Michigan Cottage Food Law (2026): $50K Cap, No License

Michigan asks very little of you before your first sale. You do not fill out a form with the state, you do not pay the state a fee, and nobody inspects your kitchen first. What you do have to get right is the list of foods, the label, where you sell, and the new rules for online orders.

This guide walks through all of it with the exact wording from Michigan's food law and from MDARD, the state's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which oversees cottage food. If you want a launch plan once you know the rules, our guide to starting a cottage food business in Michigan picks up where this one ends.

Once you know which of your foods qualify, you can set up a Homegrown storefront to show your menu and take pickup orders from Michigan buyers, with a line on each product offering the face-to-face meeting or live video call described below before they check out.

What Is the Michigan Cottage Food Sales Limit?

The Michigan cottage food sales limit is $50,000 in gross sales a year, or $75,000 a year for an operation selling products priced at $250 or more per unit. Both numbers are in MCL 289.4102(5), the section of Michigan's food law that sets the cottage food rules, and MDARD's selling page states the same two numbers.

The law does not define "gross sales," but the plain meaning is everything customers pay you for cottage food, before you subtract ingredients, packaging or fees. A $20 order counts as $20 toward the cap, even if you only kept $8 of it. If you charge delivery fees, ask MDARD whether they count too.

Three details about the cap trip people up:

• It is counted per person, not per house. The law says gross sales are "computed on the basis of the amount of gross sales on a per-person basis within or at a particular domestic residence." MDARD's FAQ gives the example of a mom and her child in the same home who each run their own cottage food business: each can earn the full limit. Family members who do not run a business do not add to anyone's cap.
• The $75,000 tier is about price per unit. The law's words are "If the cottage food operation sells cottage food products at a price of $250.00 or more per unit." Neither the law nor MDARD's pages spell out how a mix of $20 cookie boxes and $300 wedding cakes is counted, so ask MDARD in writing before you plan around the higher number.
• MDARD can ask for your records. MDARD's FAQ says you need to keep sales records and hand them to an MDARD food inspector if one asks.

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Every row was read on October 19, 2026 on the Michigan Legislature's copy of MCL 289.4102 and 289.1105, MDARD's cottage food pages, and the MSU Product Center's registration pages.

What Recently Changed in Michigan's Cottage Food Law?

Michigan's cottage food law changed on March 24, 2026, when 2025 Public Act 51 (House Bill 4122) took effect. The Senate Fiscal Agency's summary of the bill lists five changes:

• A higher cap. It raised the sales limit "from $25,000 to $50,000."
• A new top tier. It set a $75,000 limit for an operation that sells products "at a price of $250 or more per unit."
• Inflation adjustments. It lets MDARD adjust both limits for inflation, "beginning October 1, 2026."
• Online, mail-order and delivery sales. It allows them if the buyer gets an opportunity to meet with you before the sale.
• Voluntary registration. It lets you register with Michigan State University's Product Center.

The law's history line on the Michigan Legislature site reads "Am. 2025, Act 51, Eff. Mar. 24, 2026," so any guide that still quotes a $25,000 cap or says Michigan bans online sales is describing the old law.

The new law kept the limits that matter most day to day. Under MCL 289.4102 as amended, you still cannot sell by consignment or at wholesale, MDARD's selling page still bars sales to restaurants and grocery stores, and your products still have to be foods that do not need temperature control for safety.

Want the rules as a PDF? MDARD's two-page Michigan's Cottage Foods one-pager, dated 03/2026, lists the $50,000 and $75,000 caps and the main allowed and banned foods, ready to print. Its shortened label line reads "not inspected by" instead of the law's "that has not been inspected by," so copy your label wording from the labeling section below, not from the PDF.

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

No, Michigan requires no license, registration or inspection from MDARD before you start a home food business. MDARD's FAQ puts it plainly: "There are no application forms to complete, no registration process, and you do not need to obtain a food license or permit from MDARD."

That does not mean nobody else can ask for paperwork. Here is what can still apply to you:

• Local rules. MDARD's FAQ says the cottage food exemption "only exempts you from the requirements of licensing and routine inspection" by MDARD, and tells you to contact your local unit of government about zoning and other local rules.
• A DBA. A "Doing Business As" name "may be a requirement of your county or local municipality," according to MDARD. Your county office can tell you.
• An LLC, if you want one. MDARD points you to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) for that. Our guide on whether you need an LLC to sell food from home covers the tradeoffs.
• Farmers market rules. MDARD says some markets "may require vendors to have a food establishment license or to meet other requirements," even for cottage food vendors. Read each market's vendor rules before you apply.
• MDARD complaint visits. If a complaint is filed or an illness is linked to your food, MDARD says it may "enter and inspect your Cottage Food production and storage areas, view and copy records, and take photos."

