Can You Sell Homemade Pies? Rules, Permits, and How to Start

Your pies are gone first at every potluck, and now a neighbor wants two for Thanksgiving and is offering $30 each. Before you take the money, you want to know whether that is legal where you live. For most pies in most states it is, and the rest of this page shows you exactly where the line sits.

The line is not the recipe or the price. It is whether the pie needs a refrigerator to stay safe. An apple pie can sit on a counter for a day. A pumpkin pie, a banana cream pie or a lemon meringue pie cannot, and home kitchen laws were written around that difference. Below you will find the rule, 8 states quoted from their own agencies, the pies that cause the most confusion, and what to do once you are allowed to sell.

Can You Sell Homemade Pies?

Yes, in all 8 states whose agency pages we read on September 23, 2026, you can sell baked fruit pies made in your home kitchen. Every one of those states has a cottage food law, which is a state law that lets you make certain low-risk foods at home and sell them without a commercial kitchen. Fruit pies are on the allowed list or fit the allowed definition in Texas, California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota.

The "yes" gets narrower once you leave fruit and nuts behind. Here is the quick version by pie type:

• Fruit pies (apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, mixed berry): allowed in all 8 states once baked.
• Pecan and other nut pies: a gray area. They sit on a counter fine, but California and Florida list only fruit pies, and pecan filling is set with eggs, so ask your state before you sell one.
• Pumpkin and sweet potato pies: pumpkin pie is named as not allowed under the cottage food rules of 5 states: 4 keep it out of home kitchens (California, Michigan, Washington and, through 2026, Colorado, whose early food list for its January 1, 2027 law names pumpkin pie as approved), and Ohio names it too but allows it with a Home Bakery license, if your home qualifies (details below). Sweet potato pie is named only by Colorado, but treat it like pumpkin, because the filling is the same kind of egg-and-milk custard. Ohio's Home Bakery license covers sweet potato pie as well.
• Cream, custard and meringue pies: barred by those same 4 states, Colorado only through 2026, because from January 1, 2027 its new law permits a single product that needs cold holding; allowed in Ohio with a Home Bakery license and in Texas with registration.
• Meat pies and pot pies: not allowed in Texas, California, Colorado (through 2026; its list approves savory meat empanadas from January 1, 2027), Michigan, Ohio or Washington, the 6 states on our list that address meat directly.

If your state says yes and you want the practical side (menus, packaging, transport, where to set up), our guide on how to sell pies from home covers that. This page is the permission half: which pies, in which states, under which rules.

Why Are Some Pies Allowed and Others Not?

A pie is allowed or refused based on one question: does it need to be kept cold to stay safe? Food safety rules call a food that needs cold holding a "time and temperature control for safety" food, or TCS food for short. Older state laws say "potentially hazardous food" for the same idea. Most cottage food laws allow only foods that are not TCS.

Ohio's Department of Agriculture spells out the reason on its cottage food page. A potentially hazardous food "requires temperature control because it is in a form capable of supporting the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms," and the examples it gives include "cheesecakes, pumpkin pies, custard pies, cream pies." Those pies are wet, low in sugar relative to their water, and rich in eggs and milk. That is the mix bacteria like.

A baked fruit pie is different in three ways:

• High sugar. Sugar ties up the water in the filling so bacteria cannot use it.
• Acid fruit. Apples, cherries and berries are acidic enough to slow growth on their own.
• Fully baked. The filling is cooked through, and the crust seals it.

Texas and Ohio are the two exceptions among the 8 states in our set. Texas's cottage food page says a home operation "may sell time and temperature control for safety food (TCS)," as long as it registers with the state and keeps those foods at 41ºF or below. So in Texas the refrigerator question changes your paperwork, not your yes or no. Ohio keeps those pies out of its cottage food rules, but the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Home Bakery page says a licensed Home Bakery may make "cheese cakes, cream pies, custard pies, pumpkin pies" in your home kitchen, for a $10 annual fee and an inspection by the department. You qualify only if you own the home and live in it as your main residence, keep no pets in the home, and cook on one stove or oven (a double oven counts as one); the kitchen also needs a refrigerator that holds 45ºF or below, and a private well must pass a coliform test every year. Everywhere else we checked, it decides the answer.

