Georgia Cottage Food Law (2026): No License, No Cap

In Georgia, as of July 1, 2025, you can sell homemade non-perishable foods with no state license, no registration, and no sales cap — and you can sell to retail stores and restaurants, not just direct to customers, in any city or county that has not opted out of store sales. House Bill 398 overhauled the old rules; the main state requirement now is a food safety course accredited by ANSI, plus a correct label. This guide covers exactly what you can sell, how to label it, what HB 398 changed, and how to start this week.

Ready to begin? Follow our step-by-step guide to starting a cottage food business in Georgia.

What Are the Georgia Cottage Food Laws in 2026?

The Georgia cottage food laws in 2026 come in three layers: House Bill 398, which became sections 26-2-470 through 26-2-478 of the Georgia Code on July 1, 2025; the Georgia Department of Agriculture's cottage food regulations in chapter 40-7-19, which the department is rewriting to match the new law; and any local ordinance your city or county passes.

Here is what each layer says today. Every row was checked on the state's own pages on September 17, 2026.

Swipe sideways to see the before and after for each rule.

Sources: HB 398 as passed, the cottage food regulations (still showing the older system, current through September 2, 2026) and the department's HB 398 FAQ, which says it will use enforcement discretion on old requirements the new law no longer supports, like the license.

What HB 398 did not change: only non-perishable foods qualify, sales stay inside Georgia, and your city or county can still ask for a business license or zoning approval. The law also says it does not exempt you from any tax law, and it lets GDA investigate a reported foodborne illness at your home, with an inspection scheduled in advance except in an emergency.

Does Georgia Have a Cottage Food Sales Limit?

No, and it never has: Georgia sets no limit on gross sales or on the number of units you can produce, so there is no revenue limit on cottage food sales.

The department's cottage food FAQ puts it in one line: the department does not have any limits on gross sales or the number of units that can be produced. The regulations that governed cottage food before HB 398 set a $100 license fee, a product list and an inspection, and no dollar cap. HB 398 did not add one either. That makes Georgia different from neighbors that cap home food sales, and our cottage food laws by state hub lists each state's number.

Swipe sideways to read the whole detail column.

Do You Need a License to Sell Food From Home in Georgia?

No. Since HB 398 took effect on July 1, 2025, Georgia no longer requires a state cottage food license or registration. Two state rules still apply. You must complete an ANSI-accredited food safety course, and you must label what you sell. GDA accepts Food Handler training, and neither the law nor the regulations set a renewal period, so keep your certificate where you can find it. After that, you can start selling — a dramatic simplification from the old $100 a year license-and-inspection system.

What Did the Old Georgia Cottage Food License Require?

Until July 1, 2025, a Georgia cottage food license took six things, and the regulations that list them are still on the books while GDA rewrites them:

• A registration form with your business name, home address and a list of every product you planned to make
• A copy of your ANSI-accredited food safety training certificate
• Your most recent water bill, or an annual coliform and nitrate test if you were on a well
• A check with your city and county that a home business was allowed
• A $100 annual fee, cut in half for new applicants who registered after June 30
• A pre-operational inspection of your kitchen before the license was issued, and a new fee and inspection each time you added a product

The license itself had to be displayed at the point of sale, and it limited you to sales to the end consumer. HB 398 ended all of that. GDA's HB 398 FAQ says cottage food operators no longer need to obtain a license or pay a licensing fee, and the department no longer does pre-licensing inspections.

What Counts as a Cottage Food Operation in Georgia?

A cottage food operation is one person making non-perishable food in the home kitchen of their own primary residence, then selling it straight to customers or through a store. HB 398 defines a cottage food production operation as an individual, operating out of the individual's home kitchen, who prepares, packages, stores and distributes non-potentially hazardous foods for sale. GDA's FAQ draws the edges:

• A second home, vacation home or motor home does not qualify unless it is your primary residence
• A shed, barn or other outbuilding does not qualify, for cooking or for storage
• A rented or shared commercial kitchen does not qualify; food made there needs a Food Sales Establishment License
• A nonprofit does not qualify, though a bake sale run by a nonprofit, charitable or religious group is exempt from HB 398 entirely
• Pet treats are out. They need a feed license from GDA's Agricultural Inputs section

How Do You Get a GDA Identification Number Instead of Printing Your Address?