The optional $50 MSU Product Center registration has its own section below. It is a privacy tool for your label, not a license.

What Foods Can You Sell Under Michigan Cottage Food Law?

You can sell foods that do not need time or temperature control for safety, which means foods that stay safe at room temperature without a fridge. The law's own examples are "jams, jellies, dried fruit, candy, cereal, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs, and baked goods that do not require temperature control for safety" (MCL 289.1105).

MDARD's allowed foods list, read October 19, 2026, goes further. These are some of the foods it names as allowed:

• Baked goods: cookies, breads, quick breads and muffins, cakes "including celebration cakes (birthday, anniversary, wedding, cupcakes)," and "Pies that are shelf stable," including cooked fruit pies
• Breads with add-ins: shredded hard cheese mixed into the dough before baking, herbs, spices, nuts, and dried or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables
• Candy and confections: "Confections and candies (made without alcohol)," cotton candy, hard candies, lollipops, maple candy, freeze-dried candy, and chocolate-covered pretzels, marshmallows or strawberries
• Jams and jellies: "Fruit jams and jellies (as defined in 21 Code of Federal Regulations part 150) in glass jars that can be stored at room temperature"
• Dry goods: granola, dry baking, dip and soup mixes, dried pasta "made with or without eggs," dried herbs, and dried herbal teas sold "as a conventional food, with no health claims"
• Other pantry products: popcorn, coated or uncoated nuts, nut butters made from ground nuts, roasted coffee beans, vinegar and flavored vinegars, flavored maple syrups, flavored honey, and "Extracts that are used for flavoring foods, like vanilla extract"
• Frostings: icings made with all shelf-stable ingredients, commercial shelf-stable frostings, and buttercream only from one of the two lab-tested recipes MDARD names

That buttercream rule is easy to miss. MDARD allows homemade buttercream only from the 2 recipes it names, both lab-tested (commercially prepared, shelf-stable buttercream is also allowed): Kansas State University's "Simple Buttercream Frosting" or Texas Come and Bake It's "American Buttercream Frosting," followed exactly, with no additions other than food coloring or flavoring extracts.

Which Foods Are Not Allowed Under Michigan Cottage Food Law?

Michigan bars any food that needs refrigeration to stay safe, plus several groups the law names outright: meat and poultry, milk products, beverages, home-produced ice, and canned foods other than standardized jams, jellies and preserves (MCL 289.1105, linked above). MDARD's list, read October 19, 2026, adds detail that matters for new vendors, grouped here by type:

• Refrigerated pies and cakes: "banana cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue or custard pies," cheesecake, and any cake with cream cheese frosting
• Breads with fresh add-ins: breads with fresh or frozen vegetables, soft cheese, or large chunks of hard cheese
• Candy: "No caramel apples" and "No confections that contain alcohol," plus no simple syrups and no elderberry syrups
• Sauces and condiments: "No sauces and condiments, including barbeque sauce, hot sauce, ketchup, or mustard," which names 4 products outright, and no salad dressings, salsas, hummus or fruit butters such as apple butter
• Some jams: "No vegetable jams/jellies (e.g., hot pepper jelly)" and "No low-sugar or no-sugar jams or jellies"
• Pickled and fermented foods: pickles, sauerkraut, relish, kombucha, and dried or freeze-dried sourdough starter
• Health products: "No tinctures, herbal teas with dosing instructions or advertised with health claims," no dietary supplements, and "No CBD, cannabis, or foods with these products"
• Drinks: juices, lemonade, apple cider, concentrates and other ready-to-drink beverages (dry drink mixes and coffee beans are fine)
• Meat, fish, dairy and pet food: jerky, smoked fish, cheese, yogurt, fresh pasta, and "No pet food or treats," which MDARD says need a commercial feed license

Honey and maple syrup sit outside the cottage food list. MDARD says they "are not considered cottage foods" but "have their own set of licensing exemptions under the law," so read MDARD's honey and maple syrup page instead of this one for those.