Which Pies Can You Sell From Home in Most States?

Baked fruit pies are the pies you can sell from home in every state on our list. That covers most of what pie bakers sell anyway: apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, strawberry rhubarb and mixed berry. Pecan pie is the common one that needs a second look. The table below sorts the common pies by how the state rules we read treat them.

Swipe left to see all four columns.

Each row comes from the state agencies' own cottage food pages, read on September 23, 2026. Florida and Minnesota do not name pumpkin, cream or custard pies; Florida lists only "Fruit pies," and Minnesota allows only "non-potentially hazardous food," which leaves those pies out.

Two things to notice. First, a fruit pie stays allowed even with a butter crust: Michigan's list says "pie crusts made with butter, lard, or shortening" are fine. Second, "fruit" means baked fruit filling. A pie topped with fresh cut strawberries or whipped cream on top has moved into the refrigerated group, even though it started as a fruit pie.

Pies are one line on a longer list. If you also bake bread, cookies or cakes, our guide to what foods you can sell under cottage food laws sorts the rest of your menu the same way.

Can You Sell Pumpkin Pie From Home?

In 6 of the 8 states we checked, no: California, Michigan, Washington and Colorado each list pumpkin pie as a food you cannot make for sale in a home kitchen, and Florida and Minnesota rule out any food that needs refrigeration. Colorado's no ends on January 1, 2027, when its new law opens room for a single chilled product and CDPHE's early list names pumpkin pie. Ohio's cottage food page names it too, but Ohio lets you bake it at home under a Home Bakery license, which costs $10 a year and comes with a kitchen inspection, if your home qualifies (see the conditions above). Texas is the other exception, where you can sell pumpkin pie from home once you sign up with the Department of State Health Services and follow its cold-holding and labeling rules. Florida and Minnesota do not name pumpkin pie; the rule comes from their definitions. Florida's statute defines a cottage food product (section 500.03) as food that is not "time or temperature controlled for safety," and Minnesota allows only "non-potentially hazardous food."

Pumpkin pie trips people up because it looks like a fruit pie and sits next to apple pies on every Thanksgiving table. Underneath, it is a custard. The filling is pumpkin, eggs and milk or evaporated milk, baked until it sets. That puts it in the same group as egg custard and chess pie, not in the group with apple.

Here is how each state words it, all read on September 23, 2026:

• California: the state's Approved Cottage Foods list allows "Pies (fried or baked) (fruit only, no pumpkin)" under baked goods "Without Cream, Custard, or Meat Fillings."
• Michigan: the state's What Can I Make page for cottage food says "No pies or cakes that require refrigeration to assure safety like banana cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue or custard pies."
• Ohio: lists "pumpkin pies" among its examples of potentially hazardous food.
• Washington: "certain pies including pumpkin, custard style pies, pies with fresh fruit that are unbaked, or pies that require refrigeration after baking are not allowed."
• Colorado: lists "Pumpkin, sweet potato pie, and cream pies" as ineligible under its 2026 rules, while CDPHE's list for the law that starts January 1, 2027 moves pumpkin pie and cheesecakes to approved.

Sweet potato pie follows pumpkin. Colorado names it outright. Michigan, Ohio and Washington do not name it, but it is a baked egg-and-milk filling like custard, so expect the same answer there. The fall season is the biggest pie season of the year, so this is the rule most likely to cost you sales if you miss it. Plan your fall menu around apple, pear and cranberry pies if you live in a state that bars pumpkin pie, or in Ohio without a Home Bakery license. If your state does allow it, pricing homemade pumpkin pie starts from a cost of about $6.69 a pie, boxed, and the Homegrown bakers who sell one charge a median of $21.

