Washington Cottage Food Law (2026): Permit + $35K Cap

Once you have your WSDA permit and know how your customers may pay, you can set up a Homegrown storefront and try it free for 7 days.

In Washington, you need a Cottage Food Permit from WSDA before you sell a single cookie. It costs $355 for a two-year permit, includes a home-kitchen inspection, and caps your annual sales at $35,000. WSDA's FAQ allows orders placed online, but you can't ship, and WSDA says payment and delivery must happen person to person. This guide covers what you can sell, what the permit costs line by line, how to label, where the payment rule gets confusing, and how to start.

Ready to begin? Our step-by-step guide to starting a cottage food business in Washington walks through setup in order. This page is the rulebook behind it. (If you searched "cottage law" because of a backyard cottage or accessory dwelling unit, that is a housing rule; this page is only about selling food made in your home kitchen.)

What Is the Washington Cottage Food Sales Limit?

Washington caps cottage food sales at $35,000 in gross sales per year, set by RCW 69.22.050 and confirmed on WSDA's page when we checked on October 8, 2026. HB 1500 raised the cap from $25,000 in 2023 and also stretched the permit from one year to two.

Three details in the statute matter more than the headline number:

• The cap is per home, not per person. The law says the limit is "computed on the basis of the amount of gross sales within or at a particular domestic residence and may not be computed on a per person basis." Two people baking in one kitchen share one $35,000 limit.
• It counts gross sales. That is every dollar customers pay you for cottage food, before ingredients, packaging or fees.
• It is reviewed every four years. WSDA must review the cap every four years and raise it by rule based on the Seattle-area consumer price index. As of October 8, 2026, WSDA's page still lists $35,000, and no higher figure had been posted.

Spread evenly, $35,000 a year works out to about $673 a week or $2,917 a month. That is a real side business, and the cap is within reach: at $9 a loaf, $35,000 equals about 75 loaves every week of the year.

Scroll sideways to see where each rule comes from.

Sources: WSDA's cottage food web page plus the RCW and WAC sections in the right-hand column, all read October 8, 2026, plus WSDA's April 9, 2026 blog post, read October 10, 2026.

Do You Need a Permit to Sell Food From Home in Washington?

Yes: Washington requires a WSDA Cottage Food Permit before you sell any food made in your home kitchen, and selling without one is a misdemeanor. The permit comes from the state agriculture department, not your county health department, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) or your city.

Here is how the permit works, step by step in time order:

1. You send WSDA a complete application with a label for every product and variation, a drawing of your kitchen and storage areas, and the $355 fee. WSDA's page says not to send recipes, because the application is a public record; a reviewer can ask for one if there is a concern. The rule itself (WAC 16-149-060 and 16-149-120) still says recipes go in with the application, so if the form you get asks for them, email cottagefoods@agr.wa.gov and ask which instruction to follow. WAC 16-149-060 asks for the packet at least six weeks before processing.
2. A WSDA Food Safety Compliance Specialist reviews your labels and application (the "public health review"), asks for a recipe if something needs a closer look, and contacts you with questions.
3. WSDA inspects your kitchen and storage areas. WSDA's 2025 overview slides describe this first inspection as virtual, with kitchen photos sometimes requested; its web page says a specialist will schedule a visit, so be ready for either.
4. After you pass, WSDA emails your permit, which carries the permit number your labels need.
5. Around a year after permitting, a food safety inspector schedules an on-site visit during weekday business hours.

On average, WSDA's Cottage Food Operation page says the whole process takes 6 to 8 weeks from a complete application to an issued permit. A WSDA blog post dated April 9, 2026, written for people starting out, encourages applicants to allow 4 to 6 weeks. Plan on the longer figure. If the inspection fails, you send WSDA proof of what you fixed and pay $125 for a reinspection. Fail twice and WSDA denies the application.

The permit belongs to you and your primary home only. If you move, you apply again and pay again. It is more upfront work than a no-permit state, but the permit covers two years before renewal.

How Much Does a Washington Cottage Food Permit Cost?

