How to Start a Cottage Food Business in Colorado (2026)

For the step where you set up a way to take orders, you can set up a Homegrown storefront and try it free for 7 days.

Colorado keeps the start of a home food business simple. You do not apply for a license or wait for an inspector. You take a food safety class, make food from the approved list, label it the way CDPHE asks, and sell it directly to the people who will eat it.

The rules change on January 1, 2027, so the rules you start under this fall are not the rules you will sell under in January. This guide is the setup playbook: what to do first, what it costs, how long it takes, and how to set up your first month so the 2027 switch is easy. For the full rulebook (every allowed food, every label line, both sets of rules side by side), read our Colorado cottage food law guide.

How Do You Start a Cottage Food Business in Colorado? (Step by Step)

You start a Colorado cottage food business in eight steps. The food safety course usually sets your start date, because classes run on set days; the rest is setup that takes 2 to 5 days or so, for up to about $178 in fixed costs (the cost section below itemizes it). Here is the order that saves you from redoing work:

• Check that you qualify. CDPHE's Cottage Foods Checklist says you must be a Colorado resident, operating alone as a sole proprietor or through an LLC with two or fewer owners.
• Pick your first product from the approved list. Today that means foods that do not need refrigeration to stay safe, such as bread, cookies, jam, granola or roasted coffee beans. If you are unsure, email CDPHE at cdphe_mfgfd@state.co.us before you buy ingredients.
• Take a food safety course. CSU Extension's 3.5-hour class is the common pick. A food handlers card or a local health agency class also counts. Keep the certificate.
• Design and print your label. Seven details go on every package, including CDPHE's exact home-kitchen disclaimer. The label section below walks through each line.
• Make your point-of-sale sign. One printed card for your table, and the same sentence on your online ordering page.
• Get a Colorado sales tax license. Most vendors need one; the tax section below covers the one exception. Register at MyBizColorado. Event-only sellers can look at the special event license instead.
• Set up how customers order and pay. A booth, a porch pickup, an online storefront, or all three. Every sale stays inside Colorado.
• Start a sales log for each product. Through 2026 the cap counts each product separately, and from 2027 it counts everything together, so one log with a column per product handles both.

Then plan one more step for late 2026: register with CDPHE as soon as its system opens, so you can keep selling on January 1, 2027.

Do You Need a Cottage Food License in Colorado?

You do not need one: Colorado has no cottage food license, no permit fee and no routine kitchen inspection today. After the 2027 changes there is still no license and no routine inspection, but the new registration's cost is not known yet: CDPHE had posted no fee for it as of October 10, 2026, and HB26-1033 does not name one. When people search for a "Colorado cottage food license," the thing they actually need is a food safety training certificate, and from 2027 a yearly registration number from CDPHE. Two other licenses sit outside the cottage food law: a Colorado sales tax license, and a local business license if your city or county requires one.

Here is what each piece means in plain terms:

• Training certificate (required now). Proof you finished an approved food safety course. CDPHE's Cottage Foods Act page says producers must "complete a food safety training course prior to starting a cottage foods business."
• Registration (required from January 1, 2027). A yearly sign-up with CDPHE where you list the types of food you plan to sell. The enrolled HB26-1033 says you must "annually register with the department before selling any food," and that CDPHE will issue each vendor a registration number.
• Inspection (only if something goes wrong). CDPHE's 2027 FAQ says you are exempt from licensing and inspection, but a product that is misbranded, draws a consumer complaint, or is linked to an illness can lead to an investigation, inspection or product sampling.

That means $0 in license or permit fees today. So the honest answer to "how do I get a cottage food license in Colorado?" is: take the class this month, and watch for CDPHE's registration to open before January. On CDPHE's Tamale Act menu, read October 10, 2026, "Complaints and Registration" was still marked "Coming Soon," and no registration fee had been posted.

Which Food Safety Course Should You Take in Colorado?