If you are not sure whether a recipe needs refrigeration, MDARD's FAQ gives the test it uses: a food with "water activity greater than 0.85" and a pH "between 4.6 and 7.5" is one that needs temperature control. Our guide to which foods count as time and temperature control foods explains those two numbers in plain terms.

What about mushrooms?

Michigan allows "Cultivated or wild foraged mushrooms that are raw or dried," with one condition for wild ones. MDARD's list says "You must be able to provide proof that wild foraged mushrooms were identified by a certified mushroom expert." Cooked mushroom dishes are a different story, since MDARD's list bars "food products made with cooked vegetable products."

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

You can start selling cottage food in Michigan in seven steps, and none of them involves sending a form or a fee to MDARD: pick a product from MDARD's list, check your kitchen, decide on MSU registration, make your labels, check local rules, pick where you sell, and keep a running sales total.

• Confirm your product is on MDARD's list. Search the allowed foods page for your exact item, including frostings and fillings. If it is not listed, email MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov with your zip code and ask before you sell.
• Check your kitchen and water. You must make it in your own home kitchen, in the Michigan house or apartment you live in. If you are on a private well, MDARD says the water "should be tested, at least annually, for coliform bacteria and partial chemistry."
• Decide on MSU registration. Pay the $50 fee to the MSU Product Center if you would rather print a registration code and phone number than your street address. Skip it if your address on the label does not bother you.
• Make a compliant label. Include your name and address (or name, phone and registration code), the product name, ingredients by weight, net weight with the metric amount, allergens, and the MDARD statement in at least 11-point type.
• Check local rules. Call your city, township or county about zoning, a DBA name and any home business rules. MDARD tells vendors to do this.
• Pick your sales channels. Farmers markets, farm stands, roadside stands and craft shows in person, plus online, phone or mail order to Michigan buyers if you offer to meet each buyer in person or on video first.
• Track every sale. Keep dated records of what each customer paid so you can show MDARD your total if it asks, and so you know where you stand against the $50,000 cap.

What Must a Michigan Cottage Food Label Include?

Every Michigan cottage food label must show who made it, what it is, what is in it, how much is in it, any allergens, and the MDARD "not inspected" statement. The list below comes from MDARD's labeling page and MCL 289.4102(3), both read October 19, 2026:

• Your name and physical address. MDARD says "You must use the physical address of your home kitchen; Post Office Box addresses are not allowed." If you registered with the MSU Product Center, you use your name, telephone number and registration code instead.
• The product name. All capital letters or mixed case both work.
• Ingredients in descending order by weight. If you use a prepared ingredient, list what is in it too. MDARD's example: "soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt)" is acceptable, plain "soy sauce" is not.
• Net weight or net volume. MDARD's page adds that it "must also include the metric equivalent," as in "Net Wt. 3 oz (85.05 g)."
• Allergens, as federal rules require. MDARD lists milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, fish (including shellfish) and tree nuts, and says you must name the specific tree nut. "Nuts" is not acceptable; "almonds" is. Federal rules now name 9 major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame, with sesame added January 1, 2023, per the FDA's food allergies page, read October 19, 2026. MDARD's labeling page lists 7 groups (fish and shellfish together) and leaves out sesame, so label sesame too.
• Nutrition labeling, only if you make a nutritional claim. Say "low fat" or "high fiber" and federal nutrition labeling rules apply.
• The MDARD statement, word for word as it appears at the top of the sample label below, in "at least the equivalent of 11-point font (about 1/8" tall)" and in a color that contrasts with the background.

Hand-printed labels are fine if they are legible, written in permanent ink and large enough to meet the font size rule. A simple label for a granola bag could read like this:

Weigh what actually goes in the bag. If you fill 12 ounces of granola, the label says 12 ounces with 340 grams beside it, and a heavier fill means a new label.

Wedding cakes and other big cakes get their own rule. MDARD says that for cakes "that are not easily packaged, you must include all labeling requirements on the invoice and deliver the invoice with the cake." Smaller cakes go in a box with the label on the box. Our cottage food labeling guide has layout templates, and the allergen label guide covers the "Contains" line in more depth.

Should You Register With the MSU Product Center?

