have separate exemptions.

The full list, category by category, is in what you can sell under Michigan cottage food law.

What you can't sell

• Anything that needs refrigeration (cheesecake, cream/custard fillings, cream cheese frosting)
• Meat, poultry, fish, or jerky
• Pickles, salsa, canned vegetables, hot sauce, or other acidified foods
• Pepper jelly, low- or no-sugar jams, and fruit butters (apple, pumpkin)
• Kombucha, fermented foods, sourdough starter, juices, or other beverages
• Caramel apples, and candy or truffles made with alcohol
• Garlic-in-oil, cut fresh fruit or vegetables
• Pet treats (regulated separately as animal feed)

If you're not sure about a product, email MDARD at MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov with your ZIP code.

Where and how you can sell

Cottage food must be sold directly from you to the consumer. That includes:

• From your home, at farmers markets, craft shows, events and roadside stands
• Online or by mail order, shipped to a customer in Michigan
• Delivered by you, or through a third-party food delivery platform, to a customer in Michigan

Not allowed:

• Selling to stores, cafés or restaurants to resell (wholesale), or leaving products on consignment
• Shipping or delivering outside Michigan
• Using a farm stop or retail market as a pickup point for pre-sold orders (MDARD says they can't hold cottage food for you)

Some farmers markets require a food license even though the law doesn't, so ask the market manager. More in where to sell baked goods in Michigan and the shipping and delivery rules.

The "directly interact" rule for online sales

You may sell online, by mail or through a delivery platform only if you give the customer an opportunity to directly interact with you before the sale. The law defines that as a face-to-face meeting or a virtual meeting, and a virtual meeting as two-way communication where everyone can see and hear each other. In practice: offer an in-person meeting or a live video call before the customer pays. The customer doesn't have to take you up on it, but the option has to be there. An email address alone doesn't match the law's definition. Step by step in how to sell baked goods online in Michigan.

The sales limit

Your gross sales (total sales before expenses) can't exceed $50,000 a year, or $75,000 if you sell products at $250 or more per unit. The limit applies per person: MDARD says two people in the same home who each run their own cottage food business each get the full limit. Keep sales records, because MDARD may ask to see them. Details in Michigan's cottage food sales limit.

Labels

Products must be packaged and labeled before sale. Every label needs:

• Your business name and the physical address of your home kitchen (no P.O. boxes), or your name, phone number and MSU Product Center registration number (a one-time fee of up to $50)
• The product name
• Ingredients in descending order by weight, including the sub-ingredients of anything prepared
• Net weight or volume, with the metric equivalent
• Allergens, following federal rules (milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame), naming the specific tree nut
• This statement in at least 11-point type (about 1/8 inch) in a contrasting color: “Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.”

Big celebration cakes can carry the label information on the invoice instead. Examples and common mistakes in Michigan cottage food label requirements, or make and print one with the free label generator.

Licenses, registration and local rules

MDARD requires no license, permit, application or registration. But the exemption doesn't override local ordinances, so check zoning and home-business rules with your city or township, and ask your county whether you need a DBA (assumed name). LLCs are filed with LARA. Training from MSU Extension is optional. See do you need a cottage food license in Michigan?

Your kitchen and storage

You must make and store products in the kitchen of your primary residence: a house, apartment, condo or rental all count; a second home, motor home, shed or rented commercial kitchen doesn't. Your equipment doesn't need to be NSF-certified. If you're on a private well, use potable water and test it at least yearly; if you're on septic, MDARD suggests having the system evaluated by your local health department first.

Taxes

Michigan doesn't tax food except "prepared food", and bakery items sold without eating utensils are excluded from that definition, so most packaged cottage bakery sales aren't taxable. Handing out plates or forks can change that. Your profit is taxable income either way. Read Michigan cottage food sales tax, and confirm with the Michigan Department of Treasury or a tax professional.

When you outgrow cottage food

If you want to sell more than the limit, sell wholesale, ship out of state, or make foods that need refrigeration, you need a licensed kitchen and a food establishment license from MDARD. Many Michigan bakers rent time in a shared or incubator kitchen; MSU keeps a map of them.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• MCL 289.4102, Michigan Legislature
• MDARD: Getting started and FAQ
• MDARD: What can I make?
• MDARD: Labeling
• MSU Product Center: voluntary registration
• Michigan Treasury: tax treatment of prepared food

General information, not legal advice. Confirm details with MDARD (MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov) before you start selling. Ajinto is not affiliated with MDARD or MSU.