Can You Sell Cream, Custard, or Meringue Pies From Home?

Cream, custard and meringue pies are barred from home kitchens in 4 states on our list, the same 4 that bar pumpkin (Colorado's bar lifts on January 1, 2027 for one product kept cold, and its early list names cheesecakes), Ohio allows them only with a Home Bakery license (if your home qualifies), and Florida and Minnesota allow only foods that do not need refrigeration. Texas allows them from a home kitchen if you register with the state, label them with a date and a safe handling statement, and keep them at 41ºF or below.

The pies in this group share one trait: the filling or topping would spoil on a warm counter. That includes:

• Cream pies: banana cream, coconut cream, chocolate cream, French silk.
• Custard pies: egg custard, buttermilk, chess, key lime.
• Meringue pies: lemon meringue, chocolate meringue.
• Cheesecake and icebox pies: Michigan and Ohio both name cheesecake.
• Anything finished with whipped cream or a cream cheese layer.

If you are outside Texas and Ohio and your best pie is a cream pie, you still have a route. It runs through a licensed kitchen instead of your own, which we cover near the end of this page.

Can You Sell Meat Pies or Savory Hand Pies?

Meat pies are off limits from a home kitchen in every state on our list whose page addresses meat directly, though Colorado opens the door on January 1, 2027. Texas excludes "meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry products," California's baked goods category excludes "Meat Fillings," Colorado says meat is "prohibited from being used as ingredients or toppings" through 2026 (from January 1, 2027, CDPHE's early list approves savory meat empanadas as one option for the single type of chilled food a registered home cook may sell), Michigan calls meats a food "not allowed under the Food Law exemptions for Cottage Food," Ohio lists "Raw or cooked animal products" among its potentially hazardous foods, and Washington's FAQ says meat and poultry "are not allowed under the Cottage Food Law." Chicken pot pie, beef empanadas, meat hand pies and savory breakfast pies all land here.

Savory pies without meat are less clear-cut. A vegetable hand pie or a cheese pie is still usually a refrigerated food once it is filled with cooked vegetables or soft cheese. Colorado lists "Cut fresh fruits and vegetables" among its ineligible foods, and Michigan does not allow "breads with fresh or frozen vegetables added." Treat a savory filling as a no until your state says otherwise. In Homegrown's catalog on September 29, 2026, 1 of the 35 pie listings from 14 vendors was a chicken pot pie. Rules for savory fillings differ by state, so check yours before you list one.

Sweet hand pies are the easy version. California's list allows "Empanadas (fruit only)," and a baked apple or cherry hand pie follows the same rule as a full-size fruit pie. For the practical side of hand pies (sizes, prices, how they sell at a market table), see our guide on selling hand pies from home.

What Do 8 States Say About Homemade Pies?

All 8 states allow baked fruit pies, and 5 of them name pumpkin, custard or cream pies as off limits under their cottage food rules, though Ohio allows them with a separate Home Bakery license and Colorado moves pumpkin pie to its approved list when its new law starts January 1, 2027. The table below puts each state's pie rule next to its permit, its sales cap and where you can sell. Every row comes from that state's own agency page, loaded on September 23, 2026.

Swipe left for the rest of each state's row.

We checked every row on the state agency's own page on September 23, 2026: Texas DSHS, California CDPH, Florida FDACS, Michigan MDARD, Ohio ODA (page dated April 4, 2018), Washington WSDA, Colorado CDPHE and Minnesota MDA. A cell that says "not stated" means the agency page we read did not say, not that there is no rule. Michigan's cap comes from the Food Law itself (MCL 289.4102 on the Michigan Legislature's site), and Colorado's 2027 changes from CDPHE's Tamale Act pages and the signed bill, both read September 29, 2026. California's 2026 caps come from CDPH's Cottage Food Operation Adjusted Gross Annual Sales Limit 2026 sheet (CDPH's main cottage food page still shows the older $75,000 and $150,000), and Ohio's Home Bakery conditions from ODA's Home Bakery page, both read September 29, 2026.