A Washington Cottage Food Permit costs $355 for two years, and WSDA says the fee is nonrefundable once its office receives it. The $355 is not one fee. WAC 16-149-060 lists a $30 processing fee, a $75 public health review fee and "$125 for each annual inspection." WSDA lists only the $355 total, but those listed fees add up to $355 when you count two $125 inspections, one for each year of the permit ($30 + $75 + $125 + $125 = $355). On a new permit the first is the inspection before WSDA issues it; on a renewal both are yearly inspections.

Before 2023, vendors paid those same fees every year: $30 + $75 + $125 = $230 a year, or $460 over two years. WSDA's overview slides put the savings from the two-year permit at $105 over two years, which matches $460 minus $355.

The other fees you may run into:

Swipe the table to see when each fee applies.

Fees as listed on October 8, 2026 by WSDA (its web page plus WAC 16-149-060 and 16-149-070), the Department of Health (Food Worker Card page), and on October 10, 2026 by the Department of Revenue (business license processing fee page).

So a solo vendor's state cost to open is $415: $355 for the permit, one $10 food worker card and the $50 business license fee, plus any city or state endorsement or trade name fees you need. Add each helper's $10 card if someone else will bake with you.

What Foods Can You Sell Under Washington Cottage Food Law?

Washington allows low-risk foods that stay safe without refrigeration, and only the specific products WSDA approves on your permit. The approved list lives in WAC 16-149-120, and WSDA's page groups the commonly approved products like this:

• Breads and other baked or fried foods: loaf breads, rolls, biscuits, quick breads, muffins, pastries, scones, cookies, bars, crackers, donuts, tortillas, pizzelles, krumkake and kale chips
• Cakes, including birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes, as long as frostings and glazes are shelf stable
• Sweet breads with fruit or vegetables baked in, like zucchini bread or strawberry muffins, when the produce is mixed into the batter and oven-baked (no fresh fruit garnish on top). WSDA's 2026 brochure lists "any foods containing fresh fruits or vegetables" as not permitted, while its FAQ allows them baked into the batter (and WAC 16-149-120 allows fresh fruit with a cook step), so name the product exactly on your application
• Pies, except custard-style pies, pumpkin pie, unbaked fresh fruit pies and pies that need refrigeration after baking
• Candies cooked on a stove or in a microwave, with a candy thermometer: fudge, caramels, nut brittle, taffy, marshmallow-like candies, molded chocolates and chocolate-dipped treats
• Jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters made to FDA's standards in 21 C.F.R. 150 (full-sugar recipes)
• Dry mixes from approved sources: herb and spice blends, teas, bread mixes, soup mixes and dip mixes
• Cereals, granola, trail mix, nuts, nut mixes and snack mixes
• Small-batch roasted coffee beans, from a roaster that fits on a kitchen counter
• Vanilla extract that meets FDA's standard of identity, and vinegars from approved sources rebottled with fruit or herbs
• Freeze-dried versions of allowed foods, such as freeze-dried candy

Frosting has a number attached: WSDA's FAQ says an approved frosting has a 3 to 1 ratio of shelf-stable ingredients like sugar to perishable ones like butter, eggs or milk, by weight, or it gets a cook step.

Confirm specifics with WSDA's Cottage Food Operation page before you print labels, because you can sell only the exact products named on your permit.

What Foods Are Not Allowed Under a Washington Cottage Food Permit?

Any food that needs refrigeration, or that is meat, dairy, canned vegetables or a beverage, is not allowed under Washington's cottage food permit. WAC 16-149-130 holds the full prohibited list; the products people ask about most are:

• Meat, poultry and fish, including jerky and anything made with them
• Home-canned fruits and vegetables (other than standard jams and jellies), salsa, and pickled products like pickles, relish and sauerkraut
• Acidified sauces like barbecue sauce, ketchup and mustard, which need pH control under 21 CFR Part 114
• Low-sugar jams, which do not meet FDA's standard for jams and jellies
• Cakes and pastries with cream, custard, cream cheese or meringue fillings, or fresh fruit garnish
• Milk and dairy products, including cottage cheese, yogurt and any raw milk ingredient
• Beverages of any kind, including apple cider, juice, homemade beer and syrups for drinks
• Garlic in oil, cut fresh fruit or vegetables, and raw seed sprouts
• Focaccia-style breads topped with vegetables or cheese
• Foods dried in a dehydrator at low temperatures, which WSDA says lack a cook step
• Pet treats, which WSDA covers under its separate pet food rules

If your product is on this list, WSDA points you to its Food Processor License, which means a licensed kitchen. Our guide to using a commissary kitchen as a cottage food vendor covers what that step costs. For dog biscuits, see whether you can sell homemade dog treats.