Getting a number takes one page and no fee: fill out GDA's identification number registration form and email it as a PDF to CottageFoodID@agr.georgia.gov. The form asks for your name or business name, your county, your physical address, a mailing address if it differs, a phone number and an email, and it lists no fee. Three rules come with the number:

• It is tied to your home address, so you re-register and get a new number if you move
• It cannot be transferred to another operator
• It replaces only the address. Your name, phone number, allergen declarations and the cottage food statement still have to appear

What Foods Can You Sell Under Georgia Cottage Food Law?

You can sell breads, cakes, cookies, candy, jams and jellies, dried fruit, granola, dry mixes, nuts, vinegar, dill pickles, dry pasta, roasted coffee beans and popcorn, and nothing that needs refrigeration. HB 398 names 15 product groups, up from the 12 product groups in GDA's older regulation.

Georgia allows a broad range of shelf-stable, non-hazardous (non-TCS) foods. Commonly sold products include:

• Breads, rolls, and other non-perishable baked goods
• Cakes, cookies, pies, and pastries (no refrigerated fillings)
• Candies and confections
• Jams, jellies, and fruit preserves
• Granola, dry mixes, dried herbs, and similar shelf-stable products

Not allowed:

• Anything requiring refrigeration or temperature control (TCS foods)
• Cream-filled pastries and custards
• Meat-based products and other perishable foods

Which Foods Does HB 398 Name as Cottage Food?

The law lists 15 groups of non-potentially hazardous food by name, and the list is open ended, so a shelf-stable food that is not on it can still qualify. Here is HB 398's own list, with the exceptions the law writes into it:

Swipe to see the exceptions column.

The law defines a cottage food item as a non-potentially hazardous food or a nonalcoholic beverage, and it says a cottage food item cannot be an alcoholic beverage, a food containing cannabis, or raw milk.

Six of those groups were not named in GDA's older regulation list: uncut fruits and vegetables, dill pickles, fudge, dry soup mixes, roasted coffee beans and dry pasta. The new list also regroups the old one. It folds loaf breads, rolls, biscuits and cakes into a single baked goods group, and it stops naming pastries, cookies and fruit pies, which the older list named on their own. Because the law's list is open ended, a shelf-stable pastry, cookie or fruit pie still qualifies. Georgia writes its cottage food list by what stays safe at room temperature. For the full logic behind that line, see our guide to TCS foods and cottage food rules.

What Does the Georgia Department of Agriculture Say No To?

GDA says no to fruit butters, honey, syrup, any beverage (an answer that predates HB 398 and conflicts with the law's own definition), cooked vegetable products, dehydrated meat, home-canned ingredients, fresh fruit garnishes and cakes that need refrigeration. Its cottage food FAQ is where it answers product questions. Here is what it rules out, plus the cake rule from the regulations:

• Fruit butters like apple butter or pumpkin butter. They carry less sugar and pectin than jam, so the department will not treat them as safe at room temperature
• Honey and syrup. They fall under separate state rules, so ask the Food Safety Division
• Any beverage, including pressed apple cider. That answer predates HB 398, and the law's own definition of a cottage food item covers a nonalcoholic beverage, so ask the Food Safety Division before you rule a drink out
• Cooked vegetable products such as salsa, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, or focaccia with roasted vegetables. Cooked vegetables must be held above 135°F or below 41°F
• Dehydrated meat, since meat is a potentially hazardous food
• Home-canned produce as an ingredient. GDA's FAQ makes jams and jellies the exception. That answer predates HB 398, and the law's own list names dill pickles and flavored vinegars, so check with GDA's Food Safety Division about other home-canned products. Commercially canned pumpkin or pie filling is fine
• Fresh fruit as a garnish. Zucchini, pumpkin and strawberries are fine baked into the batter of a sweet bread, but not on top
• Cakes that need the fridge, which the regulations spell out as cream cheese icing, refrigerated fillings, or high moisture cakes such as tres leches

What Are the Cottage Bakery Laws in Georgia?

