Arizona cottage food law: register with ADHS, label right, and deliver by the rules

Arizona lets a registered home cook sell food made in a home kitchen of up to 1,000 square feet, after completing accredited food handler training and registering on the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) online registry, under Arizona Revised Statutes §36-931 to §36-933. The statute sets no sales cap: you may sell "to the maximum extent allowed by federal law." How you sell depends on the food. Products without dairy, meat or poultry can be sold through an agent or store and delivered by a third-party carrier. Dairy products and foods with meat or poultry can be sold in person or online, but not through delivery apps, and must be delivered in person.

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Arizona cottage food rules at a glance (October 2026)

This is general information, not legal advice. ADHS also writes rules under §36-933, so check its cottage food program before you start.

How you can sell and deliver depends on the food

Two more conditions apply whenever food needs time or temperature control and is transported before it reaches the customer: keep it at a safe temperature, move it only once, and for no longer than two hours.

A store selling your cottage food must keep it in a separate section or display case and post a sign saying it's homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection.

Meat and poultry: the statute allows them only where federal law does, such as poultry under the federal 1,000-bird exemption, or meat and poultry from an inspected source under the federal retail exemptions. Fish, shellfish, alcohol and unpasteurized milk are out.

What goes on an Arizona cottage food label?

Products are packaged at home with an attached label, printed or handwritten, that shows:

1. your name and ADHS registration number;
2. all ingredients and the production date;
3. the statement in the table above;
4. a website address provided by ADHS, where consumers can report foodborne illness and check your registration;
5. if the food was made in a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities, that fact.

Selling online: the listing must carry a prominent notice with the same items: name, registration number, ingredients, production date, the statement and the ADHS web address. Build labels with the food label maker.

Worked example: a Phoenix tamale maker's holiday season

Prices are illustrative, as of October 2026. A registered cook sells red chile pork tamales (pork from an inspected source) and prickly pear jelly. December is her peak.

The jelly has no dairy, meat or poultry, so the shop can sell it and a courier can carry it. The tamales can't go through a delivery app. Price each dozen in US dollars with the menu price calculator.

How to set up a Menuthere ordering page for Arizona rules

1. Put the online notice in every product description: your name, ADHS registration number, ingredients, production date (update it for each batch), Arizona's statement and the ADHS web address. Tick allergens too (allergens and nutrition, every plan).
2. Choose order types in Settings → Ordering → Order types (order types). If you sell anything with dairy, meat or poultry, deliver it yourself, keep the customer's own courier option off, and set a delivery radius you can cover within two hours.
3. Take holiday orders ahead with pre-orders on Lite and dishes that need notice, so you cook once and deliver in a single run.
4. Connect Stripe if you want card payments online.

Menuthere doesn't check Arizona law for you; you choose the products and options. Ask the Arizona Department of Revenue about transaction privilege tax on your sales, and see our guide to sales tax on restaurant food.

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Other states

Texas bans meat outright and requires in-person delivery for all online orders, Tennessee also allows refrigerated foods but only in person, and Colorado has its own cottage foods act. Compare them all on the cottage food laws hub.