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

Once WSDA has your complete application, its main cottage food page puts it at about 6 to 8 weeks to get your permit if you pass inspection the first time (a WSDA blog entry from April 2026 suggests 4 to 6). Most of the work happens before you mail anything:

• Confirm your product is on the allowed list. Check it against WAC 16-149-120 and the lists above; WSDA asks you to do this before you apply.
• Get a Food Worker Card for everyone who will help. The Department of Health's Food Worker Card page says the card costs $10, is valid statewide, and is first issued for 2 years. Local health departments offer the training, and if you take the course online, use only foodworkercard.wa.gov (DOH says other sites are not valid in Washington).
• Get a Washington business license. WSDA asks for a copy with your application.
• Test your well water if you have one. A private well needs a passing bacteria test from within 60 days of your application; city water needs no test, but keep a recent water bill as proof of your water source.
• Write a label for every product and variation. Use "Permit #: ____" as a placeholder until WSDA issues your number.
• Apply to WSDA for the Cottage Food Permit and pay the $355 two-year fee. Include your labels, a kitchen diagram, your sales locations, and pet or child plans if they apply. WSDA asks you not to send recipes; a reviewer may ask for one later.
• Prepare for the home-kitchen inspection. Clean prep, storage and packaging areas, and allow 6 to 8 weeks from a complete application.
• Pass inspection. If it fails, fix the issues and pay $125 for a reinspection; a second failure ends the application.
• Label every product. Include your business name, permit number and the home-kitchen statement.
• Sell. Take orders online if you like (WAC 16-149-040 allows a website if those sales end as in-person transactions), then collect payment and hand over the food in person at pickup or delivery (no shipping). Ask WSDA in writing before you take payment online.

Keep copies of every food worker card, your business license, your water test (or a recent water bill if you are on city water), the recipe for every product and variation, receipts showing your ingredients came from approved sources, a list of your off-site sale locations and a record of your gross sales. WSDA's overview slides list those as records it can ask to see, and WAC 16-149-120 says recipes stay on file at your home.

What Does the WSDA Kitchen Inspection Check?

The WSDA inspection checks that your kitchen and every area named in your application can produce food safely, using a home kitchen with residential appliances, not commercial equipment. WSDA inspects the kitchen, the packaging area, the restroom and the storage areas for both ingredients and finished products.

What inspectors look for, from WSDA's FAQ and RCW 69.22.040:

• Cleanable surfaces. Food contact surfaces must be smooth and easy to clean. Carpet and rugs are not allowed in the prep area, though cleanable anti-fatigue mats are.
• A way to wash, rinse and sanitize. You do not need a three-compartment sink; a home dishwasher works, or a tub can serve as the third compartment.
• Separate storage, not a separate fridge. A shelf set aside for cottage food products is enough.
• Storage inside the home. No detached garage, shed or barn.
• Nothing else happening during production. No family meal prep, laundry or guests in the kitchen while you make cottage food.
• No young kids or pets in the kitchen while you work. If children under 6 or pets will be in your home while you work, you submit a plan that keeps them out of the work area during production.
• Hand washing and no bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food, using gloves, bakery papers or tongs.

The kitchen must be in your primary home. WSDA's FAQ rules out vacation homes, motor homes, rented kitchens and outbuildings. RCW 69.22.010 also excludes group or communal living settings, though an apartment or rental where you actually live counts.

What Must a Washington Cottage Food Label Include?

