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Can I sell food from home in Ohio?
Ohio cottage food law at a glance
| Home food sales allowed | yes Cottage Food Production Operation (plus separate ODA Home Bakery license for TCS baked goods) |
|---|---|
| Law | Ohio Rev. Code 3715.01, 3715.023, 3715.025; Ohio Admin. Code 901:3-20-01 to 901:3-20-05 (Home Bakery: ORC Ch. 911) |
| Sales cap | No cap |
| Permit or registration | none. Cottage food operations are exempt from ODA licensing and inspection, but ODA may sample products for adulteration or misbranding. Separate Home Bakery license (ODA Division of Food Safety): $10/yr, kitchen inspection required, one-oven home, no pets or carpet in the kitchen, private well water tested. No training is required for cottage food. |
| Sell in person | yes |
| Take online orders | yes |
| Ship within the state | yes |
| Ship to other states | no |
| Sell to shops and cafes | yes |
| Where you can sell, details | OAC 901:3-20-05 bars selling cottage foods outside Ohio. Properly labeled products may be sold by or used in licensed retail food establishments and food service operations. Online orders and shipping are fine as long as the buyer is in Ohio; this comes from secondary sources, since the rules don't address it. |
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 Ohio?
Allowed: Only the 20 categories listed in OAC 901:3-20-04: non-potentially-hazardous bakery items, jams, jellies, candy, fruit butters and chutneys, granola, popcorn snacks, unfilled baked donuts, waffle cones, pizzelles, snack mixes, roasted coffee, dry baking/soup/seasoning mixes, dry herbs, dry tea blends; flavored honey and maple sugar for exempt producers. TCS baked goods only with a Home Bakery license.
Not allowed: Potentially hazardous (TCS) foods, acidified and low-acid canned foods, any item not on the approved list, candy with fresh fruit, and reduced-oxygen (vacuum) packaging.
Label requirements in Ohio
Required statement: This product is home produced. exact wording from an official source
Other label items: Name and address of the operation; product name; ingredients in descending order by weight; net weight/volume; the statement in 10-point type. Must also meet federal labeling under 21 CFR 101 (allergens, and nutrition facts if a claim is made), per OAC 901:3-20-02.
Selling from home in Ohio? The Cottage Kitchen Toolkit prices your recipes for markets, pre-orders and shops. It scales batches and prints ingredient and allergen labels with Ohio's required statement filled in. It also has this guide for all 50 states and DC. One-time price, and it works offline.
Get the toolkit Try the free cookie price checkNotes
Rules in effect since 2016 (reviewed 2023). Pending: HB 134 (136th GA) would create a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation registration covering perishable foods with training and inspection. It passed the House 11/19/2025 and was referred to Senate Agriculture 2/11/2026; whether the Senate has acted since is unverified. Some county health departments add guidance.
Sources
- ORC 3715.023 Labeling of cottage food products official
- OAC 901:3-20-04 Approved cottage food products official
- OAC 901:3-20-05 Prohibitions official
- OAC 901:3-20-02 Labeling official
- Ohio House news: HB 134 passes House official
- Farm and Dairy: requirements for selling food from home secondary
Last checked: 2026-10-24 · confidence: high (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.