The essentials
Georgia, at a glance
Georgia allows qualifying non-potentially hazardous food made at a residence.
Since July 1, 2025, the program no longer requires a GDA cottage license or state licensing fee. Direct consumer sales and sales to qualifying retail food establishments are possible. Training, product eligibility, customer disclosures and local conditions still need attention before your first order.
- Sales limits
GDA sets no gross-sales or production-unit limit for cottage food.
- Registration & permits
HB398 removed the GDA cottage license and state licensing fee effective July1,2025; pre-licensing inspections no longer occur.
View official sources (4)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Cottage Food FAQ Georgia Department of Agriculture
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Check the recipe and complete training
List the complete recipe, including fillings, frosting and garnish.
The finished food must qualify as non-potentially hazardous. Complete an ANSI-accredited food-safety course; GDA accepts Food Handler training. Keep the certificate with your business records, and use the official cottage-food page when choosing training rather than assuming every online certificate meets its requirement.
Choose your address or identification number
Decide whether to display the operation address or request a GDA identification number before printing labels.
The number replaces the address only: retain the business name and telephone number. Complete the official form and email it as a PDF to CottageFoodID@agr.georgia.gov. Use the issued identifier, not a number you create yourself.
View official sources (3)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
Make what you love
Can you sell what you make?
These are examples. Check the complete recipe, preparation method and sales route before offering a product.
Bread, cookies and dry products
Check the conditionsThe statute includes breads, cookies, qualifying cakes, dry seasonings, granola, nuts, popcorn, roasted coffee and dry pasta.
These examples still depend on the finished food being non-potentially hazardous. A new filling or high-moisture topping can change that answer, so evaluate the actual product before adding a variation to your menu.
Pickles and preserves need closer attention
Check the conditionsThe current statute expressly includes dill pickles and qualifying jams and jellies.
It excludes certain fruit butters whose reduced sugar or pectin affects commercial sterility. That is not a general approval of every canned vegetable, wet sauce or home-preservation recipe. Ask GDA to assess the specific product and process when the category is uncertain.
View official sources (3)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Direct sales and online orders | The law permits direct sales, online sales and mail orders. Include the statutory business information and cottage statement on the webpage where the item is offered, and provide the applicable package or container label. Plan checkout and packaging together so an online order does not lose the disclosures supplied to an in-person customer. |
| Retail stores and restaurants | A compliant cottage operation may supply retail food sales establishments, including grocery stores and restaurants. Before arranging a placement, check whether the county or municipality has opted out of third-party sales. The retail display must also meet separation and cottage-food notice requirements. Permission to supply a store is conditional, not simply a universal wholesale yes. |
View official sources (1)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Georgia requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Business name; telephone; address or issued GDA identification number
The statement for your state, product and sales route
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
A guide to the fields, not a ready-to-print label. Use your actual product and business details.
Name it. Measure it.
Identify your product and its actual net quantity. Check the state’s formatting and unit requirements below.
Use your actual recipe.
Check every ingredient and supplier label. Use the applicable ingredient and allergen declarations for your product.
Identify your operation.
Business name; telephone; address or issued GDA identification number
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Use the current statutory statement
The current statement is: “This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection.
This product may contain allergens.” Print it in at least 10-point font. HB 398 uses different wording from the older all-capital cottage-food statement still visible in published regulations; use the current statutory text when preparing the new label.
Keep the required contact information
Provide the operation’s business name, telephone number and address, or its GDA identification number instead of the address.
An email address is not the telephone number required by the statute. The identification option reduces address display on customer-facing materials, but the application itself is subject to Georgia’s public-records law.
Complete the rest of the package label
The published cottage rule also calls for the product name, ingredients in descending weight order, net weight or volume, and federal allergen information.
Include nutrition information when making a nutrition claim. GDA’s linked label guidance explains subingredients and standard/metric net quantities, and identifies sesame among the nine major allergens.
Match the notice to the selling format
Packaged items need the disclosure on the package; bulk items need it on their container.
Items that are neither packaged nor offered from bulk containers use a placard at the point of sale. Online offers use the product webpage. Choose the format deliberately rather than relying on a business card somewhere on the table.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection. This product may contain allergens.
