Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Colorado’s Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. 25-4-1614) lets you sell directly to consumers from your home kitchen with no license, permit, or kitchen inspection: just a food safety course and a cap of $10,000 in net revenue per calendar year for each eligible food product. The label has to carry a specific home-kitchen-and-allergen disclaimer, worded exactly as the statute sets it out. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once a nutrient content or health claim enters the picture. A significant expansion, HB26-1033, has already been signed into law but doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2027. It’s worth planning around now.
| Quick facts | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | $10,000/product/yr (→$150k, 2027) |
| Permit or registration | No permit; food safety course required |
| Sales channels | Direct to consumer only, in-state |
| Online sales | In-state only |
| Required label statement | “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, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient or health claim |
| Administered by | Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability |
| Governing law | Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. 25-4-1614) |
What Colorado lets you sell from home
Current law limits you to nonpotentially hazardous foods: pickled fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, flour, baked goods, candies, fruit empanadas, and tortillas, plus other shelf-stable items that don’t require refrigeration (C.R.S. 25-4-1614(2)(b)(I)). Whole eggs are allowed up to 250 dozen per month (25-4-1614(2)(b)(II)). Anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe (dairy fillings, fresh meat, seafood, most sauces and salsas outside the pickled/acidified category) falls outside the exemption today.
That changes on January 1, 2027. HB26-1033 (signed June 4, 2026) adds a narrow category of temperature-controlled foods containing meat (tamales, burritos, and tortas are named specifically), but the law lets you sell only one such product, with up to 5 variations of it, and adds required training on time-and-temperature control, annual registration with CDPHE, and strict transport limits (no more than one transport leg, capped at two hours) (leg.colorado.gov, HB26-1033 enrolled text).
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There’s no license or inspection under the current Cottage Foods Act: the only gate is training. The statute requires a food safety course covering basic food handling that’s comparable to what CSU Extension or a public health agency offers before you sell anything (25-4-1614(2)(c)). CSU Extension’s own “Food Safety Training for Cottage Food Producers” runs about 3.5 hours and its certificate is valid for three years (extension.colostate.edu). The revenue cap is measured per product, not per producer: net revenues of $10,000 or less per calendar year from the sale of each eligible food product (25-4-1614(2)(e)): sell three different jam flavors and each one gets its own $10,000 ceiling.
HB26-1033 raises that cap to $150,000 in gross revenue per eligible product per year, with CDPHE required to adjust it annually for inflation using the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI, and it adds an annual CDPHE registration requirement naming the products you plan to sell. None of that is live yet: the amended version of 25-4-1614 doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2027 (leg.colorado.gov, HB26-1033). If you’re building a 2026 label, the $10,000 cap and no-registration rule still apply; a 2027 label refresh is a reasonable thing to plan for now.
Where you can sell
Sales have to go directly from you to an informed end consumer (home sales, farm stands, farmers markets, and similar in-person or direct arrangements) and only within Colorado; the statute bars sales that involve interstate commerce (25-4-1614(2)(d)). Selling through a retailer, restaurant, grocery store, or on consignment isn’t covered by the exemption. Online orders fulfilled with in-state delivery or local pickup fit the direct-sale, in-state framework; shipping your product across state lines does not.
What has to be on the label
Every product needs a label with (C.R.S. 25-4-1614(3)(a)):
- Identification of the product
- The producer’s name, the address where the food was prepared, and a current phone number or email address
- The date the food was produced
- A complete list of ingredients
- The required disclaimer, verbatim
“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, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.” (C.R.S. 25-4-1614(3)(a)(V))
For products sold at a point of sale where the item itself isn’t individually labeled (a farmers-market table, for instance), the statute allows a shorter sign-posted version instead: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale.” The statute doesn’t set a minimum type size for either version, but both need to be legible on the package or the point-of-sale signage.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Colorado’s cottage food exemption doesn’t touch federal nutrition labeling: it’s a state exemption from licensure, not an FDA exemption from 21 CFR 101.9. In practice, if your home-produced product carries no nutrient content or health claim, it already falls under the FDA’s small-business or low-volume exemptions that cover most cottage producers. That protection ends the moment a claim shows up (“high fiber,” “low sugar,” “good source of protein”) on the package, at a farmers-market sign, or in an Instagram caption. Once a claim exists anywhere, your product needs a standard Nutrition Facts panel built to the FDA’s rounding and %DV rules, regardless of your Colorado revenue or registration status.
Having the panel ready before “good source of protein” goes on a sign means that claim has numbers behind it from the first day. Enter your recipe, then see your label: your calories, the claims you qualify for and your allergen line are free, no card required, and 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, the ingredient statement and the allergen declaration, ready to print, or send us the recipe and we build it (done-for-you, $249, within 5 business days). Start your label, or compare Colorado with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Colorado cottage food FAQ
Does Colorado require a permit to sell homemade food?
No. The Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. 25-4-1614) doesn't require a license, permit, or kitchen inspection. You just need to complete an approved food safety course before selling (law.justia.com).
What's the revenue cap for Colorado cottage food producers?
Currently $10,000 or less in net revenue per calendar year for each eligible food product. HB26-1033 raises that to $150,000 per product, adjusted annually for inflation, but that change doesn't take effect until January 1, 2027 (law.justia.com; leg.colorado.gov).
Can I sell tamales or other meat products under Colorado's cottage food law?
Not yet. Current law limits sales to non-potentially-hazardous foods that don't need refrigeration. Starting January 1, 2027, HB26-1033 allows one temperature-controlled product with meat (such as tamales, burritos, or tortas) with up to 5 variations, plus stricter training and transport rules (leg.colorado.gov).
Can I sell cottage food online or ship it in Colorado?
Sales have to go directly to an informed end consumer within Colorado, with no interstate commerce. Online orders fulfilled by in-state delivery or pickup fit within that rule; shipping out of state does not (law.justia.com).
What food safety training does Colorado require?
A course covering basic food handling that's comparable to Colorado State University Extension's Food Safety Training for Cottage Food Producers, a State Food Safety food handler card, or a local public health agency's course; CSU Extension's certificate is valid for three years (extension.colostate.edu).
What disclaimer has to be on a Colorado cottage food label?
The exact sentence set by C.R.S. 25-4-1614(3)(a)(V): \"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, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.\"
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas. See the full state-by-state table.