These 8 are not the whole country. They are states whose agency pages either name pies directly or draw the refrigeration line plainly enough to answer the pie question, spread across the South, West, Midwest and Great Lakes. For the other 42 states and Washington, D.C., start with our cottage food laws by state guide, then read your own agency's list, because a state-by-state summary can lag a new law by a season.

Do You Need a Permit or License to Sell Pies From Home?

The paperwork to sell pies from home runs from nothing at all to a $355 permit with a kitchen inspection. Of the 8 state pages we read on September 23, 2026, Florida, Michigan and Ohio require no permit for fruit pies, Texas requires none unless you sell refrigerated pies, and California, Washington and Minnesota require you to register or get a permit before your first sale. Colorado requires a food safety course first, and starting January 1, 2027, it also requires yearly registration with the state health department.

Here is what each path looks like in practice:

• No permit at all. Florida says you can sell "without obtaining a food permit" from its Department of Agriculture. Michigan's Food Law "exempts cottage food operations from licensing and inspection provisions." Ohio says a cottage food operation "is exempt from being licensed and inspected."
• Training, no permit. Texas requires an accredited food handler course. Colorado requires a food safety course, a food handler card, or a local health agency class before you start.
• Registration. Minnesota has you register every year. Up to $7,665 in sales there is no fee but you take the state's online training and exam each year. From $7,666 to $78,000 the fee is $50 and the course is every three years.
• A county registration or permit. California does not issue the permit itself. Your county Environmental Health department registers a Class A operation or permits a Class B one, and you complete cottage food training within three months.
• A state permit and inspection. Washington's cottage food permit costs a $355 application fee, inspects your kitchen, and issues a permit good for two years. Confirm the renewal date on your permit, because one line on WSDA's page says one year. The state says approval takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Separate from the state's food rules, your city or county may have zoning rules for a home business, and your state will want sales tax on taxable sales. Minnesota and Washington both tell applicants to check local zoning first. A phone call to your city's permit desk costs nothing and saves you from a letter after your first busy Saturday.

How Much Can You Sell Before You Outgrow the Rules?

Among the 6 states on our list that set one total yearly cap on home kitchen sales, it ranged from $35,000 in Washington to $250,000 in Florida, with Michigan's Food Law setting $50,000 ($75,000 if a product sells for $250 or more). Colorado sets its limit at $10,000 for each kind of product instead, which is the lowest limit on the list for a baker who sells one kind of pie, but only through the end of 2026; on January 1, 2027, the Tamale Act replaces it with one $150,000 gross yearly total. A cap is the most you can gross from your home kitchen in a year before you need a licensed kitchen. At $26 a pie, $35,000 is about 1,346 pies, or roughly 26 a week all year.

What the caps mean for a pie business:

• Part-time volume stays under most of them. Two farmers markets a month at 20 pies and $26 each is $12,480 a year, under every cap in the chart. Colorado sits outside the chart, so keep any one pie type under $10,000 there. In Minnesota this volume puts you in the $50 tier.
• Minnesota's first tier is the one to watch. Its no-fee tier ends at $7,665, which is about 295 pies at $26. Past that you pay $50 and take an approved food safety course once every three years instead of the yearly exam.
• Colorado counts by product. Its FAQ says you can earn up to $10,000 for each type, so apple pie and cherry pie each get their own $10,000. That ends on January 1, 2027, when all your products share one $150,000 total.
• Gross usually means gross. In most of these states the cap counts what customers paid, not your profit after butter and pie tins. Colorado is the exception: its FAQ calls its $10,000 limit a net revenue allowance, counted for each product type. The Tamale Act switches Colorado to gross revenue on January 1, 2027.