Every Washington cottage food label must carry the details below, set out in RCW 69.22.020 and WAC 16-149-110; all of them are always required except the nutrition line, which applies only when you make a nutrition claim:

• Your business name and WSDA permit number
• The product name, matching the name on your permit
• The ingredients, in order from most to least by weight, with sub-ingredients (not "flour" but the flour's full ingredient list)
• Allergen information under federal rules: milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, sesame, the specific tree nut, fish and crustacean shellfish
• The net weight or net volume
• Nutrition information, only if you make a nutrition claim like "low fat"
• A statement noting the food was made in a home kitchen not subject to standard inspection: the law's exact wording (RCW 69.22.020) is "Made in a home kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria," printed in at least 11-point type in a color that contrasts with the label

A few rules that catch new vendors:

• You no longer need your home address on the label, according to WSDA's FAQ.
• Hand-printed labels are fine if they are legible, in permanent ink and at least 11-point size.
• Wedding and specialty cakes that cannot hold a sticker get a printed ingredient sheet delivered with the cake.
• A dozen muffins sold together can share one ingredient sheet.
• Cupcakes need their own label even when they use your cake recipe.
• Alcohol as an ingredient adds the line "This product contains liquor and the alcohol content is one percent or less of the weight of the product."

See our cottage food labeling guide for templates, and the Big 9 allergen guide for how to write the allergen line.

Where Can You Sell Cottage Foods in Washington?

You can sell Washington cottage food anywhere you hand it to your customer in person inside Washington: from your home, at farmers markets, craft fairs, holiday bazaars, festivals, charitable events and your own farm stand. WAC 16-149-040 and 16-149-060 say you must post a copy of your permit where customers can see it at every place you sell, including markets, fairs, events and sales from your home. Allowed fulfillment:

• Customer pickup at your home
• In-person delivery directly to the end consumer
• In-person sales at farmers markets, fairs and events
• Sales from a shop you run yourself, if every product is fully labeled (WSDA's example is a baker selling from her own antique shop)

All sales are direct to the consumer: no wholesale, and no selling through someone else's store. WSDA's rule, FAQ and overview slides rule out:

• Shipping by mail or courier, and third-party delivery companies
• Mail order
• Consignment, wholesale, brokers or distributors
• Selling to restaurants or grocery stores for resale
• Any sale outside Washington

WSDA's internet FAQ and its rule (WAC 16-149-040) let you advertise and take orders online (the statute and a 2026 WSDA blog post are stricter, see the payment section below), but that same FAQ says "product delivery and payments must be directly from the producer to the end consumer in a person to person transaction." So you cannot ship by mail or courier, and the FAQ's wording points to collecting payment in person rather than through an online checkout. Your city or county can also limit home businesses through zoning, and WSDA notes a city can ban home food production in areas not zoned for commerce, so check with your local planning office before you put up a pickup sign. If you plan to sell at markets, our market-day permit guide for Washington vendors covers what you need beyond the cottage food permit.

Can You Take Payment Online for Washington Cottage Food?

Not by WSDA's FAQ wording: it allows orders over the internet, but says payment and delivery happen person to person. The trouble is that six Washington sources word it differently, so get WSDA's answer in writing before you charge cards online.

Here is what each source says, word for word, as loaded on October 8 and 10, 2026:

1. The statute. RCW 69.22.020(4): cottage food products "may not be sold by internet, mail order, or for retail sale outside the state."
2. The rule. WAC 16-149-040(2): "A cottage food operation may maintain an internet website displaying available products provided any sales arising from the website are completed as in-person transactions."
3. WSDA's FAQ, Internet section. "You can advertise your products on the Internet and take orders over the Internet," then, in its answer on shipping, that delivery and payments must happen "in a person to person transaction and not delivered by mail or a courier service."
4. WSDA's FAQ, Advertising and Sales section. Cottage food products "may be sold only to the end consumer through direct sales from your home, at farmers markets, craft fairs & other public venues. Internet, mail, consignment, wholesale, & retail sales outside the state are prohibited."
5. WSDA's 2026 brochure. "You can make sales through a personal website or social media sites such as Facebook, X, or Etsy, but you cannot ship your products to customers. They must pick up the product in person."
6. WSDA's April 2026 blog post. WSDA's post for new applicants, dated April 9, 2026 and loaded October 10, 2026: "Online, wholesale, and out-of-state sales are not allowed under this permit."

Three of the six (the statute, WSDA's sales answer and its April 2026 blog post: 1, 4 and 6) ban internet or online sales outright. The rule and WSDA's internet answer (2 and 3) allow online orders as long as the sale is finished in person, and the FAQ says that includes payment. The brochure reads looser than the rest: it reads as if an online sale with in-person pickup is fine. An order a customer sends you online and pays for in cash or by card when they pick it up matches WSDA's FAQ. A card payment on a website before pickup fits only the brochure's wording, not the other five, so until WSDA settles it for you, take the order online, collect cash or tap a card in person at pickup, and keep a record.