The usual pick is CSU Extension's Food Safety Training for Colorado Cottage Food Producers, a 3.5-hour class with a certificate that lasts three years. CDPHE lists it first and says more than 2,020 cottage food producers have earned its certificate since 2014. CDPHE accepts any one of three options, so pick the one that fits your schedule:

1. CSU Extension's cottage food class. CSU's course page lists eight sessions of the full cottage food course (not counting the shorter UPDATE classes) from October 19 to December 17, 2026, all marked "Statewide/Online." The October 21 class listed a ticket price of $55.20 on Eventbrite and showed as sold out on October 10, 2026. The November 10 class showed the same $55.20 price with tickets available.
2. A food handlers card from StateFoodSafety. CDPHE names this online course as an option. StateFoodSafety's Colorado page describes it as self-paced with a certificate you can download right away, valid for three years in most Colorado counties and two years in Boulder, El Paso, Jefferson, Mesa and Routt counties.
3. A class from your local public health agency. Some county agencies run food safety classes for restaurant staff. Call yours to ask if cottage food producers can attend.

Why CSU is the usual pick: its class is built around the Colorado Cottage Food Act, and CSU says its September through December 2026 classes were updated for the 2027 law, including cooking, cold holding and hot holding temperatures for the new foods. If you plan to sell tamales or another refrigerated food in 2027, that part of the class is the point.

Already hold a CSU certificate? CSU runs two-hour UPDATE classes on the 2027 rules. They cost nothing if you took CSU's course between January and August 2026, and $10 for other current certificate holders. CSU also offers a separate live Zoom class called Passion into Profits on the business side of cottage food, with a session listed for October 22, 2026. Our guide to getting a food handlers permit explains how food handler cards work in general.

Should You Start Now or Wait for the 2027 Rules?

Start now if your product is already on today's list, such as bread, cookies, jam or granola. You can sell for the rest of 2026 under today's rules, then register in time for January. Waiting only makes sense if the food you want to sell is not legal until 2027, like tamales, jerky or cheesecake.

Here is how your setup work changes depending on when you open:

Scroll sideways to see both columns.

We checked both columns on CDPHE's Cottage Foods Act page, its Tamale Act pages and the enrolled HB26-1033 on October 10, 2026. CDPHE labels its Tamale Act pages "for information purposes only" until January 1, 2027.

One practical tip from that table: if you open in the fall, print a small batch of labels. A full year's supply will be out of date in January.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Cottage Food Business in Colorado?

You can start a Colorado cottage food business for up to about $178 in fixed costs before ingredients and packaging, and $50 of that is a refundable sales tax deposit. There is no license fee and no inspection fee. Here is the itemized budget, with every price checked on October 10, 2026:

Scroll sideways to see where each price came from.

Prices checked October 10, 2026 on CSU Extension's Eventbrite listing, the Colorado Department of Revenue's Sales Tax Guide, avery.com and CDPHE's Cottage Foods Act and Tamale Act pages. The Avery price was a sale price; the regular price listed was $70.43.

What is not in that table depends on you:

• Ingredients for your first batch. Price this from your own recipe and your own grocery receipts.
• Packaging. Bags, boxes or jars in food-grade material, which CDPHE's checklist requires.
• A local business license. Some Colorado cities and counties require one. Call your city clerk.
• An online storefront, if you want one. Homegrown is $10 a month billed annually or $12.50 billed monthly, with a 7-day trial and no charge until day 8.
• Insurance. Not required by the cottage food law, but CDPHE's 2027 FAQ calls it "highly recommended." Our guide to product liability insurance for cottage food explains what a policy covers.

How Long Does It Take to Start in Colorado?

You can be selling within a few days to about five weeks, and the class date is what decides it. Labels, signs and a sales tax account take about 2 to 5 days, longer if you order labels online and wait for them to ship. A seat in a CSU class can take longer, since the October 21 class was full when we checked.

A realistic timeline:

• Day 1: Confirm your product is on CDPHE's list and check your HOA and zoning rules for a home business.
• Day 1 to 3: Register at MyBizColorado and apply for a sales tax license, or the special event license for event-only selling.
• Day 2 to 5: Draft your label and point-of-sale sign, print a small run, and photograph your products.
• Your class date: Finish the course. A self-paced food handlers card can be done in days. Among the CSU classes we checked, the October 21 class was full and the November 10 class had open seats.
• The day after your certificate: Make your first batch, open your ordering link, and take your first orders.

What Can You Sell as a Colorado Cottage Food Business?