If you are on track to pass your state's cap, that is the moment to price out a shared commercial kitchen, not a reason to stop selling.

What Has to Go on a Homemade Pie Label?

Each of the 8 states on our list wants a label on a home kitchen pie, and most want the same core facts: your name, your address or a state ID number, the pie's name, its ingredients with allergens, and a statement that it was made in a home kitchen. The exact home kitchen statement is where states differ, and it has to match your state's words.

The core list, from the Texas DSHS page as an example:

• Your business name.
• Your address, or in Texas the unique ID number the state gives you when you register.
• The common name of the pie, like "Dutch Apple Pie."
• Major allergens. Pies usually carry wheat, milk and eggs, plus tree nuts for pecan and walnut.
• The home kitchen statement in your state's exact words.
• For refrigerated pies in Texas, the date made and the safe handling statement. Minnesota also requires the date the pie was made on every label.

The home kitchen statements, as each agency wrote them on the day we checked:

• Texas: "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."
• California: "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type on the front of the label, per CDPH's cottage food labeling requirements.
• Florida: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations." in at least 10-point type, per section 500.80 of Florida's statutes.
• Michigan: "Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development." in at least 11-point type, as the Food Law (MCL 289.4102) requires.
• Ohio: "This Product is Home Produced." in 10-point type.
• Colorado: a label disclaimer that the pie was made in a home kitchen without regulatory oversight and may contain common allergens, the date it was made, and a sign at the point of sale reading "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale."
• Minnesota: "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection" on every label and on a sign at the point of sale, and on your webpage if you sell online.
• Washington: "MADE IN A HOME KITCHEN THAT HAS NOT BEEN SUBJECT TO STANDARD INSPECTION CRITERIA," with your permit number on the label.

Washington goes one step further and wants an accurate label for every product submitted with your permit application. Our full guide to cottage food labeling requirements walks through ingredient order, allergen wording and net weight.

Where Can You Sell Homemade Pies Once You Are Legal?

Selling direct to the person who eats the pie is allowed in all 8 states we read: at a farmers market and by pickup or your own delivery, and from your home everywhere except Michigan, whose page lists farm stands and roadside stands instead. Events come with conditions in some states; Ohio allows festivals only when they are organized by a political subdivision of the state and last no more than seven consecutive days. Selling through someone else, like a coffee shop or grocery store, is where states split. Ohio allows it, California allows it for a Class B operation, which holds a county permit, has a $177,756 cap in 2026 and can sell "indirectly through restaurants and food markets," Texas allows it through a registered cottage food vendor for non-refrigerated pies, and Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington do not.

The places a home pie business usually sells:

• Farmers markets. A sale straight to the person who eats the pie, which fits every state rule we read. Your market may also want its own vendor application, a certificate of insurance and a booth fee.
• From your home, by pre-order and porch or doorstep pickup, except in Michigan, whose page lists farm stands and roadside stands instead.
• Community events and craft fairs. Michigan names "craft shows" and "roadside stands"; Minnesota names "community event."
• Your own delivery. Texas requires it for online orders: you, an employee or a household member hands the pie over.
• Coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores. Ohio's page says cottage foods may be sold "through grocery stores, registered farm markets, farmers markets," and used in a restaurant. Colorado says cottage foods "cannot be sold to restaurants or grocery stores." Florida says "Cottage food products cannot be sold wholesale."

Holiday pre-orders are where pie vendors make the most in the fewest days, and they are pure direct sales, which all 8 of these states allow. A customer orders in early November, pays ahead, and picks up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Can You Sell Pies Online or Ship Them?

The agency pages in 7 of the 8 states on our list say you can take pie orders online; Ohio's page does not address it, so ask. Shipping a cottage food pie across state lines is off the table in every state whose cottage food rules address it. Florida allows sales "on their website, by mail order," California lets a direct sale be "fulfilled in person, via mail delivery," and Michigan allows internet and mail order sales "within Michigan." Minnesota does not allow shipping home kitchen food for people until its law changes on August 1, 2027.