Which Ordering Setup Fits WSDA's Person-to-Person Rule?

The ordering setup that matches WSDA's FAQ wording most closely is one where the customer pays you in person at the hand-off. That rules some tools in and puts others in the "ask WSDA first" pile:

Slide the table to see the full fee stack for each setup.

We checked Homegrown's prices on findhomegrown.com/signup and WSDA's wording on its Cottage Food Operation page on October 8, 2026. Homegrown adds no shopper fee; the 2.9% + $0.30 comes out of the vendor's side, not the customer's. The Homegrown month adds the $10-a-month plan (billed annually) to 50 card fees of $0.88 (2.9% of $20 is $0.58, plus $0.30); on monthly billing it is $56.50. The card figures for the first two rows use Square's tap, dip or swipe processing rate from squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees, loaded October 8, 2026: 2.6% of $20 is $0.52, plus $0.15, is $0.67 a sale, or $33.50 for 50. Sales tax and tips are not included.

That payment rule matters when you pick an ordering tool. A Facebook post or an Instagram direct-message thread costs nothing to run and keeps payment in person, but the orders end up scattered across messages, and you track quantities, pickup times and who has paid by hand. Etsy shows up in WSDA's brochure as a place to make sales, yet Etsy also takes payment at checkout, so it raises the same question as any online store.

Homegrown's storefront, like most online stores, takes card payment at checkout, so it does not match WSDA's person-to-person wording for a cottage food permit. Ask WSDA before you take card payments online for cottage food. If WSDA tells you online payment with in-person pickup is fine, Homegrown gives you one link where Washington customers pick from your permitted products, pay, and choose a pickup window or a local delivery slot you set, for $10 a month billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly), with no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing. For a vendor tracking a $35,000 cap, every order and payment lands in one dashboard instead of a phone full of messages.

What Homegrown does not do: there is no pay-at-pickup option, so payment always happens online at checkout. It handles pickup and local delivery only, with no shipping, and it does not track your $35,000 cap for you. Customers create a Homegrown account to place their first order, and there is no drops (timed product release) feature. Your storefront is listed on the Homegrown marketplace, but plan on most orders coming from people you send to your own link.

How Much Can You Make Selling Cottage Food in Washington?

You can gross up to $35,000 a year selling cottage food in Washington, about $673 a week, so the goal is to make the most of a fixed ceiling. The cap counts sales, not profit, which means price and margin decide how much you keep. A few ways to get the most out of it:

• Price for profit, not just cost: with a capped ceiling, margin per order matters more than raw volume. Our pricing guide for breads, cakes and cookies shows the cost-plus math.
• Favor premium products: custom cakes and gift boxes earn more per sale within the $35,000 limit.
• Take orders online if you like, but collect payment in person at pickup until WSDA confirms in writing that online payment is fine: WSDA wants payment and delivery to happen person to person, and shipping isn't allowed.
• Build repeat buyers: weekly pickup, pre-orders and a short standing menu do the most for a capped business.
• Track sales against the $35,000 cap so you know when you'd need a WSDA Food Processor License (a licensed commercial kitchen). WSDA can ask you in writing to document your gross sales.
• Renew on time: the permit covers two years, so calendar your WSDA renewal so your sales never lapse between terms.

Here is what the cap looks like in real orders. At $9 a loaf, $35,000 is about 3,890 loaves a year, roughly 75 a week. At $60 a custom cake, it is 583 cakes, about 11 a week. A vendor who sells both, 40 loaves and 5 cakes every week of the year, grosses $34,320 ($18,720 in bread plus $15,600 in cakes), just under the cap.

Two Washington rules shape that plan. The cap is counted per home, not per person, so a second baker in your kitchen adds no room under it (RCW 69.22.050). And your permit lists exact products, with amendments between renewals costing $105, so put your higher-priced products, like wedding cakes, holiday gift boxes or specialty cookie orders, on the application before you apply or renew. Because WSDA wants payment and hand-off to happen in person, setting fixed pickup windows is also how you keep that in-person step manageable as orders grow.

What Else Do You Need Besides the Cottage Food Permit?

