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Cottage Food Laws in Iowa

Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify

Yes. In Iowa you can make and sell foods that don't need to be kept hot or cold from your home kitchen with no state license or inspection. You must label every item and sell straight to your customers, in person, by phone or online, and you can deliver it yourself, through an employee, or by mail. To sell foods that need refrigeration, or to sell through other businesses such as stores, you need a $50 home food processing establishment license instead, and that license has its own list of foods it does not cover.[1][2][3][10][5]

At a glance

Permit neededNo state license or inspection for cottage food. To sell foods that need refrigeration, or to sell through other businesses, you need a $50 home food processing establishment license instead.[1][3][10]
Sales capNone in the cottage food law. Under $50,000 a year if you hold a home food processing establishment license.[1][3]
Foods allowedFoods that don't need to be kept hot or cold for safety, plus home-canned pickles, vegetables and fruits that pass a batch pH or water activity test. Not milk or milk products covered by Iowa's dairy laws, meat or poultry products, or unpasteurized juice.[4]
Label statement"This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection."[1]
Where you can sellDirectly to customers, including at farmers markets. The only food business it can be sold in is a temporary food establishment (a stand at a single event, open 14 days or less) that you run yourself. Not through stores, restaurants or other food businesses.[1][4][2][11]
Online and shippingYou can take orders online or by phone and deliver yourself, through an employee, or by mail.[1]
AgencyIowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL)[2]

Step by step

Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.

  1. Check that your food counts as cottage food

    Your food must be made in your home and must not need to be kept hot or cold to stay safe (called "time/temperature control for safety", or TCS, food). Milk and milk products, meat and poultry products, and unpasteurized fruit or vegetable juice are not allowed. If it is not obvious that your food is safe at room temperature, be ready to show the regulator documents that prove it.[4]

  2. If you can pickles, vegetables or fruit, test every batch

    Home-canned pickles, vegetables and fruits are allowed only if each batch is measured with a pH meter or water activity meter and comes out at pH 4.60 or lower, or water activity 0.85 or lower. Keep your batch testing records: you must show them to the regulator if asked, including where you sell. DIAL publishes free batch record and pH calibration templates.[4][9]

    DIAL cottage food batch record and pH calibration templates

  3. Label every item

    The label needs your name plus your address, phone number or email address; the common name of the food; the ingredients, listed from most to least; the required statement; and a separate allergen statement naming each major allergen (such as milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, soy or sesame). Home-canned pickles, vegetables and fruits also need the date they were processed and canned.[1][9]

  4. Sell directly to your customers

    Sell in person, by phone or online, and get the food to the customer yourself, through an employee, or by mail. You can sell at farmers markets without a farmers market license. The only food business your cottage food can be sold in is a temporary food establishment (a stand at a single event, open 14 days or less) that you run yourself, with the food packaged and labeled. You cannot sell through a store, restaurant or other food business.[1][11][4][2]

  5. Need more? Get a home food processing establishment license

    If you want to sell foods that need refrigeration, or sell through other businesses, apply to DIAL for a home food processing establishment license. It costs $50 and lasts one year, and gross sales must stay under $50,000 a year. Apply online at least 30 days before you start, list every food you will make, and complete an approved food safety course first. DIAL can inspect licensed home kitchens. The license does not cover every food: milk products covered by Iowa's dairy laws, fish and shellfish, unpasteurized juice and most meat and poultry products are excluded.[3][5][10]

    Time: Apply at least 30 days before you start sellingDIAL Home Food Processing Establishments (apply through SAFHER)

What you can and can't sell[4][2][3][5]

Allowed

  • Foods that are safe at room temperature (don't need to be kept hot or cold)
  • Home-canned pickles, vegetables and fruits that test at pH 4.60 or lower, or water activity 0.85 or lower, batch by batch

Not allowed

  • Foods that must be kept hot or cold for safety (some of these can be sold with a home food processing establishment license)
  • Milk and milk products
  • Meat, meat products, poultry and poultry products
  • Unpasteurized fruit or vegetable juice

Local rules

These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.

Recent changes

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license or inspection to sell cookies or bread from home in Iowa?

No state license or inspection, as long as the food doesn't need to be kept hot or cold, is labeled correctly, and you sell it directly to the customer. Cottage food is exempt from state licensing and inspection.[1][9]

Can I ship cottage food by mail?

Iowa law lets you deliver cottage food by mail. The state exemption does not mean you meet federal law, so check federal rules before shipping, especially to other states.[1]

Can I sell at a farmers market?

Yes. DIAL lists cottage foods among the foods you can sell at a farmers market without a farmers market license. You can also sell it in a temporary food establishment (a stand at a single event, open 14 days or less) that you run yourself, if the food is packaged and labeled.[11][4]

Can I sell my baked goods to a coffee shop or store?

Not as cottage food. Cottage food must go directly to the consumer, and it cannot be sold in a food establishment other than a temporary one you run. A licensed home food processing establishment can sell through other businesses.[4][10]

Can I sell foods that need refrigeration?

Not as cottage food. A home food processing establishment license from DIAL, which costs $50 a year and needs food safety training, lets you sell some foods that must be kept cold, and those need an expiration date on the label. Some foods are excluded even with the license, including milk products covered by Iowa's dairy laws, so check that your food qualifies before you apply.[4][3][10][5]

Can I sell home-canned salsa or pickles?

Pickles, vegetables and fruits, yes, if every batch is tested with a pH or water activity meter and meets the limit (pH 4.60 or lower, or water activity 0.85 or lower), and each jar shows the date it was canned. Keep the test records and show them if asked.[4]

Can my city stop me from running a food business from home?

Not if it is a no-impact home business: the work happens inside your home or yard, causes no street parking or big increase in traffic, can't be seen from neighbors or the street, and your on-site employees and customers stay within the home's occupancy limit. Cities and counties cannot ban it or require a permit for it, though they can set reasonable, narrowly tailored rules such as health and safety rules. HOA rules and deed restrictions can still limit you.[6][7]

Sources

  1. Iowa Code 2026, Section 137F.20: Cottage food — requirements, Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  2. Iowa Code 2026, Section 137F.1: Definitions, Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  3. Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 137D: Home Food Processing Establishments, Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  4. Iowa Administrative Code 481, Chapter 30 (rule 481—30.13, Cottage food), Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  5. Iowa Administrative Code 481, Chapter 34: Home Food Processing Establishments, Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  6. Iowa Code 2026, Section 414.33: Home-based businesses (cities), Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  7. Iowa Code 2026, Section 335.35: Home-based businesses (counties), Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  8. 2022 Iowa Acts, Chapter 1129 (H.F. 2431): Regulation of home-based businesses, Iowa Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  9. Cottage Food Law, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. Checked October 25, 2026.
  10. Home Food Processing Establishments, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. Checked October 25, 2026.
  11. Cottage Foods & Farmers Markets (fact sheet), Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. Checked October 25, 2026.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Before you apply or start selling, confirm the details with Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.