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Cottage Food Laws in Montana

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Yes. Montana gives you two ways to sell food made in your home kitchen. As a registered cottage food operation, you pay a one-time $40 fee to your county health office, sell only shelf-stable foods such as baked goods and jams, label everything, and sell face to face to customers in Montana. Under the Montana Local Food Choice Act, you need no registration or label at all, but you may sell only directly to customers you tell the food is uninspected, for eating at home or at a community event such as a farmers market.[3][9][1][2][6]

At a glance

Permit neededCottage food operations register with the county. No government permit under the Local Food Choice Act. No cottage food registration if you sell shelf-stable foods only at farmers markets.[3][6][4]
Fee$40, one time, for cottage food registration. You pay again if you move or add products.[9]
FoodsCottage food: only foods that don't need refrigeration, such as baked goods, jams, dried fruit and candy. Local Food Choice Act: food made in a private home, but no meat except poultry from a producer who slaughters fewer than 1,000 birds a year.[1][9][6]
Label statementCottage food: "Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections." in at least 11-point type. Local Food Choice Act: no label, but you must tell the buyer.[2][6]
Where you can sellDirectly to customers in Montana only. Not to stores, restaurants or wholesalers, and not on consignment (leaving food with a shop to sell for you).[1][2][6]
Online and shippingCottage food: DPHHS says you can advertise and arrange sales online or by phone, but the sale itself must be face to face. No shipping, courier delivery or sites like Amazon or eBay. Local Food Choice Act: you can deliver a sale arranged in advance, but not to another state.[9][1][10][6]
InspectionCottage food operations are not inspected unless there is a complaint or an illness investigation. Under the Local Food Choice Act, no state or local agency can require an inspection.[6][9]
AgencyYour county environmental health office, under Montana DPHHS[8][3]

Step by step

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

  1. Choose your route

    Register as a cottage food operation if you want to sell shelf-stable foods at markets, fairs, bazaars and anywhere else you meet the customer face to face. Use the Local Food Choice Act if you want to sell without registering, and you can keep to its limits: sales only directly to the final buyer (someone who will not resell the food), who you have told the food is not licensed or inspected, for eating at home or at a community event such as a farmers market, wedding, church social or school event. Under the Act you cannot sell from a roadside stand outside such an event.[8][5][6][10]

  2. Check that your food is on the approved list

    Cottage food operations may sell only foods on the DPHHS approved list, which are foods that don't need refrigeration to stay safe: breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, granola, nuts, snack mixes, most baked pies, dried fruit, jams, jellies and fruit butters, dry herb, tea, coffee and spice blends, popcorn, cotton candy, cooked candies and fudge, molded chocolate and honey. Jams, jellies and fruit butters must be made from fruits on the DPHHS list and contain at least 55% sugar by weight. Dried fruit must be one of the listed fruits or another fruit with a pH of 4.6 or lower. Other foods can be approved case by case. If your county health office or DPHHS thinks a recipe may need refrigeration to be safe, you must send it to a process authority (a food safety specialist) for review and lab testing.[8][9]

  3. Make the labels

    Every cottage food item must be packaged and labeled before sale. The label needs your business name and full address, the name of the food, the ingredients from most to least by weight, the net weight, count or volume, any allergens, the home kitchen statement in at least 11-point type and, if you make a nutrition claim, any label federal law requires. A cake too large to package can carry the label information on an invoice handed to the customer. You submit a copy of each label when you register.[2][9][3]

  4. Register with your county health office

    Fill in the DPHHS cottage food registration form. Attach a recipe for each product with ingredient weights (not cups or spoons), any processing steps not in the recipe, how you package each product, a label for each product and how you clean and sanitize your equipment and surfaces. The law also asks for a brief description of where your ingredients come from. Send it with a $40 check or money order to the environmental health office in the county where you live. The county health inspector (sanitarian) may contact you with questions. Once approved, the state prints your registration certificate and the county sends it to you. On a reservation, ask your tribal environmental health office who registers you.[8][3][9]

    Fee: $40 (one time; pay again if you move or add recipes)Montana DPHHS Cottage Food Operation Guidance and Registration