A home bakery in Georgia follows the same cottage food laws as a vendor who sells jam; there is no separate bakery license. Four points matter most to bakers:

• Frostings and fillings decide it. A cake that keeps at room temperature qualifies. Cream cheese icing, custard, cream fillings and tres leches are out because they need refrigeration
• Custom cakes get a lighter label. For a wedding or birthday cake made for one customer, GDA's cottage food FAQ puts your business name, address and the cottage food statement on the box or the invoice. HB 398 goes further: on a phone or custom order you may skip the label and tell the customer that the cake comes from a home kitchen that is exempt from state inspection and may contain allergens
• Baked-in produce is allowed. Fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables can go into the batter, as long as the product is fully baked and nothing fresh sits on top
• Your oven can be wood fired, GDA says, as long as it is in your home kitchen, and you cannot use large commercial mixers, because a home has no sink setup to sanitize them

How Do You Start Selling Cottage Food in Georgia? (Step by Step)

Six steps take you from a recipe to your first sale, and none of them needs a state license anymore. The old $100 license fee is gone. Two steps still run on state rules: the food safety course and the label.

1. Confirm your product is non-TCS — it must be shelf-stable at room temperature.
2. Complete the food safety course — an ANSI-accredited course (GDA accepts Food Handler training).
3. Set up safe production — follow good food-safety and allergen practices.
4. Label every product — include the required residential property statement and the elements below.
5. Choose your sales channels — direct, online, and wholesale to retail/restaurants within Georgia.
6. Start selling — with no cap, you can scale freely as long as sales stay in-state.

What Do These Steps Cost in Georgia?

The state side costs almost nothing now: the license fee is $0 and the identification number form lists no fee. Here is where the money still goes:

• Food safety course. Pick a Food Handler course from the ANSI accredited directory that GDA links to. AAA Food Handler, one provider on that list, prices its Georgia Food Handler card at $6.95 (checked September 17, 2026).
• Well water test. If your home is on a well, GDA's FAQ says the water should be tested at least once a year for coliform bacteria and nitrates. GDA words that as safety guidance, and the registration step that asked for proof of your water source went away with HB 398, so no state rule makes you clear the test before you sell. Your county health department can advise on the test
• Local business license or zoning approval. Set by your city or county, and HB 398 leaves those rules in place
• Labels and packaging. Hand-printed labels are acceptable to GDA if they are legible, in permanent ink and at least as large as the 10 point font rule

Homegrown's free cottage food law checker is a quick first stop before step 1: pick Georgia and it shows whether your state sets a revenue limit, what licenses it asks for, the labeling rules and the products you are allowed to sell. For Georgia, the answer on the limit is none.

What Must a Georgia Cottage Food Label Include?

Every Georgia cottage food label needs your business name, your address or GDA identification number, your phone number, and the HB 398 statement in 10 point type or larger. GDA's regulations add the product name, the ingredients, the net weight and allergens. A willful violation draws a written warning, and a second or later violation draws a civil penalty of up to $75 per violation.

Every Georgia cottage food product must include the following, unless it is a custom or telephone order, which gets a lighter rule covered below:

• The product name
• Your name and address (or a GDA identification number in place of the address)
• Your telephone number
• The ingredients
• Allergen information
• The net weight
• The HB 398 statement, word for word, in at least 10-point type. GDA's regulations still list an older statement as well, and the safest label carries both: This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection. This product may contain allergens.

That statement comes straight from section 26-2-473 of HB 398, which also requires the business name, address or identification number, and telephone number. The ingredients, net weight and allergen lines come from GDA's regulations and its cottage food FAQ, which still show the older statement:

MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO STATE FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS.
(all capital letters, Times New Roman or Arial, at least 10-point type, in a color that contrasts with the label background)

GDA says it is revising those regulations to match HB 398 and will use enforcement discretion in the meantime. Until the new rules are published, the safest label carries the HB 398 sentence and the older all-caps statement, plus everything else on the list above.

Where Does the Label Information Go When You Sell Online or by Custom Order?