Besides the WSDA permit, every Washington cottage food vendor needs a Food Worker Card for each person who makes the food and a Washington business license, and WSDA asks for copies of both with your application. The rest depends on where you live:

• Food Worker Card. $10 per person through your local health department or foodworkercard.wa.gov, valid statewide. The first card lasts 2 years; renewal cards last 3 or 5 years.
• Business license. Apply through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service. DOR's processing fee page sets the fee to open a new business at $50, plus any endorsement or trade name fees you need.
• Local zoning. Ask your city or county planning office about home business rules, signs and customer traffic.
• Water. A private well needs a passing bacteria test within 60 days of applying and an annual test after that.
• Septic. If you are on a septic system, WSDA says your local health department should check that it can handle the extra kitchen wastewater before you start.
• Sales tax. WSDA sends tax questions to the Department of Revenue. Ask DOR whether your products are taxable before your first market.

State law does not require a county health permit for cottage food. RCW 69.22.100 says vendors with a valid WSDA permit are not subject to permitting and inspection by a local health jurisdiction, though a farmers market can still set its own vendor rules. A county can still come into it at events: the City of Seattle's farmers market page says cottage food vendors "may still need a Temporary Food Service Business permit from King County if you are doing retail sales or providing taste testing," so call your county health department before you sell at a market or hand out samples. Our Washington market vendor permit guide covers the county permits and fees.

What Happens If You Sell Without a Permit or Go Over the Cap?

Selling cottage food without a valid permit in Washington is a misdemeanor, and a second or later violation within five years of a conviction is a gross misdemeanor. For a violation that is not prosecuted as a crime, WSDA can instead impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation per day under RCW 69.22.090. The same penalties apply to breaking any other rule in the chapter, like shipping or selling wholesale.

Going over the $35,000 cap has its own consequences:

• You stop or upgrade. WAC 16-149-040 says you must cease cottage food operations for the rest of that permit period or calendar year, or get a WSDA food processing plant license, the same Food Processor License WSDA's FAQ names for wholesale.
• No refunds. RCW 69.22.050 says you get no full or partial refund of your permit fees.
• Your permit is at risk. RCW 69.22.070 lists exceeding the sales limit as a reason WSDA can deny, suspend or revoke a permit after a hearing.

If you are close to the cap with months to go, our guide to what to do when you hit your cottage food revenue cap walks through the options, from raising prices to moving into a licensed kitchen.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid Selling Cottage Food in Washington?

The most common Washington cottage food mistakes are shipping, selling before the permit arrives, and selling a product that is not on your permit. The full list:

• Shipping products: Washington prohibits mail/courier shipping; fulfill by pickup or in-person delivery only.
• Selling before your permit is issued: you must pass inspection first, and WSDA's page says a complete application averages 6 to 8 weeks.
• Exceeding the $35,000 cap: track sales; above it you'd need a WSDA Food Processor License (a licensed commercial kitchen).
• Selling perishable or acidified foods: only low-risk foods that need no refrigeration qualify.
• Forgetting the permit number: your WSDA permit number must appear on every label.
• Renaming a product: WSDA's example is a "Peach and Blueberry Pie" that cannot become "Peach and Berry Pie" at the market. Sell it under the name on your permit.
• Taking card payment online without asking WSDA: get the answer in writing first, since WSDA's FAQ says payment happens person to person.
• Moving without reapplying: the permit covers one person and one home, so a new address means a new application and a new $355 fee.

What Recently Changed in Washington's Cottage Food Law?

The last law that changed Washington's cottage food rules was HB 1500 in 2023, which took effect July 23, 2023. When we read Chapter 69.22 RCW on October 8, 2026, no section showed a later amendment. The timeline:

• HB 1500 (2023): raised the sales cap to $35,000 (with inflation adjustments every four years) and extended the permit term from one year to two years. The governor vetoed one section, a requirement that WSDA keep enough staff for timely permit processing.
• WSDA's rule update (2024): WAC 16-149 was updated to match, effective January 11, 2024.
• HB 2703 (2026): a bill to add extracts, such as vanilla extract, to the statute's list of cottage food products was introduced on January 29, 2026 and never left the House agriculture committee. WSDA's page already allows vanilla extract that meets FDA's standard; the bill would have written extracts in general into the statute.
• A Department of Health proposal: the Department of Health has posted a plan to move cottage food operations "into the public health system" and was considering a request for the 2026 session. As of October 8, 2026, no such change had passed, and WSDA still runs the program.

