The essentials
Michigan, at a glance
You can sell qualifying non-refrigerated foods made in your primary Michigan home without an MDARD food license or routine inspection.
The current gross-sales ceiling is $50,000 annually, with a $75,000 limit when the operation sells products priced at $250 or more per unit. Internet and mail orders and third-party delivery are now possible when customers have an opportunity for direct interaction before buying. Those transactions must stay with Michigan consumers; wholesale and consignment remain prohibited.
View official sources (3)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Getting Started and FAQ Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Selling and Samples Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
One step at a time
Your first 3 steps
Match the recipe and kitchen
Use your primary domestic kitchen and store business ingredients and finished food in the residence.
Confirm the finished recipe, including frosting and filling, does not need refrigeration for safety. MDARD’s food list distinguishes ordinary baked goods from refrigerated desserts and gives specific conditions for breads with cheese or vegetables. A rented commercial kitchen requires its own licensed business route.
Check setup, labels and market rules
There is no mandatory MDARD cottage-food application.
Prepare complete labels before sale and ask local officials about zoning and business responsibilities. Check the market’s own admission rules before booking a booth; the statewide food-license exemption does not force an organizer to accept every vendor. If a particular training or certificate is requested, establish who requires it for that venue.
Plan your customer conversation and sales log
For online or mail orders and third-party delivery, provide a real opportunity to interact with the business before the sale.
A face-to-face meeting or qualifying virtual meeting is expressly covered. Keep sales records that MDARD can request and track the appropriate annual gross limit. Review the limit again around October 1, when the law first permits an inflation adjustment in 2026.
View official sources (4)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Getting Started and FAQ Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Selling and Samples Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- What Can I Make? Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
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.
Cookies, bread and celebration cakes
Check the conditionsA qualifying shelf-stable cookie, bread or cake can fit the exemption.
Cooked fruit pies also appear on the allowed list. Evaluate the whole recipe: cheesecake, cream-cheese frosting and refrigerated pies are excluded. Do not assume a cake qualifies simply because its sponge is shelf stable.
Cheese and vegetable breads need detail
Check the conditionsMDARD’s list allows certain hard-cheese and dried-ingredient breads under stated preparation conditions, while excluding soft cheeses, large hard-cheese chunks and fresh or frozen vegetables in bread.
Check the current food-specific entry before adding a focaccia or jalapeno-cheddar version to the menu.
View official sources (1)
- What Can I Make? Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home pickup and markets | Sell directly to the final customer from the qualifying operation, including at farmers markets and similar venues. Products must be appropriately packaged and labeled. Check the local or organizer requirements for your specific pickup or market location. |
| Online and mail orders | These are allowed with an opportunity for direct interaction before sale and a Michigan consumer. The statute names face-to-face and virtual meetings; provide an accessible way for customers to use that opportunity before paying. Do not treat a silent checkout page as automatically satisfying it. |
| Delivery and shipping | Third-party food delivery is expressly available under the same pre-sale interaction and Michigan-consumer conditions. Mail ordering is also allowed. Before offering a particular parcel-carrier workflow, confirm that the fulfillment and customer-interaction plan fits MDARD’s current guidance; do not advertise interstate shipping under this exemption. |
| Wholesale and consignment | Not allowed. Restaurants and grocers cannot buy cottage foods for further use or resale, and a retail shelf cannot act as a consignment channel. Adding a café account means investigating a licensed food-business route rather than simply issuing a different invoice. |
View official sources (2)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Getting Started and FAQ Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Michigan 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; physical home-kitchen address OR business phone and issued MSU registration 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; physical home-kitchen address OR business phone and issued MSU registration number
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Illustrative packaged-cookie label
Assume an eligible cookie sold in Michigan.
Show the product name, actual business name, physical home-kitchen address, complete ingredients and subingredients by descending weight, relevant allergens and net weight in US and metric units. Add the required statement below in contrasting type at least equivalent to 11 points. If using the optional MSU registration, the business phone and registration number replace the address field.
Required home-kitchen statement
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development.
Specialty cakes and privacy
For a specialty cake that cannot readily be packaged, MDARD permits the complete label information on the invoice delivered with the cake.
A PO box does not qualify as the physical-address alternative. Use the actual MSU privacy registration before substituting its number and phone, and verify the current application fee instead of assuming the statutory maximum is the charged amount.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan department of agriculture and rural development.
View official sources (2)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Labeling Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
A useful head start
Your Michigan 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 cake ordered online
Imagine a qualifying non-refrigerated celebration cake sold for $300 to a Michigan customer.
Give the customer an opportunity for direct interaction before the sale and provide the full label information with the cake. The higher $75,000 gross-sales rule may apply because the operation sells a product at $250 or more per unit. Keep documentation of product prices and total sales; do not multiply the allowance by relatives who do not operate cottage-food businesses.
Using the pre-2026 online rule
Older guidance banning internet sales outright is superseded by the March 2026 amendment.
The correction is conditional permission, not unrestricted nationwide ecommerce: retain pre-sale interaction and the Michigan-consumer boundary.
Counting household members as businesses
MDARD distinguishes actual operators from other residents.
A household of six is not automatically entitled to six sales ceilings. Keep each real operation’s identity and sales documentation clear.
Assuming privacy means no identification
The voluntary number replaces the address option under the statute, but the business name and telephone number remain on the registered-operation label.
An invented identifier or PO box does not provide the same route.
View official sources (3)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Getting Started and FAQ Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Labeling Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
A few more answers
Common questions
Do I need a state food permit or annual renewal?
A qualifying cottage-food operation has no mandatory MDARD license or registration process. The optional MSU Product Center privacy registration is separate, and the statute allows a one-time administrative fee up to $50. Other local or market requirements need separate checking.
View sources for this answer (3)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
- Getting Started and FAQ Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
- Selling and Samples Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Can a market sample include a refrigerated dip?
Not under the cottage-food sampling permission. Samples must remain non-TCS, and MDARD specifically warns that adding sour cream to a dry dip mix changes the food’s safety requirements. Follow the market food-safety sampling guidance for eligible products.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Selling and Samples Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
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 3 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Use current MDARD guidance
Read the current food list, labeling instructions and Selling and Samples page before opening sales. For the optional address-privacy route, follow the MSU Product Center registration linked by MDARD. Send recipe or exemption questions to MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov with your ZIP code so they reach the appropriate staff.
Official sources 5 references
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 →
Michigan Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Getting Started and FAQ →
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Labeling →
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Selling and Samples →
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- What Can I Make? →
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Michigan’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 (1)
- Michigan Food Law chapter IV, section 289.4102 Michigan Legislature
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.