Register with the MSU Product Center if you do not want your home address printed on every label. Registration is voluntary, costs $50, charged again if you move or change your business name or main contact, and lets your label show your name, phone number and a registration code (formatted like C-000000000) instead of your address. MCL 289.4102(8) caps the fee at $50, and the MSU Product Center's registration page is where you pay and sign up.

What to know before you pay, from MSU's own pages read October 19, 2026:

• It opened May 21, 2026. MSU Extension's announcement says the system launched that day, after House Bill 4122 became law.
• It is online. You pay $50 through the MSU Product Center's online store, then get emails with your receipt, a registration link and your code. MSU's instructions tell you to check your spam folder.
• Some changes mean paying again. MSU says you must "pay the $50 fee again and submit a new registration" if your home address, business name or primary business contact changes. A new phone number only needs an email to product@msu.edu.
• It is not a license. MDARD still says there is "no registration process" with MDARD, and registering does not change what you may sell or where.

For a vendor who takes online orders and delivers, a label without a street address is worth a lot. For someone who sells three loaves at a church craft fair, it may not be worth $50.

Can You Sell Cottage Food Online in Michigan?

Yes, since March 24, 2026, Michigan lets you sell cottage food by internet or mail order, or deliver it through a third-party food delivery platform, with two conditions. The buyer must be a consumer in Michigan, and you must provide, in the law's words, "an opportunity for a consumer to directly interact with the cottage food operation before the cottage food product is sold" (MCL 289.4102(4)).

The law defines that interaction, and it is more than a message thread:

• "Directly interact with" "includes either a face-to-face meeting or a virtual meeting."
• A "virtual meeting" "includes, but is not limited to, a meeting in which communication occurs electronically in a manner that permits 2-way communication so that participants can see or be seen and hear or be heard by all parties to the communication."
• MDARD's own summary of the 2026 update says "The consumer must have an opportunity to speak to the cottage food operator."

In plain terms, a typed chat or an inbox message is not one of the two kinds of meeting the law names. The safe reading is to offer every online buyer the chance to meet you face to face or on a live video call before the sale, since the law's virtual meeting is one where you can see and hear each other. A phone call fits MDARD's "speak to" summary but not that see-and-hear wording, so get MDARD's answer in writing before you rely on phone calls alone. The law requires the opportunity; it does not say the buyer has to take it.

Third-party delivery has one more limit. MDARD's FAQ says a farm stop or small market cannot act as a go-between that holds pre-sold cottage food for customers to pick up. In MDARD's words, the law "does not allow for a retail market or farm-stop to serve as go-between or provide temporary storage at a retail location prior to delivery."

Here is what a compliant online order can look like in practice:

1. Your order page says, above the products and before checkout, that you are happy to meet by live video call or in person before anyone orders, with how to reach you and the hours you are free.
2. A customer in Grand Rapids reads that, asks for a quick video call about nuts, then places a $20 order for a dozen cookies for Saturday pickup.
3. Another customer skips the call and orders. The offer was on the page before they paid, so they had the chance to meet you first, which is what the law's wording asks you to offer.
4. You keep a screenshot of the offer on your page and a note on any order where a buyer did meet with you.

None of the MDARD cottage food pages we read on October 19, 2026 shows a sample setup for online orders. If you want a yes for your exact setup, email MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov with your zip code and describe it.

Where Can You Sell Cottage Foods in Michigan?

You can sell Michigan cottage food in Michigan wherever you sell it yourself, directly to the consumer. MDARD's selling page, read October 19, 2026, lists what is allowed and what is not.

Allowed:

• At farmers markets, farm stands and roadside stands
• At craft shows (named on MDARD's main cottage food page)
• "Via phone, the internet, or mail order," with the meeting rule above
• Through a third-party food delivery platform, to Michigan consumers, with the same rule
• Free samples from your booth, if the sample stays a shelf-stable food and you follow MDARD's sampling guidelines for farmers markets

Not allowed:

• "Cannot sell to wholesalers, brokers or distributors"
• "Cannot sell to restaurant or grocery store"
• "Cannot donate to a public auction, fundraiser, or soup kitchen"
• "Cannot sell on consignment"

Put simply, a $6 loaf you hand to a shopper at your booth is a legal sale, and the same $6 loaf on a coffee shop's counter is not. MDARD explains the store and restaurant ban this way: because your home kitchen is not inspected, "the food is not considered an approved source for use in a restaurant or grocery store." Bake sales are a separate case. MDARD says bake sales run by charitable, religious, fraternal or other nonprofit groups are exempt from licensing on their own terms, but they are not cottage food sales, and a nonprofit cannot run a cottage food business because, in MDARD's words, "Nonprofits do not have a single family domestic residence."