Move the table sideways to compare the rules before and after 2023.

From the HB 1500 session law (Chapter 352, Laws of 2023), the House final bill report, WAC 16-149, and the House bill status page for HB 2703, all checked October 8, 2026.

The change made the program a bit more workable for growing vendors, though Washington remains a permit-and-inspection state. Always confirm current fees and rules with WSDA.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can you make selling cottage food in Washington?

Up to $35,000 in gross sales per year, per home, under Washington cottage food law. The figure was set by HB 1500 in 2023, and WSDA reviews it every four years against Seattle-area inflation. Two people baking in the same kitchen share one cap.

Do you need a permit to sell food from home in Washington?

Yes. Washington requires a WSDA Cottage Food Permit ($355 for two years) and a home-kitchen inspection before you can sell. The permit comes from the state Department of Agriculture, not DSHS or your county health department.

Can you sell cottage food online in Washington?

WSDA's internet FAQ lets you take orders online if payment and delivery happen person to person: the customer pays and picks up at your home, or you deliver and collect payment directly. Its rule (WAC 16-149-040) allows a website as long as sales are completed in person, and you cannot ship. The statute (RCW 69.22.020) bans internet sales outright, another WSDA FAQ answer and the April 2026 WSDA blog post repeat that ban, and WSDA's 2026 brochure reads looser, so check with WSDA in writing before taking payment online.

How long does the Washington cottage food permit take?

WSDA's cottage food web page says the application process averages 6 to 8 weeks from a complete application to an issued permit, because a label and application review and a kitchen inspection come first. WSDA's April 2026 post for new applicants says to allow 4 to 6 weeks instead, so plan on the longer figure. A failed inspection adds a $125 reinspection and more time.

What foods can you sell under Washington cottage food law?

Low-risk foods that need no refrigeration: breads, cakes, cookies, pies without custard or pumpkin, stovetop candies, full-sugar jams and jellies, dry mixes, granola, roasted coffee beans and vanilla extract. Meat, dairy, canned vegetables, acidified sauces and beverages are not allowed.

What label is required in Washington?

Your business name, WSDA permit number, product name, ingredients, allergens, net weight, and a statement that the food was made in a home kitchen not subject to standard inspection. The exact sentence from RCW 69.22.020 must be printed in at least 11-point type.

How much does the Washington cottage food permit cost?

$355 for a two-year permit. WSDA lists only that total, but the fees in WAC 16-149-060 (a $30 processing fee, a $75 public health review and $125 for each yearly inspection) add up to $355 when you count two inspections. A failed inspection requires a $125 reinspection fee before the permit is issued.

Can you sell cottage food wholesale in Washington?

No. Sales under the Cottage Food Permit are direct to the consumer only, so no wholesale, consignment or sales to stores and restaurants. For those, WSDA requires a Food Processor License and a licensed kitchen.

Related Reading

These guides answer the questions Washington vendors ask next:

• How to start a cottage food business in Washington, the setup steps in order, from food worker card to first sale
• Washington farmers market vendor permit guide, for what you need on market day
• Can you ship cottage food?, which states allow mail orders and why Washington does not
• Cottage food label checklist, a line-by-line check before you print labels
• Cottage food laws by state, to compare Washington with every other state

Start Selling Cottage Food in Washington

Washington asks for a permit and inspection up front, but once you're approved, WSDA's FAQ allows online orders as long as you collect payment and hand over the food in person (the statute and a 2026 WSDA blog post are stricter, so have WSDA's written OK before you move payment online). The order of work: food worker card, business license, labels with a permit-number placeholder, the $355 application, the inspection, then your first sale about 6 to 8 weeks later.

Compare the rules next door in Oregon and Idaho, or in other western states like California and Montana, or see the full cottage food laws by state hub.

Once WSDA has confirmed in writing how your customers may pay, set up your Homegrown storefront so your regulars have one link for next week's pickup instead of a string of messages.

*This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change, so verify your state's current rules with WSDA before selling. Last verified: October 10, 2026.*