Cottage Food Laws in Utah
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. Utah gives you two ways to sell food made in your home kitchen. Under the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act you need no state, county or city food permit if you make the food in Utah, sell it in Utah directly to the customer for their own or their household's use, label every item and tell buyers the food is not inspected. Raw dairy and most meat are excluded. If you want to run a registered cottage food operation instead, you register with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, hold a food handler permit, and can make only foods the law does not class as "potentially hazardous", such as baked goods, jams and jellies. (Potentially hazardous means foods of animal origin, raw seed sprouts, and foods that need refrigeration or hot holding to stay safe.) Neither law sets a yearly sales limit.[4][5][1]
At a glance
| Permit needed | None under the Homemade Food Act. A registered cottage food operation registers with UDAF.[4][1] |
|---|---|
| Sales cap | None in either law[4][1] |
| Training | None under the Homemade Food Act. A registered cottage food operator needs a food handler permit (good for three years).[4][1][7] |
| Label (Homemade Food Act) | Your name and address; a statement that the food is not for resale and was made without state or local inspection; and a statement of whether it contains, or was made where they handle, milk, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish. Sales made only by sellers under 18 are exempt.[4] |
| Where you can sell (Homemade Food Act) | Directly to customers in Utah, by you or a contracted representative: at home, a farm, an office, a direct-to-sale farmers market, or any place you and the buyer agree on. Not to restaurants or stores, except raw, unprocessed fruit and vegetables. Registered cottage food: ask UDAF.[2][4] |
| Shipping out of state | Not under the Homemade Food Act: the food must be made and sold in Utah[4] |
| Business license | Check with your city. A city cannot charge a fee for a home-based business unless its offsite impact is materially more than the home's alone.[4][6] |
| Agency | Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) for registered cottage food operations[1] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Pick the law you will sell under
The Homemade Food Act needs no food permit and no inspection, but you may sell only directly to customers in Utah and not to restaurants or stores. The other route is a registered cottage food operation with UDAF, which needs registration and a food handler permit, and covers only foods that are not potentially hazardous (see the next step). Selling meals from your home kitchen is a third, separate route: a microenterprise home kitchen permit from your local health department.[4][1][8]
Check that your food is allowed
Under the Homemade Food Act you can sell almost any food or nonalcoholic drink made in your home kitchen except raw dairy products and meat products. The exceptions to the meat rule are poultry from a producer who slaughters no more than 1,000 birds a year under the USDA exemption and follows USDA's exemption guidance, and domesticated rabbit meat, which the law allows only pending USDA approval. A registered cottage food operation is narrower: the law excludes foods of animal origin, raw seed sprouts, and anything that needs time or temperature control (refrigeration or hot holding) to stay safe. UDAF's rule says which foods it counts; ask UDAF before relying on this list.[5][1]
Check your city's business license rules
The Homemade Food Act does not excuse you from city business license rules. A Utah city cannot charge a fee for a home-based business unless its offsite impact is materially more than the home's alone (it may charge an administrative fee if you ask for a license anyway), and it cannot require a license for an occasional business run by someone under 19. Ask your city office what applies to you; if you live outside a city, ask your county.[4][6]
Registered cottage food only: get a food handler permit
Take an approved food handler course (at least 75 minutes, with an exam you must pass with 75%; courses may be online or in a classroom). Within 30 days, take the certificate to your local health department, apply and pay its fee. The permit is valid anywhere in Utah for three years.[1][7]
Registered cottage food only: register with UDAF
Register with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food before you start, and pay its registration fee. UDAF must register you if you pay and meet the law's requirements. It cannot make you install commercial counters, a commercial sink, dishwasher or oven, or a separate kitchen. Package and label each product the way UDAF's rule requires. Contact UDAF for the current fee and label rules.[1]
Homemade Food Act: label every item and tell the buyer
Each label needs your name and address, a statement that the product is not for resale and was made without state or local inspection, and whether it contains (or was made in a kitchen that handles) milk, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish. You must also tell each buyer the food is not certified, licensed, regulated or inspected by the state, county or city.[4]
Sell directly to your customers
Under the Homemade Food Act, sell in Utah to a customer who buys for their own or their household's use and will not resell, at your home, a farm, an office, a direct-to-sale farmers market or any place you both agree on. The 2026 amendments let you contract a "designated representative" to sell or deliver for you; you keep ownership of the food unless you agree otherwise.[2][4]
