Ohio Cottage Food Law: What You Can Sell From Home and the Home Bakery Rules
Ohio Cottage Food Law: What You Can Sell From Home and the Home Bakery Rules
If you bake, cook, or mix products in your kitchen and want to sell them to neighbors, at a farmers market, or online, Ohio’s cottage food law is the rulebook that applies. People often search for an “ohio home bakery license” or a “cottage food license ohio,” but Ohio does not issue either one. Ohio’s home-based food rules work without a license or registration. They do come with firm limits on what you can make, how you package it, and how you label it.
Informational only, not legal or tax advice. This guide summarizes Ohio’s cottage food statutes and rules and related business requirements. Rules, fees, and agency practices change. Confirm anything that affects your business with the agency named in each section. For complex situations, such as choosing an entity, selling across state lines, or planning your taxes, talk with a qualified attorney or certified public accountant (CPA).
The short answer: no home bakery license, but tight limits
Ohio does not have a home bakery license, a cottage food license, or a home kitchen permit under the cottage food statute. The core definition is in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 3715.01(A)(19). ORC 3715.023 covers labels, and ORC 3715.025 covers restrictions. The implementing rules are in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) chapter 901:3-20. The statute has been unchanged since 2012. The rules are scheduled for their five-year review on November 27, 2028.
Under this framework, you do not need a license or registration with the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) to sell qualifying foods made in your home. Two points matter more than the paperwork, though. ODA can sample your products, so your food has to meet the rules whether or not anyone ever registers you. And the rules are narrow, so the food you want to sell has to fit inside them.
What the law covers
The cottage food rules apply to food you make in your home kitchen. They do not cover food made in a commercial kitchen. Within the home, the core limit is simple: only non-potentially hazardous foods qualify. Acidified foods, low-acid canned foods, and potentially hazardous foods are barred.
In practice, “potentially hazardous” means food that has to be refrigerated or held at controlled temperatures to stay safe. Acidified foods such as pickles and salsa, and low-acid canned foods such as green beans, fall outside the rules. Cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, and fresh cheese fillings are common examples that home bakers run into. Check with ODA before you assume a borderline item is allowed.
What you can make and sell
OAC 901:3-20-04 lists the allowed items. The categories include:
- Non-hazardous bakery goods
- Jams and jellies
- Candy
- Granola
- Popcorn
- Dry mixes
- Tea blends
- Roasted coffee
Two packaging points come with this list. Reduced oxygen packaging is not allowed, so check how your packaging method is classified before you use it for any product. The rule lists these items as allowed. Check with ODA before you sell anything that is not clearly covered by the list.
Labeling requirements under ORC 3715.023
Every product needs a label that shows:
- Your business name and address
- The product name
- Ingredients in descending order by weight
- Net weight
- Allergens
- The statement “This product is home produced.”
Missing or incomplete labels are the easiest violation to avoid. Build the label before your first sale and check each product against this list.
Selling at markets, online, and across state lines
Selling at a local market or directly to neighbors is the simplest route. Shipping products, selling through an online store, or selling to buyers outside Ohio raises questions the cottage food rules alone may not answer. Check with ODA on interstate and online sales before you ship anything. Do not assume that a product you can sell at a Saturday market can be mailed to another state.
Business setup: what else you may need
A cottage food operation is still a business. These are the registrations and taxes that most home sellers run into.
Business name
If you sell under any name other than your own legal name, register a trade name (also called a fictitious name) with the Ohio Secretary of State. Trade names are registered with the Secretary of State, not the county. The registration costs $39.00 and can be filed online through Ohio Business Central or by mail. Renewal costs $25.00 every five years. Before you register, search the name on the Secretary of State’s business search. A name can also be reserved for 180 days for $39.