Planning to sell at a market? Our Michigan farmers market vendor permit guide covers what each market may ask for on top of the cottage food rules.

Where Can You Make and Store Michigan Cottage Food?

You must make cottage food in the kitchen of your primary home in Michigan and store it in that same home. The law defines a cottage food operation as a person who makes the food "only in a kitchen of that person's primary domestic residence within this state," and adds that products "must be stored only in the primary domestic residence."

MDARD's FAQ fills in the details, down to your water: if you use a private well, test it at least once every 12 months, since MDARD says well water "should be tested, at least annually, for coliform bacteria and partial chemistry."

• Renters qualify. MDARD says a house, apartment, condominium or rental home "all could be a single family domestic residence."
• Group living does not. The definition "does not include group or communal residential settings, such as group homes, sororities or fraternities."
• No second homes or motor homes. "Second homes, vacation homes, or motor homes do not qualify if they are not your primary residence."
• No rented kitchens. Even a licensed rented kitchen does not work under the exemption; MDARD says "you would need a food establishment license to sell your products."
• No garage or shed storage. MDARD says "You may not use a garage, shed, barn, or other outbuilding as a storage facility." A spare room or a dry basement is fine.
• Your septic system matters. MDARD recommends having a septic system evaluated by your local health department before you start, since MDARD says a home food business "can put your septic system at risk of early failure."

How Much Can You Make Selling Cottage Food in Michigan?

You can gross up to $50,000 a year selling cottage food in Michigan, or $75,000 at the $250-per-unit tier. What you keep depends on your margin, since the cap counts gross sales, not profit. At $20 an order, $50,000 is 2,500 orders in a year.

Ways to get the most out of the cap:

• Price for margin, not volume. Cost out ingredients, packaging, labels, your time and card processing before you set a price. Our guide to pricing baked goods has a worked formula.
• Know whether the $75,000 tier fits you. The higher cap is written around a per-unit price of $250. Wedding cakes and large celebration cakes are the obvious fit; a cookie stand is not. Ask MDARD in writing how a mix of prices is counted before you rely on it.
• Count each operator separately. Two people in one home with separate cottage food businesses each get the full cap, per MDARD's FAQ. Each needs their own records.
• Use the new online channel inside Michigan. Pre-orders for pickup or local delivery let you bake to a count instead of guessing what a market day will bring.
• Turn one-time buyers into regulars. A weekly pickup day and a link your market customers can reorder from keep sales steady between market days.
• Track sales against the cap. A running total also covers MDARD's request that you keep sales records.

How Can You Take Michigan Orders Online Without Living in Your DMs?

Now that Michigan allows online orders, the hard part is taking them without tracking every order in a separate Instagram or Facebook message thread. Homegrown gives you one order page for pickup and local delivery at $10 per month billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly), with no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing, and you can put your "video call or meet me in person before you order" line in every product description, where buyers read it before checkout.

How it compares with two tools Michigan vendors often try first, on a $20 order:

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We checked findhomegrown.com/signup, Etsy's Fees and Payments Policy and payment processing help page, and Venmo's fees page on October 19, 2026. The $20 order is one item with no tax or shipping. Etsy's 6.5% also applies to any shipping you charge.

Venmo is the cheapest on fees, and it is a fine way to get paid. What it does not give you is an order page: every order lives in a message thread, and you count totals by hand. Etsy is a national marketplace with shipping built in, so you would have to keep every listing limited to Michigan buyers yourself, since the law only lets you sell online to people in Michigan. Homegrown fits the Michigan rules in a few specific ways:

• Pickup and local delivery, not shipping. You set pickup from your porch, farm stand or market booth, or delivery within a radius you choose from 1 to 25 miles. If you live near the Ohio, Indiana or Wisconsin line, set the radius so it stays in Michigan.
• Allergens and ingredients on every listing, so buyers see the same information your label carries.
• A place to offer the meeting. Customers can message you from your store to set a time, and a line in each product description or a post on your storefront page offering to meet in person or over live video puts the offer the law asks for in front of buyers before checkout.
• Sales tax handled. Homegrown's signup page says it calculates and remits sales tax, which matters if Treasury tells you some of your products are taxable.
• One sales total. Every Homegrown order sits in one place. Add your booth and cash sales to get the full total against the $50,000 cap and for MDARD's records request.

