Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Oregon’s home baking exemption (ORS 616.723) lets you sell packaged, shelf-stable foods like baked goods and confections without a Department of Agriculture license, as long as your annual gross sales stay under a cap that adjusts yearly for inflation ($52,700 under the department’s current guidance), and every package carries the state’s exact homemade-food disclaimer. Sales can go direct to consumers anywhere, including online and by mail, and even wholesale to a retailer if the product is labeled as homemade and kept on a separate shelf. None of this touches federal nutrition labeling: a Nutrition Facts panel isn’t required for an exempt product unless your label makes a nutrient content or health claim.
| Quick facts | Oregon |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | $52,700/yr gross, CPI-adjusted |
| Permit or registration | None if exempt; Domestic Kitchen license for other foods |
| Sales channels | Direct, online/mail, plus retail if labeled & separated |
| Online sales | Yes |
| Required label statement | “This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim |
| Administered by | Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), Food Safety Program |
| Governing law | Or. Rev. Stat. § 616.723 (Home Baking Exemption) |
What Oregon lets you sell from home
ORS 616.723 exempts food establishments operating in a residential dwelling from ODA licensing for products that are “packaged and not potentially hazardous,” and lists baked goods, confectionary items, coffee beans, teas, popcorn, jams, jellies, honey, syrups, fruit butters, nut mixes, repackaged freeze-dried foods, repackaged dried and dehydrated foods, and powdered drink mixes (oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_616.723). The Department of Agriculture’s own cottage food fact sheet adds freeze-dried confectionary items to that list and notes jams, jellies, and fruit butters must have a pH below 4.60 (oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/FoodSafety/CottageFoodExemptionENG.pdf).
Off the exempt list: anything time/temperature-controlled for safety (cream-filled pastries, custard, cheesecake, fresh pasta, meat, dairy products beyond a commercial ingredient baked into a shelf-stable item), plus anything containing marijuana. Home-dried or home-freeze-dried ingredients and breads with vegetables or cheese mixed into the dough generally fall outside the exemption too, since they’re not on the statute’s list or don’t meet the “not potentially hazardous” test.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
You file nothing with ODA to start selling (the exemption is self-executing under ORS 616.723), but a food handler card is required, and the kitchen can’t double as a space for non-food home activities while product is being made. Making something off the exempt list, such as a cream-filled pastry, generally means applying for ODA’s Domestic Kitchen Bakery or Processor license instead, which brings kitchen inspection and a fee scaled to gross sales, from $179 up to $950 for the bakery category (oregon.gov/ODA/Documents/Publications/FoodLicenseFeeSchedule.pdf). Low-acid canned foods, dairy processing, meat, animal food, and catering can’t be done under either path.
The sales cap changed with Senate Bill 643 (2023), effective January 1, 2024: it replaced the prior $20,000 ceiling with a $50,000 base that now adjusts every year for the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB643). ODA’s March 2026 guidance lists the current figure as $52,700 a year (oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/FoodSafety/CottageFoodExemptionENG.pdf); check that fact sheet for the latest indexed number, since it moves annually.
Where you can sell
The exemption covers selling “directly to the end user in any manner, including from the home, online, through the mail and at events,” which is a broad grant compared with many states. SB 643 specifically struck the old ban on internet sales (olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1). Farmers markets, craft fairs, roadside stands, and shipped online orders within Oregon are all fine.
Wholesale is allowed too: you can sell to a retail store if your product carries the required homemade label and the retailer stores and displays it separately from commercially produced food. What’s off the table is selling to institutions: restaurants, caterers, schools, daycares, hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities are named exclusions in the statute. Selling across state lines depends on the destination state’s own rules; Oregon’s statute doesn’t extend its exemption beyond state sales.
What has to be on the label
Every product sold under Oregon’s home baking exemption needs, per ORS 616.723 and ODA’s fact sheet:
- Product name
- Ingredients listed in descending order by weight or volume
- Business name and phone number
- Business address (a full address, an abbreviated address paired with a current city directory listing, or an ODA-issued Unique Identification Number in place of the address)
- Net weight or volume, in both U.S. customary and metric units
- Allergen declarations where applicable, consistent with federal allergen labeling
- A statement disclosing the presence of pets in the home, if applicable
- The required homemade disclaimer, below
This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.
(oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_616.723; oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/FoodSafety/CottageFoodExemptionENG.pdf)
ODA’s guidance sets a minimum type size for label text: lowercase letters at least 1/16 inch in height, with enough contrast to read easily. A Unique Identification Number, when you use one instead of printing your home address, costs $25 to obtain from ODA.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Oregon’s home baking exemption doesn’t require a Nutrition Facts panel; the required disclaimer and ingredient list stand in for it. The statute itself draws the line: nutritional information becomes necessary the moment a product carries a nutrient content or health claim, such as “low sugar” or “high fiber,” anywhere on the package or in how it’s marketed. The same claim rule applies under FDA’s own regulation, 21 CFR 101.9, regardless of what a state cottage food law says. Moving your product into a co-packer’s production run or standard wholesale/interstate distribution beyond what the exemption covers also puts it under ordinary federal labeling.
A panel built from your recipe means your product reaches a retailer’s separate shelf with every number it needs. Enter your recipe, then see your label: free with no card required, you see your calories, the claims you qualify for, your allergen line and the nutrient to watch, and every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, the ingredient statement, the allergen declaration, and every FDA format your product qualifies for; or send us the recipe and we build it (done-for-you, $249, within 5 business days). Start your label whenever a claim, a co-packer, or a retailer’s shelf makes the panel necessary, or compare Oregon with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Sources
Oregon cottage food FAQ
What is Oregon's cottage food sales limit?
$52,700 in gross annual sales as of the Department of Agriculture's current guidance, since ORS 616.723 sets a $50,000 base that adjusts every year with the West Region Consumer Price Index (oregon.gov/oda).
Do I need a license to sell home-baked goods in Oregon?
No, if the product is on the exempt list and you stay under the sales cap. ORS 616.723 exempts a residential-dwelling operation from ODA licensing for packaged, non-potentially-hazardous items like baked goods and confections (oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_616.723).
Can I sell Oregon cottage food online or ship it out of state?
Yes, in state. SB 643 (2023) removed the old ban on internet sales, so the exemption now covers selling directly to the end user "in any manner, including from the home, online, through the mail and at events" (olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1). Shipping across state lines depends on the receiving state's own rules.
Can an Oregon home baker sell to a store?
Yes, ORS 616.723 allows wholesale to a retailer as long as the product is labeled as homemade and the retailer stores and displays it separately from commercially made food (oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_616.723). Sales to restaurants, caterers, schools, hospitals, and similar institutions are not allowed.
What foods need a Domestic Kitchen license instead of the exemption?
Anything outside the exempt list (fresh pastries with cream fillings, breads with vegetables or cheese baked in, and other non-potentially-hazardous foods not named in the statute) can often qualify for ODA's Domestic Kitchen Bakery or Processor license instead, which adds an inspection and a fee based on gross sales (oregon.gov/oda/food-safety/fs-licensing/pages/domestic-kitchen.aspx). Low-acid canned foods, dairy, meat, and catering are off-limits either way.
When does an Oregon cottage food maker need a real Nutrition Facts label?
The home baking exemption doesn't require one, but the statute itself flips that the moment a label carries a nutrient content or health claim, and standard FDA labeling under 21 CFR 101.9 also applies once a product moves into ordinary wholesale or retail food-establishment channels beyond what the exemption covers.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Washington, California, Idaho. See the full state-by-state table.
Sources
- oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_616.723
- oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors616.html
- olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB643
- oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/…/CottageFoodExemptionENG.pdf
- oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/…sticKitchensLicensingReq.pdf
- oregon.gov/oda/Documents/Publications/…DomesticKitchensLawsRegs.pdf
- oregon.gov/oda/food-safety/fs-licensing/pages/domestic-kitchen.aspx
- oregon.gov/ODA/Documents/Publications/…y/FoodLicenseFeeSchedule.pdf
- extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-9192-oregons-home-baking-bill