The online rules, in plain terms, as of our September 23, 2026 check:

• Texas: you can sell online if you, an employee or a household member personally delivers the pie, and your website shows the full label information before the customer pays.
• Florida: website and mail order sales are allowed for approved products, and fruit pies are approved.
• California: a Class A direct sale "may be fulfilled in person, via mail delivery, or using any other third-party delivery service."
• Michigan: internet or mail order is allowed if the customer can interact with you before the sale, and delivery stays inside Michigan.
• Colorado: "internet sales are allowed" as long as the delivery "does not involve interstate commerce."
• Minnesota: internet sales are allowed, but you must be present for the sale or delivery, and "Cottage food intended for humans cannot be shipped." The 2027 change adds shipping.
• Washington: you can "take orders over the Internet," but you cannot ship the pie, and WSDA says delivery and payment must both go from you to the customer in person. Ask WSDA before taking payment online.
• Ohio: cottage foods "may only be sold in Ohio."

In practice, shipping is rarely the right plan for a pie even where it is legal. A fruit pie is heavy, fragile and best within two days of baking. A pie that arrives cracked costs you the pie and the customer. The simpler plan is to take orders online and hand the pies over at a set pickup time, which every state on this list allows for in-person sales; in Ohio ask about online orders, and in Washington ask about taking payment online.

Where Should Pie Customers Place Their Orders?

Once your state says yes, the problem changes from "am I allowed" to "how do I keep 30 Thanksgiving orders straight without living in my text messages." The legal rules above all point the same way: sell direct, collect the label information up front, and hand the pie over yourself. A pre-order page with a pickup time does exactly that. One exception: Washington's WSDA page says payment, like delivery, must be person to person, so a Washington baker should ask WSDA before taking payment online.

Homegrown is $10 per month billed annually, with no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing. You get a storefront where customers see your pies and your pickup window, order and pay ahead, and you walk into baking day with an exact count. That matters more for pies than for most baked goods, because every pie you bake without an order is butter, flour, fruit and oven time spent on a pie that may not sell.

Here is what that costs next to the other places pie bakers take orders, on a $26 fruit pie and a month of 40 pies:

Scroll sideways to see the full fee stack.

Fees come from Homegrown's signup page, Hotplate's pricing page, Etsy's fees policy and payment processing help page, and Shopify's pricing page, all checked on September 23, 2026. Card processing is figured on the $26 price; a platform that charges it on the total with tax or shipping runs a few cents higher. Homegrown and Shopify monthly totals use annual billing.

What each option means for a pie vendor:

• Hotplate costs you less per month, but your customer sees "$27.85" at checkout instead of $26, unless you cover the fee yourself, which more than doubles your cost.
• Etsy is built for shipping, and the 5 of our 8 states whose cottage food rules address out-of-state sales (Michigan, Ohio, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota) keep a cottage food pie inside the state. Its fees also run $2.92 a pie.
• Shopify is a full website builder at $29 a month or more, which is more setup than a weekend pie table needs.

Homegrown fits the way these laws want you to sell: direct, local, pickup. What it does not do: it does not check whether your pie is legal in your state (that part is on you and this page), it has no timed "drop" release feature, and your customers create a Homegrown account to place their first order. Your storefront is listed on Homegrown's marketplace, but plan on most orders coming from people you send to your own link. If you want your holiday pie orders in one place instead of forty text threads, you can set up your pie storefront in about 15 minutes.

What Do Careful Pie Vendors Do Differently?

A few small habits keep a home pie business on the right side of the rules: sell the pies your state names, label every pie the same way, and write down what you sold. Together they keep a fun side business from turning into a problem.