Honest bounds: customers create a Homegrown account to place their first order. Homegrown does not run the video call for you, and a typed message is not one of the two kinds of meeting the law names. The delivery radius only limits delivery: Homegrown's signup page says shoppers outside it can still order pickup ("everyone else still gets pickup"), so turning down an online order from a buyer outside Michigan is up to you. Homegrown has no drops or countdown release feature. Your storefront is listed on Homegrown's marketplace, but plan on most orders coming from people you send to your own link. Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 is paid by you, the vendor, with nothing passed to the customer. You can set up a Homegrown storefront with a 7-day trial (no charge until day 8).

Do You Need to Collect Sales Tax on Cottage Food in Michigan?

Possibly, and the answer depends on what you sell: MDARD's getting started FAQ answers the sales tax question with "Possibly," and says cottage food businesses "must meet all other provisions of law regarding businesses, including tax law." It also says "In general, sales tax is not charged on prepackaged foods that are not for immediate consumption."

So a sealed $8 bag of granola that a customer takes home to eat later is the kind of sale MDARD describes as generally untaxed. A product sold to eat on the spot, or a basket that mixes food with things that are not food, is where you need a real answer from the state. MDARD also notes that "Any other taxes depend on how your business is organized," so income tax is its own question.

What to do with that:

• Ask the Michigan Department of Treasury which of your products are taxable. MDARD recommends contacting Treasury "for further information on what food products are considered taxable."
• Watch for products that are not food. A gift basket with a mug or a candle in it is a different tax question than a bag of granola.
• Talk to a tax professional about income tax and how your business is set up. MDARD suggests "a tax accounting expert, such as a Certified Public Accountant."

Our guide to reporting food sales on your taxes walks through the income tax side and the records worth keeping.

What Happens When You Outgrow Michigan's Cottage Food Law?

When you want to wholesale, sell to stores or restaurants, or sell more than the cap, you need to become a licensed food processor, and a food outside the cottage food list needs its own license too. MDARD's licensed food processor page says that if you "would like to wholesale your products, which is not allowed under the Cottage Food exemptions, you are ready to move to the next step and become a licensed food processor," and that vendors who "reach the threshold for gross annual sales" need to become licensed to keep growing.

What that usually means for a Michigan home vendor:

• A licensed kitchen. MDARD's FAQ says a rented kitchen does not work under the exemption, "Even if the rented kitchen is a licensed facility, you would need a food establishment license to sell your products."
• A food establishment license from MDARD. MDARD's licensed food processor page links to its food establishment licensing information as the place to start.
• Local zoning and tax steps. MDARD's page points to the Michigan Townships Association for local zoning contacts, LARA for forming an LLC, and the Department of Treasury for business and sales tax.

If you are weighing a shared kitchen against your own space, our guide to moving from cottage food to a commercial kitchen compares the costs.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid Selling Cottage Food in Michigan?

Nine mistakes put Michigan vendors outside the cottage food rules or on shaky ground, and most come down to the food, the buyer or the label:

• Selling perishable foods. Cream pies, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, cream cheese frosting and meat products are not allowed.
• Wholesaling to stores. Michigan cottage food must be sold directly from you to the consumer, with no consignment and no sales to restaurants or grocery stores.
• Skipping the label statement. The MDARD "not inspected" line is mandatory, at 11-point type or larger.
• Leaving off the net weight in metric. MDARD's labeling page asks for the metric equivalent next to ounces.
• Selling online across state lines. Online, mail-order and delivery sales must stay with Michigan buyers.
• Relying on a DM alone. A typed message does not count as either meeting the law names, so give buyers the option to meet you face to face or by video before they pay.
• Using a PO box on the label. MDARD requires the physical address of your home kitchen, unless you register with the MSU Product Center and use your code and phone number.
• Donating to a raffle or auction. MDARD says you cannot donate cottage food to "a public auction, fundraiser, or soup kitchen."
• Storing stock in the garage. Ingredients and finished products belong inside your home, not in a garage, shed or barn.

None of the MDARD cottage food pages we read requires insurance, but a market can ask for it, so it is worth a look. Our guide to cottage food business insurance covers what a policy typically includes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can you make selling cottage food in Michigan?

