Cottage food laws in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Maryland does not license cottage food businesses. The Department of Health describes home cooks making foods that do not need refrigeration, such as breads, cakes, cookies, fruit jams and jellies, and candy, in a residential kitchen with yearly sales up to fifty thousand dollars. Older pages online may show a lower figure, so check the current guidelines.

Products are prepackaged at home and labeled with the business name and address (or a state ID number), ingredients, net weight, allergens and the statement that the food was made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland's food safety regulations.

• Sales are limited to Maryland: farmers markets, bake sales, public events, personal delivery or mail, and retail food stores after label and food safety course review.
• Selling a food that needs a permit, such as one that must be kept hot or cold, moves you out of the cottage category. Ask your county health department.
• Event days are separate: a vendor cooking or serving food at a fair usually needs a temporary food license from the county health department.

Under the home food processing exemption in Virginia law, qualifying home producers need no inspection, permit or inspection fee from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). The exemption covers foods that do not need refrigeration, such as baked goods, candies, jams and jellies, dry mixes and roasted coffee, plus honey from your own hives.

You must label products and sell only inside Virginia, directly to individuals for their own use, at any location including a market. You cannot sell for resale, on consignment, to businesses or across state lines. Acidified vegetables and honey have their own separate limits.

• A market or event may still ask for more than the law does, so ask the organizer for its food rules before you apply.
• A food vendor serving more than samples of manufactured food, or cooking at an event, can need a Temporary Food Establishment permit from the local health department.

DC works differently from its neighbors. A DC cottage food business is on a registry kept by DC Health, and DC Health inspects the residential kitchen before you operate. DC Health's applicant guidance lists a home occupancy permit, a certified food protection manager certificate with the DC-issued ID card, proof of calibrated scales if you sell by weight, an application, and a review fee of fifty dollars. The health certificate lists the foods you are approved to make and is valid for two years.

Only foods that need no refrigeration once prepared qualify, and every product must be approved before you sell it. DC Health's older guidance said internet sales and wholesale were not allowed. The DC Food Policy Council reports a 2025 law change allowing online sales within the District and wholesale to licensed DC food establishments, so read the current DC Health page before you plan your sales.

A home baker in Maryland who sells at a Virginia market is not covered by Maryland's rules there, and the reverse is true too. Both Maryland and Virginia tie the cottage food category to selling inside their own state, and DC ties its registry to a DC kitchen and DC sales.

• Check the rules of the state where you sell, not only where you bake.
• Our cottage food study compares every state's gate, sales limit and market rules at /permits/data/cottage-food-laws-by-state.
• Keep your licenses, permits and insurance certificates on file and reuse them across applications.

This guide summarizes official sources and is not legal or tax advice. Rules, limits and fees change; confirm with the agency before you sell.

Cottage food rules were last read against the sources below on 2026-10-11. Call the Maryland Department of Health or your county health department, VDACS, or DC Health at the number on its site to confirm what applies to your exact product.

Facts on this page come from these sources, checked on 2026-10-11. Details change; tell us at hello@bzar.app if something here is out of date.

1. https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03.27
2. https://health.maryland.gov/qahealth/environmental-health/Documents/MDH%20Cottage%20Food%20Businesses%20Guidelines.pdf
3. https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03/index.full.html
4. https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/homefoodexemptionsfaq.pdf
5. https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/dairy-farmers-market-vendors.shtml
6. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/food-safety-in-virginia/tfe/
7. https://dchealth.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Important%20Information%20for%20Cottage%20Food%20Business%20Applicants.pdf
8. https://dchealth.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Important%20Information%20for%20Cottage%20Food%20Business%20Registry%20Applicants.pdf
9. https://dchealth.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Cottage%20Food%20FAQs-%20Apr%202018.pdf
10. https://dcfoodpolicy.org/2026/03/02/cottage-food-act-regulations/