HB 398 says where the information has to appear for each way you sell, and one of the four places is your web page:

• Packaged products: on a label attached to the package
• Bulk containers such as a cookie jar at a market: on a label attached to the container
• Unpackaged products sold loose: on a placard at the point of sale
• Online sales: on the webpage where the product is offered for sale
• Phone and custom orders: you may skip the display, but you must tell the customer the two facts (residential property exempt from state inspection, may contain allergens) and have the rest ready on request

For a Homegrown storefront, that means the statement, your business name, your phone number and your address (or ID number) belong in your store's about text or in each product description, where a customer reads them before they order.

If you still need a label, Homegrown's free cottage food label template gives a label mockup, the required disclaimer text and a checklist of required elements, ready to print. See our cottage food labeling guide for templates.

Where Can You Sell Cottage Foods in Georgia?

You can sell straight to customers anywhere in Georgia, in person or online, and to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants, unless your city or county passes an ordinance against store sales.

HB 398 expanded where you can sell. Cottage food operators can now sell:

• Directly to consumers — farmers markets, events, from home, and online
• Wholesale to retail stores and restaurants within Georgia, where no local ordinance bars store sales

Because Georgia now lets you sell online and into retail with no cap, a real storefront helps you take orders and manage pickup without living in your DMs. Homegrown gives Georgia vendors an online storefront with built-in payments and pickup scheduling for $10 a month billed yearly, or $12.50 month to month, at 0% commission, plus 2.9% + 30 cents per card payment. Customers create an account, then order and pay by card in one checkout. Start a free trial and have a Georgia-ready storefront live in about 15 minutes.

To compare ways to take orders, see our guides to the best platforms for selling baked goods online, the best platform to sell food from home, and the best platform to sell baked goods in Georgia.

What Must a Store or Restaurant Do With Your Products?

A store that stocks your products takes on three duties under HB 398. It must keep cottage food in a separate section or display case, mark that section as holding cottage food exempt from state inspection. It must also post signage that cottage food products are not subject to commercial food regulations or inspection. Food made under the law counts as an approved source for the store, which is the door the old regulations kept shut.

Can Your City or County Block Store Sales?

Yes, a county or city may pass an ordinance that bars cottage food operators from selling through third-party vendors inside its borders, and that is the only cottage food rule it can set. The ordinance can only be adopted at a hearing held 15 to 45 days after a public notice in the local newspaper, and it takes effect only after the local government notifies the Commissioner of Agriculture. Beyond that opt-out, HB 398 says no county or city may prohibit or regulate cottage food, and none may stop a commercial delivery company from delivering your products. General local rules like business licensing and zoning still apply.

One more venue rule from GDA's FAQ: a farmers market board can require a Food Sales Establishment License even though the state does not, because market policies sit outside GDA's cottage food regulations. Ask before you pay a booth fee, and see our Georgia farmers market vendor permit guide.

How Much Can You Make Selling Cottage Food in Georgia?

With no sales cap, Georgia does not limit your income — your ceiling is time, demand, and how you sell. Because HB 398 also opened retail and restaurant sales, Georgia vendors have more ways to grow than they did before. A few ways to get the most out of a Georgia cottage food business:

A steady way to grow is to start with one strong channel, a weekly market or an online pickup window, build a base of repeat customers, then add retail and restaurant accounts once supply is steady. With no sales cap, your production capacity, not the law, sets your ceiling.

Before you pitch a shop, check whether an ordinance against third-party sales is in place where you live, then set a wholesale price that still leaves you a margin after the store takes its cut.

• Price for margin — with no cap, what you keep per product matters more than raw volume, so cost out ingredients, packaging, your time, and card processing before you set a price.
• Use retail and restaurant access. Wholesale placement is a channel Georgia only recently opened, and it stays open unless local officials adopt an ordinance against store sales.
• Keep direct sales central — at a market, a home pickup or an online order you keep the full retail price, while a store or restaurant buys from you at a wholesale price.
• Turn one-time buyers into regulars — weekly pickups, pre-orders and seasonal boxes make revenue predictable instead of feast or famine.
• Reinvest in capacity — with no cap, the limiting factor becomes how much you can produce.