View official sources (5)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Subject40-7-19 Cottage Food Regulations Georgia Secretary of State
- Food Labeling Requirements Georgia Department of Agriculture
A useful head start
Your Georgia label kit.
Editable template, example label and starting checklist.
Personalize it for your products and business.
Enter your email. Get the files immediately.
Before your first sale
A few details worth getting right.
An example
A custom birthday cake ordered by phone
For telephone or custom orders, the statute offers an alternative to displaying the specified identity and disclosure information.
You must still tell the customer that the item comes from an inspection-exempt residential property and may contain allergens, and provide the required information on request. Keeping a written order-and-label record makes that conversation easier to repeat accurately.
Example scope: Written order records are a practical recommendation, not a separate statutory mandate.
An example
Your first grocery-store placement
Before delivering a batch, confirm the store’s location permits third-party cottage-food sales and agree on its separate section or display case.
That area must conspicuously identify the products as cottage food exempt from state inspection. Check individual labels too; the shelf notice does not replace the package information required for each product.
A new address needs a new identifier
GDA’s identification number belongs to the residential production location and is not transferable to another operator.
If you move, re-register and obtain a new number before relying on it for the new location. Include this step in your moving checklist alongside revising labels, online product pages and point-of-sale materials.
Keep household activity out of production
The published safety rules separate cottage-food manufacturing from domestic activities such as meal preparation, laundry and entertaining.
Keep pets out while preparing or packaging, and protect ingredients and finished products in storage separate from household food. Removing the license does not remove the need for a controlled, clean production routine.
View official sources (4)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Subject40-7-19 Cottage Food Regulations Georgia Secretary of State
A few more answers
Common questions
Is there an annual sales ceiling?
GDA’s cottage FAQ states that it does not limit gross sales or the number of units produced. Other program conditions still apply as your business grows. A larger order does not make an ineligible refrigerated product eligible, and retail placements still depend on the statutory display rules and any local third-party-sales opt-out.
View sources for this answer (2)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food FAQ Georgia Department of Agriculture
What if I use a private well?
Use potable water. GDA’s cottage FAQ calls for at least annual well testing, but its linked materials differ on the testing panel. Confirm the current cottage-specific analytes and documentation with GDA before ordering a laboratory package. Keep the resulting instructions and reports so the next annual check follows a clear, documented requirement.
Example scope: Exact analyte requirement is deliberately not resolved in this guide.
View sources for this answer (5)
- Cottage Food Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Subject40-7-19 Cottage Food Regulations Georgia Secretary of State
- Cottage Food FAQ Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Non-Public Water Supply Testing Guidance Georgia Department of Agriculture
Does the exemption cover interstate sales?
HB 398 does not remove federal requirements or applicable state and federal taxes. Its online and mail-order permission should not be treated as a promise that every interstate transaction qualifies. Before adding an out-of-state delivery destination, verify that route’s requirements with the relevant authorities and use the correct operating program for the product.
Example scope: No blanket interstate approval or prohibition is asserted.
View sources for this answer (2)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions Georgia Department of Agriculture
Keep it handy
Your first-sale checklist
Use this free checklist to keep track of your next steps. The conditions in this guide still apply.
0 of 2 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Use the current GDA program materials
Start with the Cottage Food page, HB 398 FAQ and identification-number form. General program questions go to CottageFoodInfo@agr.georgia.gov or 404-656-3627. For a proposed retail placement, also check the selling jurisdiction’s third-party-sales ordinance. Save the answer beside your recipe, label and channel plan so future updates have a specific decision to revisit.
Official sources 8 references
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 →
Office of the Governor of Georgia · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Subject40-7-19 Cottage Food Regulations →
Georgia Secretary of State · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food FAQ →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Food Labeling Requirements →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Non-Public Water Supply Testing Guidance →
Georgia Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Georgia’s product eligibility, sales routes, starting requirements and label guidance against the official sources below. Current conditions and any dated changes are explained in the relevant sections of this guide.
View sources for this update (3)
- Georgia HB398 — signed Act, OCGA26-2-470 through478 Office of the Governor of Georgia
- Cottage Food Update: HB398 Frequently Asked Questions Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Registration for Identification Number — Cottage Food Program Georgia Department of Agriculture
This guide is a starting point. Confirm requirements for your products and location with the relevant authority. Examples are illustrative and are not a compliance approval.