Through December 31, 2026, Colorado allows foods that do not need refrigeration to stay safe, plus up to 250 dozen whole eggs a month, according to CDPHE's Cottage Foods Act page. That covers bread, cookies, jam and a long list of pantry goods:

• Breads, muffins, cookies, fruit pies and cakes without cream, custard or butter-based buttercream
• Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters and honey
• Candies such as fudge and cotton candy
• Dry spices, dry teas, dry mixes and flour
• Dehydrated and freeze-dried produce, nuts and seeds
• Roasted coffee beans
• Pickled fruits and vegetables at a finished pH of 4.6 or below
• Buttercream made with ghee or vegetable oil (butter-based buttercream is not allowed today)
• Whole eggs, kept at 33°F to 41°F in new, labeled cartons

What is off the list today: any meat, cream or custard fillings, cream cheese icing, sauces, condiments, beverages, pumpkin and cream pies, cut fresh produce, and anything with CBD or THC. CDPHE's site also has a five-question quiz on its Cottage Foods Act page that tells you if a product is "likely an eligible Cottage Food."

What changes on January 1, 2027. Shelf-stable foods stay unlimited. You may add one type of food that needs refrigeration, in up to five variations at a time, and meat from USDA-inspected or exempt sources. CDPHE's 2027 list of approved examples includes tamales, burritos, soups, jerky, cheesecakes, cream cheese frosting, refrigerated salsa and kombucha. The full lists, including what stays banned in 2027, are in our Colorado cottage food law guide. If tamales are your plan, our guide to selling tamales from home covers the product side.

How to choose your first product, if you have not yet:

1. Pick something on today's list so you can sell this year, not next year.
2. Pick something you can make in a batch of 12 or more in one baking session.
3. Pick something that keeps for a few days, so a Saturday market does not leave you with Sunday waste.
4. Pick something with a clear price per unit. Our guide to pricing baked goods shows the cost-plus math.

What Are Colorado Vendors Selling on Homegrown Right Now?

Colorado vendors on Homegrown mostly sell baked goods: 66 of the 80 products listed by Colorado vendors were in the Bakery category when we pulled the catalog on October 10, 2026. That matches what today's rules make easy to sell.

Most of these vendors do not sell only single products. They sell sets.

Under today's per-product cap, a set also matters for your records. CDPHE has not said whether a "dozen variety box" counts as its own product. The cautious way is to split each box's sales across the cookies inside it, and to ask CDPHE by email (cdphe_mfgfd@state.co.us) before you log a box as its own product. Whichever way you log it, do it the same way every time.

How Do You Label Your First Colorado Product?

Every Colorado cottage food package needs seven details on its label today, and the exact disclaimer wording matters. CDPHE's Cottage Foods Checklist, linked from its Cottage Foods Act page, lists them:

• The product name
• Your name
• The physical address where the food was made
• Your current email address or phone number
• The date the food was made
• All ingredients, in descending order by weight
• The disclaimer, word for word: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, sesame, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale."

Here is what a finished label could look like for a first product: *"Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, half dozen. Made by Sam Rivera, 456 Juniper Ln, Loveland, CO. sam@example.com. Made October 14, 2026. Ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, eggs, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt."* Then the full disclaimer. Printed on Avery's 400-label pack from the cost table, each label costs about 14 cents with shipping. Two rules people miss: you cannot call a cottage food "allergen free," and "organic" cannot appear on the main label unless the product is certified.

Starting January 1, 2027, the label changes, according to CDPHE's 2027 labeling page. You swap your street address for the county where you made the food, add your CDPHE registration number, and add CDPHE's web address, cdphe.colorado.gov/dehs/cottage-foods. CDPHE's 2027 FAQ also says a QR code cannot stand in for the label.

The sign. Separate from the label, every place you sell needs a placard, sign or card with this sentence: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale." That includes your online ordering page. For a template and a line-by-line check, see our cottage food labeling guide and our cottage food label checklist.

Where Can You Sell in Colorado?

You can sell Colorado cottage food only to the person who will eat it, and only inside Colorado, under the rules on CDPHE's Cottage Foods Act page. Within that rule, you can sell in five kinds of places:

• From your home, if your HOA and local zoning allow a home business
• At farmers markets, roadside stands and CSA programs
• Online, with pickup or delivery inside Colorado
• At several markets or events on the same day, as long as you or a designated representative is at each one
• In a gift shop or similar store, but only if the store's staff act as your designated representative

What you cannot do: sell to restaurants or grocery stores, sell wholesale, cater an event, or ship or deliver across state lines. CDPHE's rule for online sales is that delivery is up to you and your customer "as long as it does not involve interstate commerce." Starting in 2027, CDPHE's Tamale Act FAQ says foods that need time and temperature control for safety, whether kept cold or kept hot, can be transported only once and for no more than 2 hours, which matters if you deliver. Our guide on whether you can ship cottage food covers how other states handle shipping.