Habits worth copying:

• Build the menu around fruit. Apple, cherry, blueberry and peach are allowed everywhere we checked and they are the pies people ask for anyway.
• Use the state's exact product names. Washington holds you to the names on your permit. Everywhere else, matching names on your label, your menu and your order page keeps records clean.
• Use commercially canned filling when fruit is out of season. Washington's FAQ says "you can use commercially-canned products for baked goods, like canned cherry pie filling." Home-canned fillings are a different question in most states.
• Keep a simple sales log. Date, pie, count, price. It is how you know when you are nearing your state's cap, and it is what you hand an agency if it asks.
• Put allergens on the order page, not just the label. Pecan pies carry tree nuts. A customer who reads it before paying does not find out at the table.
• Keep the label the same every batch. If you switch butter brands, check whether the ingredient list on your label still matches, as Washington's page warns.

How Do You Check Your State's Pie Rules in One Afternoon?

You can confirm whether your pie is legal in your state in 2 or 3 hours by reading two pages on your state agency's website and making one phone call. Cottage food rules usually live with the state Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health. Follow these steps in order:

• Find your state's cottage food page. Search "[your state] cottage food" and pick the result ending in .gov. Skip platform blogs and directories for this step.
• Find the list of allowed foods. Look for the words "pie," "pumpkin," "custard," "cream" and "meringue." California's list, for example, says "Pies (fried or baked) (fruit only, no pumpkin)."
• Check the list of foods that are not allowed. Michigan's What Can I Make page has a "Not Allowed" line under baked goods that names pumpkin, banana cream, lemon meringue and custard pies.
• Write down the permit, the fee and the cap. Note whether you register, get a permit, or need nothing, plus the yearly sales cap in dollars.
• Read the selling rules. Farmers markets, online orders, delivery, shipping and selling through a shop are often on a separate page or in the FAQ.
• Call or email the agency with your exact pie. Ask, "Can I sell a baked pecan pie under the cottage food law?" and save the reply. A written answer settles any pie the list does not name.

If your state's page is hard to read, our guide on how to sell food from home explains the terms these pages use.

What If Your State Says No to Your Favorite Pie?

If your state bars the pie you want to sell, you have four real options: change the pie, change the product, change the kitchen, or wait for the law. Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Texas have each changed their cottage food laws in the last two years, so the "no" you read today may not last.

Your options, from cheapest to most work:

1. Change the pie. Swap pumpkin pie for apple cranberry in the fall, or turn a cream pie flavor into a fruit pie with a streusel top. A customer asking for "a homemade pie for Thanksgiving" is often just as happy with apple.
2. Change the product. Michigan allows pumpkin bread while refusing pumpkin pie. A pumpkin loaf or muffins can carry the flavor legally in that kind of state.
3. Rent a licensed kitchen. A commissary or shared commercial kitchen, usually rented by the hour, lets you make cream and custard pies under a regular food license. That path brings inspections and cold storage rules, but no home kitchen limits. Today, Texas and Ohio are the only states on our list where cream pies stay possible at home: Texas up to its $150,000 yearly threshold, and Ohio under its Home Bakery license ($10 a year, with a kitchen inspection, for a home that qualifies). Colorado joins them on January 1, 2027: the Tamale Act lets a registered home baker sell one type of refrigerated food in up to five variations, and CDPHE's early food list for the new law names pumpkin pie and cheesecake as approved.
4. Watch for law changes. Colorado's Tamale Act (House Bill 26-1033, signed June 4, 2026) starts January 1, 2027: you register with the state every year, your cap becomes one $150,000 gross total instead of $10,000 per product, meat becomes allowed, and you may sell one type of refrigerated food in up to five variations. CDPHE's early food list for the new law names pumpkin pie and cheesecake as approved, while its registration page was still marked "Coming Soon" when we checked on September 29, 2026. Minnesota's changes take effect August 1, 2027, including shipping. Check your agency's page each spring.

Always verify your state's current rules with the agency before you sell, and keep the date you checked. This page reports what 8 agencies said on September 23, 2026. It is not legal advice, and a rule can change the week after a page is written.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you sell homemade pies without a license?