Sole proprietor or LLC
Many home bakers start as sole proprietors, with the trade name registration as the only filing. If you want a limited liability company (LLC), articles of organization for a domestic LLC (Form 610) cost $99. Regular processing takes 3 to 7 business days from receipt. Expedite Service 1 costs $100 above the filing fee and is processed within 2 business days. Expedite Service 2 costs $200 and is processed within 1 business day. Ohio LLCs file no annual report. Whether an LLC makes sense for a small food business depends on your liability exposure, your tax situation, and your plans, so take that question to an attorney or CPA.
Sales tax vendor’s license
Ohio has no single state business license. The registration almost every retailer needs is the vendor’s license. Any Ohio retailer selling taxable goods or services must get one before making taxable sales. The county auditor issues the vendor’s license under state statute. Counties do not issue a general business license. The application fee for a county vendor’s license is $50, up from $25 under House Bill 366 as of April 9, 2025. Apply through the Ohio Business Gateway or the county auditor. Whether a particular baked good or product is taxable, and whether any exemption applies, is a question for the Ohio Department of Taxation. Confirm it before your first sale.
Income taxes and local taxes
Ohio taxes taxable business income at a flat 3%, after a $250,000 per-individual business income deduction. Many cities and villages also tax business net profit at their own rates, so check your municipality. Ohio businesses that cross the threshold pay the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a gross receipts tax of 0.26% on Ohio taxable gross receipts. For tax year 2025 and later, only businesses with more than $6 million of Ohio taxable gross receipts owe the CAT or must register. A home operation is unlikely to reach that level, but confirm your receipts against the exclusion with the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Workers’ compensation
If you hire anyone, including a part-time helper, plan for workers’ compensation. In Ohio, that coverage is bought from the state fund administered by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), not from a private insurer. Confirm with BWC what applies to your situation.
Zoning and local rules
State law does not settle whether you can run a food business from your house. Check your city, village, or township zoning rules for home occupations, along with any lease or HOA restriction. The answer varies by community, so ask your local zoning office.
H.B. 134: a proposed registration, not current law
You may see references to H.B. 134, a bill that would create a microenterprise home kitchen registration with ODA and an inspection. It passed the Ohio House in November 2025 and was in Senate committee in spring 2026. It is not law. The status here is current as of spring 2026, so check the Ohio General Assembly’s bill tracking page for anything newer before you plan around it. Be wary of anyone selling a “home bakery license” for a fee. Ohio’s current cottage food rules do not require a license or registration with ODA, so a paid home bakery license is not a state requirement.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Making a product that needs refrigeration and selling it as a cottage food item.
- Using reduced oxygen packaging without checking whether it is allowed.
- Leaving the “This product is home produced” statement or the allergen information off the label.
- Assuming a product that is legal at a local market can be shipped out of state or sold online.
- Making taxable sales before getting a sales tax vendor’s license.
- Operating under a business name you have not registered as a trade name.
Where to confirm the details
- Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA): cottage food questions, allowed products, labeling, sampling, and interstate or online sales. Find current contact information on the agency’s website.
- Ohio Secretary of State: https://www.ohiosos.gov/ for trade names and LLC filings. Search existing names at https://businesssearch.ohiosos.gov/ and file online through Ohio Business Central.
- Ohio Department of Taxation: https://tax.ohio.gov/, including vendor licensing at the vendor licensing page.
- Ohio Small Business Development Centers: Ohio SBDC Network for business planning help.
- SBA Ohio district: https://www.sba.gov/district/ohio for federal small business resources.
Bottom line
Ohio’s cottage food law lets you sell a defined set of non-hazardous foods from your home without a license or ODA registration. The rules that matter most are the product list, the packaging limits, and the label. Then handle the business basics: a trade name if you need one, the sales tax vendor’s license before taxable sales, local tax and zoning checks, and workers’ compensation if you hire. Before you ship outside Ohio, sell online, or make a product near the line between allowed and barred, call ODA. For anything involving entity or tax structure, talk with a qualified attorney or CPA.