A designated representative is someone who knows your product and can answer a customer's questions about it, like a partner running your booth while you bake. If you are headed to a market, our Colorado farmers market vendor permit guide covers county rules, sampling and market-day sales tax.

How Can Colorado Customers Order Ahead Without a Pile of Texts?

Give customers one link where they pick products, pay up front and choose a pickup time, so your bake list is set before you turn on the oven. That fits Colorado well: online sales are allowed but must stay local, and your website has to show CDPHE's home-kitchen sign. Homegrown is built for exactly that kind of local selling. It costs $10 per month billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly), with no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per order, which the vendor pays.

The parts that fit a new Colorado vendor:

• Pickup schedules with days and time windows for your porch, a market booth or both
• An order prep time, so nobody orders Saturday's loaves late Friday night
• Local delivery inside a radius you set from 1 to 25 miles; near a state line, keep it inside Colorado
• Allergens and ingredients on every listing, which mirrors what your label already says
• Sales tax on storefront orders, which Homegrown's signup page says it collects and remits for the products that need it

Here is how the full fee stack compares with two other tools:

Slide the table to see every fee for each option.

We checked these on Homegrown's signup page, Square's online store plans page and Hotplate's pricing page on October 10, 2026. Hotplate's page says who pays its fee is "your choice"; Hotplate's own post "What Hotplate does" says it charges the fee to your customer by default and that 80% of its chefs keep that default. A month of 50 orders adds the plan price to 50 card fees. In Hotplate's default row the card fee is figured on the full $21.55 the customer pays, the basis our other state guides use; Hotplate's page does not spell out which amounts its card fee is charged on. Sales tax and tips are left out. Homegrown's month uses the annual plan; on monthly billing it is $56.50.

Square's Free plan costs $6 less a month than Homegrown's annual plan at 50 orders ($8.50 less than monthly billing), and it is a sensible pick if you already use Square at your booth. Hotplate costs you less when customers cover its fee, but your customer sees $21.55 on a $20 order. Homegrown handles pickup and local delivery, not shipping, which fits Colorado's in-state rule. It does not track your $10,000 per-product cap for you, and it has no drops or countdown-release feature. Customers create a Homegrown account to place their first order. Your storefront is listed on the Homegrown marketplace, but plan on most orders coming from people you send to your own link.

Once your certificate is done and your labels are printed, open a Homegrown storefront, paste CDPHE's sign sentence into your about section, and print your link on your booth card so market regulars can order next week's pickup.

How Much Can You Make Selling Cottage Food in Colorado?

Through December 31, 2026, Colorado has no total ceiling, only a $10,000 net revenue ceiling on each product, so a vendor with five products near their caps could reach $50,000 in net revenue while every product stays legal. From January 1, 2027, the ceiling is $150,000 in total gross sales a year, about $2,884.62 a week, and CDPHE adjusts it for inflation every year.

Here is what those numbers look like for one product. Say your sourdough loaf sells for $10 and you sell 20 loaves a week all year. That is $10,400 in gross sales from one product. Because the 2026 cap counts net revenue, that loaf can still sit under its $10,000 line once costs come out, but you would need clean records to show it. Under the 2027 rule, the same loaf is just $10,400 toward a $150,000 total.

Two ways the switch can cut:

• A vendor with one or two best sellers gains a lot in 2027. Today one product tops out at $10,000 net. In 2027 that product can grow as far as the total cap allows.
• A vendor with a long menu and thin margins may gain less. Today 15 products can each reach $10,000 in net revenue. In 2027 everything shares one $150,000 cap, counted on gross sales before costs.

Ways to earn more under either rule:

• Sell sets. Boxes and samplers raise your average order, as the Colorado vendor tip above shows.
• Take pre-orders. You bake to the order count instead of guessing, and nothing goes stale.
• Keep a weekly pickup day. Regulars build a habit around it.
• Price for margin, not just to match the next booth. Count ingredients, packaging, card fees and your hours.
• Plan your 2027 refrigerated product now. Choose the one type and up to five versions before January.