  5. Make and store the food only in your registered kitchen

    Make, package and store your products only in the registered area of the home you live in (a house or an apartment). You may keep products in your vehicle only while taking them to a sale. Keep the kitchen clean, keep pets out while you make the food, and don't eat, drink or use tobacco while you package it.[2][1][8]

  6. Sell face to face in Montana

    Hand the food to the customer yourself, at home, a market, fair or bazaar, or by delivering it. DPHHS says you can advertise and arrange sales online or by phone. You cannot ship, use a courier, sell through sites like Amazon or eBay, or sell to stores, restaurants or other businesses for resale. Check your town's rules too: some require a local business license.[8][9]

What you can and can't sell[8][9]

Allowed

  • Breads, rolls, muffins, cakes, cookies, bars, scones and crackers
  • Pies that are baked and don't need refrigeration
  • Granola, cereals, nuts, trail mixes and snack mixes
  • Dried fruit (listed fruits only), and dry herb, tea, coffee and spice blends
  • Jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters made from listed fruits with at least 55% sugar
  • Popcorn, cotton candy, cooked candies, fudge and molded chocolate
  • Honey

Not allowed

  • Foods that need refrigeration, such as cheesecake, cream, custard and pumpkin pies
  • Buttercream frosting that needs refrigeration
  • Freezer jams
  • Fermented foods such as lacto-fermented pickles
  • Canned fruit (jams, jellies and some fruit butters are the only preserves allowed)
  • Foods with meat or cheese
  • Dairy products and eggs (as cottage food)
  • Pet treats

Local rules

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

What it costs

StepFee
Register with your county health office$40 (one time; pay again if you move or add recipes)
Total if every fee applies to you$40

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register if I only sell at farmers markets?

Not as a cottage food operation, if your food doesn't need refrigeration (or is otherwise on the state's farmers market list). Montana law says you don't have to register as a cottage food operation if you sell only at farmers markets. Packaged food still needs a label like a cottage food label, unless you sell it under the Local Food Choice Act. A market authorized by a city or county must record your name, address, phone number and what you sell, and a privately run market can set stricter rules.[9][4][10]

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

No. Neither route allows it. Cottage food cannot be sold on consignment (left with a shop to sell for you) or through stores or restaurants, and food made under the Local Food Choice Act cannot be sold or used in a restaurant or other licensed food business. To sell through stores you need a wholesale food license from your local health office.[2][6][10]

Can I ship cookies or sell to customers in other states?

No. Both routes cover sales inside Montana only, and cottage food cannot be mailed or sent by courier.[8][6][9]

What does the Local Food Choice Act let me sell?

Food made in a private home, sold straight to the final buyer (someone who will not resell it), who you have told the food is not licensed or inspected. It must be for eating at home or at a community event, and only in Montana. You cannot use meat, except poultry if you slaughter fewer than 1,000 birds a year and follow the federal rules for that exemption. You can deliver if the sale was arranged in advance.[5][6][10]

Can I sell rum balls or CBD treats?

Cottage food candies with alcohol that is not cooked off need testing to show they qualify as a non-beverage product under Montana liquor laws. Under the Local Food Choice Act, DPHHS's 2023 guidance says rum-filled candy is still banned by liquor laws, and THC products still need a marijuana license. It says it does not oversee homemade food with CBD sold under the Act.[9][10]

Can I run a cottage food business from an apartment?

Yes, as long as the kitchen is in the home you live in. Check your lease, and check whether your insurance covers a home business.[9]

Do I have to register again if I add a new product?

Yes. If you add recipes and labels, or move, you re-register and pay the $40 fee again.[9]

Sources

  1. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-50-102: Definitions, Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  2. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-50-116: Conditions for cottage food operation exemption from licensure and routine facility inspection, Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  3. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-50-117: Registration of cottage food operations, fee, Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  4. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-50-121: Requirements for farmer's markets, Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  5. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-49-202: Definitions (Montana Local Food Choice Act), Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  6. Montana Code Annotated 2025, 50-49-203: Exemptions from regulations, transactions, information required, exceptions, Montana Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
  7. Cottage Food and Farmers Markets, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Checked October 25, 2026.
  8. Montana DPHHS Cottage Food Operation Guidance and Registration (fillable form), Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Checked October 25, 2026.
  9. Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Checked October 25, 2026.
  10. Montana Local Food Choice Act Guidance (October 1, 2023), Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. 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 Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), with your county environmental health office or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.