Two rules from the law itself: HB 398 says it does not exempt a cottage food operator from any tax law, so sales tax and income tax still apply, and it lets a store sell your products only from a separate, labeled cottage food display. Our guide to sales tax at farmers markets covers the tax side.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid Selling Cottage Food in Georgia?

The mistakes below are the ones the law and GDA's FAQ single out, and the price of a willful one is a written warning the first time and a civil penalty of no more than $75 per violation on a second or later violation.

• Skipping the food-safety course — it's the one state training requirement; you must complete it before selling.
• Selling perishable foods — refrigerated products, cream fillings, and meat products aren't allowed.
• Getting the label statement wrong — it must be the HB 398 sentence in type of 10 points or bigger, with your name, your GDA number or address, and your phone number.
• Selling across state lines — keep sales to Georgia consumers and retailers.
• Assuming you still need a license — you don't, post-HB 398; don't pay for one.
• Baking in a rented kitchen, a shed or a vacation home. GDA counts only the kitchen of your primary residence. Food made in a shared commercial kitchen needs GDA's Food Sales Establishment License instead
• Selling to a store in a county that opted out. Ask the store, or your county, whether an ordinance against third-party cottage food sales has been adopted
• Skipping your city or county. Business licenses, zoning and any DBA filing are local, and HB 398 leaves them in place
• Treating GDA's older FAQ answers on consignment and wholesale as current. The cottage food FAQ still says you cannot put products in a store on consignment or sell through a wholesaler, and it cites old rule 40-7-19-.05(2). HB 398 now lets a store, restaurant or other third-party vendor sell your products and makes your food an approved source for them, and GDA says it will repeal the parts of its regulations that conflict with the law. If a store manager cites the old FAQ, point to section 26-2-472 of HB 398

What Recently Changed in Georgia's Cottage Food Law?

HB 398 took effect on July 1, 2025, removed the state license, its $100 fee and the pre-license kitchen inspection, and opened sales to stores and restaurants.

• Before July 1, 2025 — Georgia required a $100 a year license, a pre-license home kitchen inspection and a product list on file, and it allowed sales only to the end consumer, with no wholesale to stores or restaurants.
• HB 398 (effective July 1, 2025) — removed the state license and its fee, ended pre-license inspections, and allowed sales to retailers and restaurants. The food safety course was already required and still is.

The law kept the non-perishable food limit and the labeling duty, and it added three things vendors did not have before: an optional identification number in place of a home address, a written warning before any fine, and a $75 ceiling per violation. Always confirm the current rules with the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

What Is HB 398 in Georgia?

HB 398 is the 2025 bill that rewrote how Georgians can make and sell cottage food. The Georgia General Assembly's page for it lists Representative Leesa Hagan of the 156th district as the lead sponsor, with Houston Gaines, Katie Dempsey, Beth Camp, Brian Prince and Matt Reeves, and Senator Sam Watson carried it in the Senate. Governor Brian Kemp signed it on May 13, 2025, and it took effect July 1, 2025. The bill:

• Added Article 19, sections 26-2-470 through 26-2-478, to Title 26 of the Georgia Code
• Defined the terms cottage food item, cottage food operator and cottage food production operation, and listed the foods that qualify
• Set the label rule, the retail display rule, the complaint-only inspection rule and the $75 penalty
• Added section 36-60-33, which stops counties and cities from regulating cottage food except through the store sales opt-out

GDA says it will propose new regulations to carry out the law and repeal the parts of chapter 40-7-19 that conflict with it, like licensing. Its legal notices page is where the draft will appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Georgia have a cottage food sales limit?

No. Georgia has never had a cottage food sales cap, and HB 398 did not add one. The Georgia Department of Agriculture puts no cap on gross sales or on units produced, so there is no revenue limit on Georgia cottage food sales.

Do you need a license to sell food from home in Georgia?

No. Since July 1, 2025, Georgia requires no state license or registration for cottage food — only a food safety course accredited by ANSI and a correct label on what you sell. GDA says Food Handler training is acceptable.