How Do You Track Sales Against Colorado's Cap?

The simplest way to track Colorado's cap is one spreadsheet with a row for each sale, a column for each product, and a running total. That one sheet works for today's per-product rule and the 2027 total rule.

Set it up like this:

1. One column per product. Use the same product names as your labels, so your records match what customers bought.
2. Log gross sales, then costs. The 2026 cap counts net revenue, so keep ingredient and packaging receipts by product. If a product's gross sales stay under $10,000, its net does too.
3. Add a running total column. That is the number that matters from January 1, 2027.
4. Pick a rule for boxes and samplers. CDPHE has not said how a mixed box counts toward the per-product cap. The cautious way is to split each box's sales across the products inside it, and to email CDPHE at cdphe_mfgfd@state.co.us before you treat a box as its own product. Whichever way you log it, do it the same way every time.
5. Check it monthly. If one product passes about $8,000 in gross sales before December, look at its net numbers closely.

Pre-orders make this easier, because every online order already has a product name, a price and a date. Cash sales at your booth do not, so write them down before you pack up.

Do You Need an LLC or to Worry About Taxes in Colorado?

You do not need an LLC to start, but you do need to handle sales tax, and the business structure has a Colorado limit. CDPHE's Cottage Foods Checklist says you must run the business as a sole proprietor or an LLC with two or fewer owners, so a three-person LLC does not qualify for the cottage food law.

Here is the tax and business paperwork, in order:

• Register your business at MyBizColorado. CDPHE points new cottage food vendors there first.
• Get a Colorado sales tax license. Most vendors need one. The Department of Revenue's Sales Tax Guide says the only retailers who skip it are those selling only goods exempt from every state and state-collected local sales tax. Retailers who need one pay a $16 license fee, prorated by issue date, plus a $50 deposit at application. The deposit comes back once you have started selling, filed your returns, paid the tax due and sent in more than $50 in state sales tax. A retailer selling only goods exempt from state tax but subject to state-run local tax can ask to waive the deposit.
• Or use the special event license. If you only sell at events, CDPHE says to read the instructions for the Special Event Sales Tax Application (DR 0589) to see if that is all you need.
• Check your city's rate. Some home-rule cities collect their own sales tax. CDPHE points vendors to the DR 1002 publication of Colorado sales and use tax rates.
• Get a federal tax ID if you need one, through the IRS.
• Report the income. Cottage food income goes on your federal return. Our guide to cottage food taxes and Schedule C shows how.

Whether a given food is taxed depends on the item and where you sell it, so CDPHE recommends asking a qualified accountant or tax professional. On storefront orders, Homegrown's signup page says it collects and remits sales tax for the products that need it. Sales you ring up yourself at a booth are still yours to report.

An LLC mainly protects your personal assets if something goes wrong. For a side business selling cookies at one market, you can start as a sole proprietor and revisit an LLC once sales grow. Our guide to whether you need an LLC to sell food from home walks through the tradeoff.

What Mistakes Should You Avoid When Starting in Colorado?

The first mistake to rule out is treating the $10,000 cap as a total for the whole business. Through 2026 it applies to each product, and from 2027 it becomes a $150,000 total. The rest of the list:

• Selling before your course is done. CDPHE requires it before you start, and it is the step most likely to need a class date.
• Printing a year of labels in the fall. The address, registration and web-address lines change on January 1, 2027.
• Selling refrigerated foods or meat early. Tamales, jerky, cheesecake and cream cheese frosting are still not allowed in 2026.
• Forgetting the online sign. The home-kitchen sentence goes on your ordering page as well as your table.
• Shipping out of state. Online orders are fine only if the food stays in Colorado.
• Selling to a coffee shop or restaurant. Cottage food goes directly to the person who eats it.
• Skipping the sales tax license. CDPHE says cottage food sales are subject to sales tax.
• Missing the registration window. If CDPHE opens registration in December and you wait, your January sales are at risk.

From 2027, a product without a correct label counts as misbranded, which can bring a fine of up to $100 and up to $1,000 to cover CDPHE's investigation costs. Fixing a label before your first market costs you one reprint.

How Do You Get Ready for Colorado's 2027 Registration?