In Florida, Michigan and Ohio, yes: the state agencies say home kitchen fruit pies need no license or permit, as of September 23, 2026. Texas needs no permit either for pies that do not need refrigeration, though you must complete a food handler course. California, Washington and Minnesota require registration or a permit first. Colorado needs no license but requires a food safety course before your first sale. Starting January 1, 2027, Colorado also requires yearly registration with the state. Check your own state's cottage food page before you sell homemade pies.

Can you sell homemade pumpkin pie?

Only in some states. Five of the state pages we read name pumpkin pie as not allowed under their cottage food rules, because the egg-and-milk filling needs refrigeration, though Colorado's no lasts only through 2026: pumpkin pie is on CDPHE's approved list for the new law that starts January 1, 2027. Ohio is one of the five, but it allows pumpkin pie from a home kitchen with Ohio's $10 annual Home Bakery license and an inspection, if you own and live in the home and keep no pets there. Texas allows it if you register with the Department of State Health Services, date the pie and add a safe handling statement. In most other states, treat pumpkin pie as a licensed kitchen product.

Is pecan pie allowed under cottage food laws?

It depends on how your state words its list. California and Florida list fruit pies only, while Michigan allows "Pies that are shelf stable" and Washington allows pies that are not custard style or refrigerated. A fully baked pecan pie keeps at room temperature, but the filling is set with eggs. Email your state agency with the recipe and keep the written answer.

Can you sell homemade pies at a farmers market?

Yes. A farmers market sale goes straight to the customer, which every cottage food law we read allows for approved pies. Your market will likely have its own application, booth fee and sometimes an insurance requirement on top of your state's rules. Bring your labels and your state's home kitchen sign, since Colorado and Minnesota require one at the point of sale.

Can you ship homemade pies to another state?

No. Michigan, Ohio's cottage food rules, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota, the states on our list with a rule on it, all say no. Michigan, Ohio, Washington and Colorado keep cottage food sales inside the state, and Minnesota does not allow shipping home kitchen food for people until August 1, 2027. Florida and California allow mail order within their rules, but pies ship poorly anyway, so local pickup is the simpler plan.

Can you sell homemade pies to a coffee shop or restaurant?

Sometimes. Ohio's cottage food page says cottage foods may be sold through grocery stores and used in restaurants, California lets a Class B operation with a county permit sell "indirectly through restaurants and food markets" up to a $177,756 yearly cap in 2026, and Texas allows sales through a registered cottage food vendor for pies that do not need refrigeration. Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington do not allow wholesale sales from a home kitchen. If a cafe wants your pies every week and your state says no, a licensed kitchen is the next step.

Related Reading

More on selling pies and baked goods from home:

• How to Sell Pies From Home, the practical guide to menus, packaging, transport and pricing once you are allowed
• Sell Hand Pies From Home, for the individual-size pies that sell as impulse buys at a market table
• Can You Sell Homemade Bread?, the same state-by-state check for loaves and rolls
• Can You Sell Homemade Cookies?, if cookies sit next to your pies on the table
• Cottage Food Laws by State, the starting point for the 42 states this page does not cover

Ready to Take Your First Pie Orders?

You know which of your pies your state allows, what the label needs and where you can sell them. The next step is a place for customers to order and pay before you bake, so every pie you pull from the oven already has a name on it. With Homegrown you get a pre-order storefront with pickup times for $10 a month billed annually and no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing. Start your pie storefront on Homegrown and share the link before your next market.

A simple way to start: list the 3 or 4 fruit pies your state clearly allows, set one pickup window a week, and send the link to the people who already ask you for pies. When the holidays come, open a separate Thanksgiving pickup day with a cap on the count, so you bake exactly what was ordered. Put your state's home kitchen statement and your allergens in each pie's description, so customers read them before they pay, the way Texas asks online vendors to do. Your customers create a Homegrown account the first time they order, and card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 comes out of your side, not theirs.