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Can I sell food from home in Massachusetts?

Q: Can I sell food from home in Massachusetts?

Yes. Massachusetts lets you make certain foods at home and sell them, under the Residential Kitchen / Cottage Food Operation permit (local board of health). You need a permit. There is no state sales cap. Last checked 2026-10-25. Not legal advice.

AllowedOnline: limitedShipping: limitedNo store sales

Yes. Massachusetts lets you make certain foods at home and sell them, under the Residential Kitchen / Cottage Food Operation permit (local board of health). You need a permit. There is no state sales cap.

Not legal advice. This page is a research summary, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities and counties can add their own rules. Confirm with your state agency and local health department, using the official sources below, before you sell.

Massachusetts cottage food law at a glance

Home food sales allowed	yes Residential Kitchen / Cottage Food Operation permit (local board of health)
Law	105 CMR 590.001(C) and 590.010(F) (State Sanitary Code ch. X, adopting 2013 FDA Food Code)
Sales cap	No cap stated in regulation
Permit or registration	permit. Permit from the local (city/town) board of health, which reviews applications under DPH guidelines; home kitchen inspection before approval. Fees and training vary by town (secondary: about $50-$100/yr; some towns require ServSafe manager and allergen training). No permit needed if selling only whole uncut produce, unprocessed honey, pure maple products or farm eggs.
Sell in person	yes
Take online orders	limited
Ship within the state	limited
Ship to other states	no
Sell to shops and cafes	no
Where you can sell, details	Regulation defines a cottage food operation as selling only directly to the consumer, so wholesale/resale is outside the cottage permit (selling to shops or restaurants needs a state Wholesale Food Processor license). Online and mail: it depends on your board of health. The City of Cambridge permit guide (official, FY22) counts farmers markets, craft fairs and 'sales by internet or mail' as direct-to-consumer; a secondary source says mail order is not allowed. Interstate sales are not covered. Farmers market sales need board of health approval.

yes = allowed; limited = allowed with conditions; no = not allowed; unverified = we could not confirm it from an official source.

What foods can you sell from home in Massachusetts?

Allowed: Non-time/temperature control for safety (non-TCS) baked goods, jams, jellies and other non-TCS foods made in the home kitchen of the operator's primary residence.

Not allowed: TCS/potentially hazardous foods; secondary source also lists perishable baked goods, pickles, sauces and fermented foods. Residential kitchens cannot be a caterer's base of operations.

Label requirements in Massachusetts

Home-kitchen statement: No statewide statement required. DPH's label list for permitted residential kitchens has no home-kitchen statement, but your local board of health issues the permit and may add its own wording, so ask before printing. no statement required

Other label items: DPH: the label affixed or provided to the consumer must show, in English: the name and address of the cottage food operation; the product name; ingredients in descending order by weight; the net weight or net volume; allergen information per federal rules; and Nutrition Facts only if you make a nutrient or health claim. DPH's Q&A also mentions a sell-by date 'if required'. Products must be prepackaged before sale (Cambridge guide). Some boards ask to see draft labels.

Selling from home in Massachusetts? The Cottage Kitchen Toolkit prices your recipes for markets, pre-orders and shops. It scales batches and prints ingredient and allergen labels and tells you that Massachusetts needs no home-kitchen statement on the package. It also has this guide for all 50 states and DC. One-time price, and it works offline.

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Notes

Strong local variation: each board of health sets its own process and fees; Boston adopted rules allowing residential kitchens (secondary). Bake sales for religious/charitable functions are exempt with a placard. 2025-26 bills to allow permit-free cottage food sales and in-state shipping (H 114, H 140) failed; S 1512 (home kitchen operations/micro-restaurants) was in progress per secondary source. mass.gov pages blocked automated fetch. Round 2 (2026-10-24): the full text of 590.001(C) and 590.010(F) was read (via the NALC copy) and contains no label statement; Cambridge also lists an Allergen Awareness certificate and a Food Protection Manager certification as permits that may be required. Earlier Senate bills (S.484, S.533, S.553) proposed a statewide statement but were not found enacted. Label check (2026-10-25): DPH's residential kitchen standards page was read in a browser (scripted fetches are blocked). Its label list has no home-kitchen statement.

Sources

Last checked: 2026-10-25 · confidence: medium (high = key facts confirmed on an official page; medium = partly confirmed or secondary sources agree; low = a single secondary or outdated source). Summaries are our own wording, not the text of the law.

This page is a research summary, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities and counties can add their own rules. Confirm with your state agency and local health department, using the official sources below, before you sell.

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