Michigan cottage food law caps you at $50,000 in gross sales a year, or $75,000 if, in MDARD's words, "the products sold cost $250 or more per unit." The cap is counted per person, so a parent and child in one home with their own businesses each get the full amount. Since October 1, 2026, the law lets MDARD adjust both numbers for inflation, but MDARD's pages still listed $50,000 and $75,000 on October 19, 2026.

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

No. Under Michigan cottage food law there is no license, no registration and no inspection from MDARD, and MDARD says there are "no application forms to complete." Your city, township or county may still have zoning or business name rules, and a farmers market can set its own vendor requirements.

Can you sell cottage food online in Michigan?

Yes, since March 24, 2026, but only to consumers in Michigan and only if you offer each buyer a chance to interact with you directly before the sale. The law says that means "either a face-to-face meeting or a virtual meeting," where people "can see or be seen and hear or be heard," so a typed message alone falls outside the two meetings it names. Offering to meet each buyer in person or on live video before checkout is the safe way to meet it. A phone call fits MDARD's summary that buyers get a chance to "speak to" you, but not the law's see-and-hear wording, so check with MDARD in writing before relying on phone calls alone.

Can you sell cottage food in stores in Michigan?

No. Michigan cottage food must be sold directly from you to the consumer, and the law bans consignment and wholesale. MDARD's selling page also says you cannot sell to a restaurant or grocery store, because an uninspected home kitchen is not an approved source for them.

What label is required on Michigan cottage foods?

The label needs your name and home address (or your name, phone number and MSU registration code), the product name, ingredients in order by weight, net weight with its metric equivalent, allergens, and the statement "Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development." That statement must be at least 11-point type in a contrasting color.

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

You cannot sell anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe, such as cream or pumpkin pies, cheesecake, cream cheese frosting, meat, jerky or dairy. MDARD's list also bars caramel apples, candy that contains alcohol, sauces and condiments, pickles, low-sugar jams, hot pepper jelly, beverages, tinctures, CBD products and pet treats.

Do you have to register your Michigan cottage food business?

No. MDARD has no registration for cottage food, and the MSU Product Center registration is voluntary. It costs $50 (paid again if your home address, business name or main contact changes) and only changes your label, letting you print a code and phone number instead of your home address.

What's the $75,000 cap tier in Michigan?

It is the higher yearly cap, $75,000, that MCL 289.4102(5) sets for an operation selling cottage food at $250.00 or more per unit. It fits vendors of high-priced products such as wedding cakes. The law does not spell out how a mix of cheaper and pricier products is counted, so ask MDARD in writing before you plan around $75,000.

Related Reading

These 6 Homegrown guides answer the next questions Michigan cottage food vendors tend to ask once the rules are clear, from launch plans to shipping:

• How to start a cottage food business in Michigan: a step-by-step launch plan, from your first batch to your first market day
• Michigan farmers market vendor permits: what a market can ask for on top of cottage food law, such as a license or a permit fee
• Best platform to sell baked goods in Michigan: order tools compared for Michigan bakers, with the fees side by side
• Best platform to sell sourdough in Michigan: the same question for bread vendors
• Can you ship cottage food?: how shipping rules work state to state, useful before your first mail order
• Cottage food laws by state: the full state-by-state directory, for when you want to compare Michigan with a neighbor

Every link above was checked live on October 19, 2026, and each guide is written for small, part-time vendors who sell from home.

Start Selling Cottage Food in Michigan

You can start selling cottage food in Michigan this week with no license, no MDARD fee and no inspection, as long as you stay inside the rules above. Michigan's 2026 update gives you a $50,000 cap ($75,000 at the $250-per-unit tier) and legal online sales to Michigan buyers. Once your labels carry the MDARD statement and your order page offers buyers an in-person meeting or a video call before they pay, the next step is making ordering easy. Set up a Homegrown storefront for Michigan pickup and local delivery orders, then compare the rules in nearby states like Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois. Keep in mind that Michigan's online, mail-order and delivery sales stop at the state line, so an online order shipped or delivered to a customer in Toledo is outside what Michigan's law allows. If a buyer from out of state wants to order online and pick up in Michigan, ask MDARD first.

*This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change, so verify your state's current rules with MDARD before selling. Last checked: October 19, 2026.*