Get your certificate, records and menu in order now, so registration takes one sitting when CDPHE opens it. The law says you register every year before selling, list the types of food you plan to sell, and receive a registration number for your labels. Here is a short prep list:

• Keep your training certificate current. CDPHE's 2027 training page says a certificate is required to register. If yours is from CSU before 2026, consider the $10 UPDATE class.
• Write down every type of food you will sell in 2027. The registration asks for it.
• Choose your one refrigerated food type, if any. Up to five variations of it at a time. CDPHE's own example is five kinds of lasagna.
• Draft your 2027 label. Leave a blank for the registration number and add your county and CDPHE's web address.
• Watch CDPHE's Tamale Act page. Registration was still "Coming Soon" on October 10, 2026.

The law also tells CDPHE to keep a public online registry of producers, updated monthly. Once you are on it, customers will be able to look you up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a license to start a cottage food business in Colorado?

No. Colorado has no cottage food license and no routine inspection. You do need to finish an approved food safety course before your first sale, such as CSU Extension's cottage food class or a food handlers card, and from January 1, 2027 you also need a yearly registration with CDPHE.

How much does it cost to start a cottage food business in Colorado?

The fixed costs to start a cottage food business in Colorado come to up to about $178 before ingredients and packaging, based on prices checked October 10, 2026: $55.20 for a CSU online class, a sales tax license fee of up to $16 plus a $50 refundable deposit, and $56.41 for 400 Avery labels with shipping. There is no license fee, and CDPHE had not posted a 2027 registration fee.

How much can you make selling cottage food in Colorado?

Through December 31, 2026, each product can earn up to $10,000 in net revenue a year, with no limit on the number of products. Starting January 1, 2027, the limit becomes $150,000 in total gross sales a year for your whole business, adjusted each year for inflation.

What can you sell as a Colorado cottage food business?

Today you can sell foods that do not need refrigeration, such as breads, cookies, jams, honey, candy, dry mixes, roasted coffee beans and pickled produce at pH 4.6 or below, plus up to 250 dozen eggs a month. From 2027 you may add one refrigerated food type in up to five variations and meat from USDA-inspected or exempt sources.

Is Colorado's cottage food cap changing?

Yes. The Tamale Act (HB26-1033) passed in 2026, and on January 1, 2027 the $10,000 net revenue cap per product becomes one $150,000 cap on total gross sales per calendar year. CDPHE will adjust that figure every year using a Denver-area consumer price index.

How long does it take to start in Colorado?

Anywhere from a few days to about five weeks. The paperwork and labels take about 2 to 5 days, so the deciding factor is your training: a self-paced food handlers card can be done quickly, while CSU's online classes run on set dates. When we checked on October 10, 2026, CSU's October 21 class was sold out and its November 10 class had tickets.

Do you need an LLC to sell food from home in Colorado?

No. You can start a Colorado cottage food business as a sole proprietor. If you do form an LLC, CDPHE's checklist says it can have no more than two owners to qualify under the cottage food law.

How do you register a cottage food business in Colorado?

For the rest of 2026 there is nothing to register with CDPHE; you take the course and, like most vendors, get a sales tax license. Starting January 1, 2027, you must register with CDPHE every year before selling and list the foods you plan to sell. CDPHE's registration system was marked "Coming Soon" when we checked on October 10, 2026.

Related Reading

These guides answer what new Colorado vendors usually ask next:

• Colorado cottage food law, the full rulebook with today's rules and the 2027 rules side by side
• How to sell eggs from home, if your hens are part of the plan, since Colorado allows 250 dozen a month
• How to name your food business, before you print a label you will keep
• Food business plan for cottage food, to map your first year of products and prices
• How to take pre-orders for a home bakery, so you bake to the order count
• Cottage food laws by state, to compare Colorado with its neighbors

Start Your Colorado Cottage Food Business

Colorado asks for one class, a correct label and a sign, then lets you sell. Take the course, print a small run of labels, get a sales tax license if your products are taxed, and start your per-product log on day one. Then get ready for January 1, 2027: register with CDPHE when it opens, reprint labels with your number and county, and track one $150,000 total.

When you are ready to take orders, set up your Homegrown storefront for Colorado pickup and local delivery, and send your regulars one link instead of a string of texts. Compare more options in our guide to the best platform to sell food from home.

*This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change, and Colorado's change on January 1, 2027. Verify your state's current rules with CDPHE before you start selling. Last verified: October 10, 2026.*

Selling at farmers markets? See our Colorado farmers market vendor permit guide for the permits you need on market day.