California cottage food laws: Class A or Class B, and how to sell online

California lets you make foods from the state's Approved Cottage Food List in your home kitchen and sell them once your county environmental health department registers you (Class A) or permits you (Class B). For 2026, a Class A operation may gross up to US$88,878 a year selling directly to consumers, and a Class B operation up to US$177,756, including sales through shops and restaurants. Orders taken by phone or online count as direct sales and can be handed over in person, sent by mail, or carried by a third-party delivery service, anywhere in California.

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California cottage food rules at a glance (October 2026)

This is general information, not legal advice. Fees and forms are set by each county, so check with yours before you start.

Should you register as Class A or Class B?

If you only sell to the people who eat your food, including through your own website, Class A is enough. Choose Class B if a coffee shop wants to stock your cookies or a restaurant wants to serve your bread. When a permitted food facility serves your product unpackaged, or uses it as an ingredient, it must tell its customers the food was made in a home kitchen.

Which foods are on the Approved Cottage Food List?

California works from an allowed list, not an excluded list. The CDPH list (last reviewed April 2026) includes:

• Baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings: breads, bagels, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, churros, donuts, tortillas, fruit pies (not pumpkin), and fruit-only empanadas, samosas and tamales.
• Candy and confections: chocolate, fudge, toffee, brittles, caramels, cotton candy, freeze-dried candy and chocolate-covered nonperishables.
• Frostings without eggs, cream or cream cheese: buttercream made with butter, fondant, flat icing and sugar glazes count. Frostings made with meringue powder or pasteurized eggs are allowed.
• Jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters that meet the federal standard in 21 CFR Part 150.
• Dried foods: granola, baking mixes, pasta, roasted coffee, tea, spice rubs and trail mixes.
• Others: roasted nuts and nut butters, pure honey, powdered drink mixes, vinegars, plain mustards and certain alcohol-based extracts.

Anything that needs refrigeration, such as cheesecake, cream pies or cream cheese frosting, isn't on the list. In October 2026 CDPH posted a notice to add chocolate and nut spread, with the new list due on or about November 16, 2026.

Can you sell cottage food online and ship it in California?

Yes. California treats a sale made "via the phone, internet, and any other digital method" as a direct sale (Health and Safety Code §113758, as summarized by CDPH). You can fulfill it in person, by mail, or with any third-party delivery service. Two limits apply:

• The sale must happen within California. Direct and indirect sales are both defined as transactions within the state, so don't ship to other states.
• Your county registration or permit number must be on the label, so the buyer can see who made the food.

This is the main difference from Texas, where online orders must be delivered in person by you, an employee or a household member.

What goes on a California cottage food label?

From CDPH's labeling requirements (rev. January 2025):

1. The product's common or descriptive name on the front panel.
2. Your operation's name, city and ZIP code (add a street address if you aren't listed in a current phone directory).
3. "Made in a Home Kitchen" (or "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen") in 12-point type on the front panel.
4. Your registration or permit number and the name of the county that issued it.
5. Ingredients in descending order by weight.
6. Net quantity in both US units and metric (for example, Net Wt. 3 oz (85 g)).
7. The major food allergens, in a "Contains" statement or in the ingredient list.

A Nutrition Facts panel is generally not needed unless you make a nutrient or health claim such as "low sugar". Labels must be legible, in English, and on food-grade packaging. Build them with the food label maker.

Worked example: a Class A pan dulce baker in Los Angeles County

Prices are illustrative, as of October 2026. A home baker sells boxes of conchas and other pan dulce by pickup, and lets customers send their own courier.

At this pace she uses under a quarter of the Class A limit. If a local cafe asks to sell her conchas, she needs a Class B permit before supplying it. Price each box in US dollars with the menu price calculator.

How to set up a Menuthere ordering page for California rules

1. Add each product with its allergens ticked (allergens and nutrition, every plan), and put "Made in a Home Kitchen" and your county permit or registration number in the description.
2. Choose your order types in Settings → Ordering → Order types (order types). Pickup and your own local delivery both fit a Class A operation.
3. Let customers send their own courier if you'd rather not drive: switch on the customer's own courier in Delivery settings. California allows third-party delivery for direct sales.
4. Set a delivery radius that keeps your own deliveries manageable (delivery radius).
5. Take orders for a set day with pre-orders on Lite, mark cakes as dishes that need notice, and connect Stripe to take cards.

Menuthere doesn't check California law for you; you choose the products and options. Ask the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration whether your products are taxable, and see our guide to sales tax on restaurant food.

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Other states

Texas needs no permit but bans mail order, New York registers home processors with the state, and Washington issues a state permit after an inspection. Compare them all on the cottage food laws hub.