Can you sell cottage food in stores in Georgia?

Yes. HB 398 now allows cottage food operators to sell wholesale to retail stores and restaurants within Georgia, in addition to direct sales. One exception: a county or city can pass an ordinance that bars store sales inside its borders, so check locally before you pitch a shop.

What foods can't you sell under Georgia cottage food law?

Anything requiring refrigeration — cream-filled pastries, meat-based products, and other temperature-controlled (TCS) foods. A food has to be shelf-stable and non-hazardous to qualify. A few shelf-stable foods are still out, such as honey and syrup, because they sit under separate state rules.

What label is required on Georgia cottage foods?

Product name, your name, your address or GDA identification number, your phone number, ingredients, allergens, net weight, and the HB 398 statement "This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection. This product may contain allergens." at 10 points or larger. For a telephone or custom order you may skip the display. You must still tell the customer that the food comes from a residence exempt from state inspection, that it may contain allergens, and keep the rest ready on request. GDA's regulations have not yet dropped the older statement "MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO STATE FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS." in all caps, so the safest label carries both until the rules are rewritten.

Do you need food safety training in Georgia?

Yes. A food safety training program accredited by ANSI is required, and GDA treats Food Handler training as enough. Neither the law nor the regulations set a renewal period, so keep your certificate on hand.

Can you sell cottage food online in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia allows online sales with pickup or delivery, plus wholesale to retailers and restaurants where no local ordinance blocks it — as long as sales stay within Georgia. HB 398 names online and mail order sales, requires the label information on the webpage where the product is sold, and bars cities and counties from blocking commercial delivery companies.

Do you have to register your Georgia cottage food business?

No. HB 398 removed the registration requirement. Your city or county may still require a local business license or zoning approval, but the state no longer requires cottage food registration. The only state form left is the optional identification number request, for vendors who do not want their home address on labels.

What are the Georgia cottage food laws for 2026?

The Georgia cottage food laws for 2026 are HB 398, in effect since July 1, 2025, plus GDA's chapter 40-7-19 regulations, which the department is rewriting to match the law. Together they say: non-perishable foods only, no state license or sales cap, a food safety course with ANSI accreditation, a label with your name, address or ID number, phone number and the residential property statement, sales inside Georgia only, and store sales unless a local ordinance opts out.

Do you need a cottage license in Georgia?

No. Georgia stopped issuing cottage food licenses on July 1, 2025, when HB 398 took effect, and the $100 annual fee went with them. Under the Georgia cottage food laws now in force you complete a food safety course, label your products and sell only inside the state. If a farmers market or a store asks for a license number, GDA's HB 398 FAQ is the document to show them.

Is there a cottage kitchen license in Georgia?

No. Georgia has one cottage food program and no separate kitchen, bakery or home kitchen license. The kitchen itself must be in your primary residence, and GDA inspects it only to investigate a complaint, a foodborne illness report or a public health emergency, with the visit scheduled in advance unless it is an emergency.

Can you sell cottage food at a farmers market in Georgia without a license?

The state does not require one, but the market can. GDA's FAQ says farmers market boards may require the same Food Sales Establishment License a retail store holds as a condition of selling there, and that policy sits outside the cottage food regulations. Ask the market manager before you apply.

Start Selling Cottage Food in Georgia

After HB 398, Georgia asks less of home food vendors than it used to: no license, no cap, and retail access wherever a local ordinance does not bar store sales. Once you've taken the food-safety course and your labels are right, the next step is making it easy for customers to order and pay. Set up a Homegrown storefront for Georgia cottage food orders with local pickup, then compare the rules in nearby states like Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina, or see the full cottage food laws by state hub.

Put the HB 398 statement, your business name, your phone number and your address or your GDA number in your storefront's about text before the first order comes in, and HB 398's webpage rule is covered. Prices are yours to set, since Georgia caps neither what you charge nor how much you sell.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change — verify current requirements with the Georgia Department of Agriculture before selling. Last verified: September 17, 2026.

Planning to sell at a farmers market? See our Georgia farmers market vendor permit guide for the permits you will need on market day.