Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Michigan’s cottage food exemption lets you bake or make shelf-stable food at home and sell it without a license, registration, or kitchen inspection, as long as gross sales stay at or under $50,000 a year ($75,000 if every item sells for $250 or more) and every package carries the state’s exact home-kitchen disclaimer. Sales have to stay direct to the end consumer: in person, at a farmers market, or by internet or mail order inside Michigan with a chance for the buyer to talk to you first. None of this touches federal nutrition labeling: a Nutrition Facts panel isn’t required for a cottage food product unless your label makes a nutrient content or health claim, or your product leaves the exemption for wholesale or retail.
| Quick facts | Michigan |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | $50,000/yr gross ($75,000 if items sell $250+ each) |
| Permit or registration | None; no license, registration, or inspection |
| Sales channels | Direct, plus in-state online/mail order with consumer interaction |
| Online sales | In-state only |
| Required label statement | “Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim |
| Administered by | Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) |
| Governing law | MCL 289.4102 (Cottage Food Law) |
What Michigan lets you sell from home
The exemption covers non-potentially hazardous foods that don’t need refrigeration or other time/temperature control for safety (MCL 289.4102). MDARD’s product list includes shelf-stable breads, cookies, cakes, and pies; hard candy, chocolate-covered items, and maple candy without alcohol; vinegars, nut butters, and oils flavored only with dried herbs or spices; granola, dried herb blends, dehydrated fruits and vegetables (except melons, tomatoes, and leafy greens), and dry soup or dip mixes; jams and jellies in glass jars that meet federal standards for room-temperature storage; and cultivated or properly identified wild mushrooms (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/what-can-i-make). Frosting is limited to commercially prepared shelf-stable versions or two specific lab-tested buttercream recipes MDARD names on that page.
Off the list: anything requiring refrigeration, canned or pickled foods, fermented foods, fresh pasta, meat, fish, dairy, beverages (including juice and kombucha), and any product with cannabis or CBD. If a food needs a thermometer to stay safe, it’s a commercial-kitchen product, not a cottage food one.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There’s no application, license, or inspection to run a Michigan cottage food operation. MDARD’s own FAQ says you don’t file paperwork with the department at all (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq). Registering with the Michigan State University Product Center is optional, not required, if that program is available.
The gross sales cap changed under Public Act 51 of 2025 (House Bill 4122), effective March 24, 2026: the ceiling moved from $25,000 to $50,000 a year, with a $75,000 tier for operations whose products all sell at $250 or more per unit (legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2025-HB-4122; farmtoconsumer.org/blog/2026/01/26/new-cottage-food-law-in-michigan). MDARD’s current guidance reflects these figures. The cap counts total gross revenue across every cottage food product you sell, not tracked recipe by recipe. Check MDARD’s cottage food page for the current indexed figure once adjustments begin.
Where you can sell
Direct sales are the rule: farmers markets, craft and church sales, roadside stands, and in-person exchanges with the buyer all qualify. The 2025 update also lets a cottage food operation take orders by internet or mail, or use a third-party delivery platform, provided the consumer has an opportunity to interact directly with you before the sale goes through, and provided the sale stays inside Michigan (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq). A farm stand or retail counter can’t act as a pickup go-between for someone else’s cottage food orders.
Not allowed: consignment, wholesale distribution, and placing product in a retail store for sale by someone other than you. MDARD describes online and mail-order sales as an in-state option. Treat interstate shipping as outside the exemption rather than a gray area to test.
What has to be on the label
Every Michigan cottage food package needs, per MDARD’s labeling guidance (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/labeling):
- Product name
- Ingredients listed in descending order by weight, including sub-ingredients of any prepared component
- Allergen disclosure identifying milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, fish, shellfish, or tree nuts (naming the specific nut)
- Net weight or volume, with a metric equivalent
- Your home kitchen’s physical address (a P.O. box doesn’t count), or your MSU Product Center registration number and phone number if you’ve voluntarily registered
- The required disclaimer, below
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
(michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/labeling)
The disclaimer has to print in type at least 11 points (about 1/8 inch tall) with clear contrast against its background; all-capitals or mixed case is fine. For specialty cakes like wedding or birthday cakes, all of this information can appear on the delivery invoice instead of the cake itself, though smaller boxed cakes still need an external label.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Cottage food sold under Michigan’s exemption doesn’t need a Nutrition Facts panel: the state’s disclaimer stands in for it. That exemption has one hard edge: the moment a label, package, or even a caption on a sales post makes a nutrient content claim (“low sugar,” “high protein,” “good source of fiber”) or a health claim, your product is making a claim FDA regulates under 21 CFR 101.9, and the cottage food carve-out doesn’t cover that. The same is true the day you move your product into wholesale or a retail store, since that step exits the cottage food exemption entirely and puts your product under standard federal labeling.
That’s usually the point where NutriLabels gets the call, and a finished panel means a “low sugar” post can go up with the numbers already behind it. Enter your recipe, then see your label: the calorie count, the nutrient content claims you qualify for and your allergen line show free, no card required, while every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, plus the ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print. Start your label whenever a claim, a co-packer, or a retailer’s shelf makes the panel necessary, or compare Michigan with other states’ cottage food laws.
Sources
Michigan cottage food FAQ
What is the Michigan cottage food sales limit?
Up to $50,000 in gross annual sales, or $75,000 if every item you sell is priced at $250 or more per unit (michigan.gov/mdard). Sales are counted across all your cottage food products combined, not per recipe.
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from home in Michigan?
No. MDARD does not require a food establishment license, registration, or kitchen inspection for a cottage food operation that stays within the statute's food list and sales cap (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq).
Can I sell Michigan cottage food online or ship it?
You can take internet or mail orders and use a third-party delivery platform, as long as the buyer gets a chance to interact with you directly before paying and the sale stays inside Michigan (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq). Shipping out of state is not part of the exemption.
What does the Michigan cottage food label have to say?
"Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development," in type at least 11 points, plus the product name, ingredient list, allergens, net weight, and your home address or MSU Product Center number (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/labeling).
Can I sell cottage food at a farmers market or wholesale to a store in Michigan?
Farmers markets, craft shows, and roadside stands are fine as direct sales. Consignment sales and wholesale or retail-store placement are not allowed under the cottage food exemption (michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq).
When does a Michigan cottage food maker need a real Nutrition Facts label?
The cottage food exemption doesn't require one, but making any nutrient content claim (like "low sugar") or moving product into wholesale or retail triggers standard FDA labeling under 21 CFR 101.9.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin. See the full state-by-state table.
Sources
- legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL
- michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food
- michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/getting-started-faq
- michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/labeling
- michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food/what-can-i-make
- legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill
- farmtoconsumer.org/blog/2026/01/26/new-cottage-food-law-in-michigan