What you can and can't sell[2][5][1]
Allowed
- Homemade Food Act: almost any homemade food or nonalcoholic drink sold directly to customers
- Homemade Food Act: poultry from a producer who slaughters no more than 1,000 birds a year under the USDA exemption and follows USDA guidance, and domesticated rabbit meat (pending USDA approval)
- Registered cottage food: baked goods, jams, jellies and other foods that do not need refrigeration or hot holding
Not allowed
- Raw dairy products (either route)
- Meat products other than the poultry and rabbit exceptions (Homemade Food Act)
- Registered cottage food: any food of animal origin
- Registered cottage food: raw seed sprouts
- Registered cottage food: foods that need time or temperature control to stay safe
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- All Utah cities: Under the Homemade Food Act you still follow your city's business license rules. A city cannot charge a fee for a home-based business unless its outside impact is materially more than an ordinary home's, and cannot require a license for an occasional business run by someone under 19.[4][6]
- All Utah local health departments: A local health department cannot regulate how a registered cottage food operation makes its food, as long as customers do not eat it on the premises. It can still investigate a foodborne illness outbreak.[1]
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Check your city's business license rules | Set by each city; often none for a low-impact home-based business |
| Registered cottage food only: get a food handler permit | Set by your local health department, up to a state maximum; the course provider also charges a fee |
| Total if every fee applies to you | $0 |
Not included in the total because the fee is set locally: Check your city's business license rules; Registered cottage food only: get a food handler permit.
Recent changes
- : Amendments to the Homemade Food Act took effect. Producers can now use a contracted "designated representative" to sell and deliver for them, and sales made only by sellers under 18 no longer need the label.[4][2]
- : The Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act took effect, letting home producers sell directly to informed customers without a food permit or inspection.[5]
Frequently asked questions
Can I ship my cookies to customers in other states?
Not under the Homemade Food Act, which covers only food made and sold in Utah, sold directly to the person who will eat it. Shipping rules for registered cottage food operations are set in UDAF's rule; ask UDAF.[4]
Can I sell my baked goods to a coffee shop or store?
Not under the Homemade Food Act: homemade food sold under it cannot be sold to or used by a restaurant or other commercial business (raw, unprocessed fruit and vegetables are the exception). A restaurant also cannot use a registered cottage food product as an ingredient in food it prepares.[4][1]
Can I sell at a farmers market?
Yes, at a direct-to-sale farmers market. Such a market may sell only products that have not been certified, licensed, regulated or inspected (markets made up only of sellers under 18 are exempt). If it is connected to a regular farmers market, the homemade food area must be kept separate and marked with signs.[2][3]
Do I need a commercial kitchen?
No. Under the Homemade Food Act the food is made in your home kitchen. For a registered cottage food operation, UDAF cannot require commercial counters, a commercial sink, dishwasher or oven, a separate kitchen, or plans before a remodel.[2][1]
My kids want to run a bake sale or lemonade stand. Do they need anything?
Sales made only by sellers under 18 do not need the Homemade Food Act label, though the buyer must still be told the food is not inspected. A city cannot require a business license for an occasional business run by someone under 19.[4][2][6]
Can I sell plated meals from my home kitchen?
That needs a microenterprise home kitchen permit from your local health department, which inspects the kitchen and charges a fee. The permit is renewed every year. Customers cannot eat on site, and you sell only directly to consumers, not to wholesalers or retailers.[8]
Will the health department inspect my kitchen?
Not under the Homemade Food Act, which exempts you from state, county and city inspection. A local health department cannot regulate production at a registered cottage food operation either, but it can investigate a foodborne illness outbreak.[4][1]
Sources
- Utah Code 4-5-501, Cottage food operations, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 4-5a-102, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act: Definitions, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 4-5a-103, Regulation of a direct-to-sale farmers market, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 4-5a-104, Home producer direct sales: Exempt from regulation, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 4-5a-105, Limitations, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 10-1-203, License fees and taxes, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 26B-7-413, Requirements for food handlers, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Utah Code 26B-7-416, Microenterprise home kitchen permits, Utah State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in Arizona
- Cottage Food Laws in Colorado
- Cottage Food Laws in Idaho
- Cottage Food Laws in Nevada
- Cottage Food Laws in New Mexico
- Cottage Food Laws in Wyoming
- Cottage Food Laws by State
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Before you apply or start selling, confirm the details with Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.