Arizona Cottage Food Law (2026): Registration, Labels and Where to Sell

Last verified: October 27, 2026 · Written by the UrbanAgLaw.org Editorial Team

Quick answer: Arizona lets you make cottage food in a home kitchen and sell it, but you must first complete a food handler course from an accredited program and register online with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). Registration lasts three years. Cottage food can include foods that need time or temperature control for safety (TCS), but those must be delivered in person. Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, alcohol and unpasteurized milk are excluded, with narrow exceptions for inspected or exempt meat and poultry. Labels must show your name and registration number, the ingredients, the date and two required statements. Sales are limited to Arizona, and the law sets no sales cap.

At a glance

License or permit: ADHS registration with a certificate of registration, renewed every three years
Annual sales limit: None in the statute or the rule
Allowed foods: Food prepared in your home kitchen, including non-TCS foods and TCS foods with extra delivery rules
Where you can sell: Inside Arizona only: directly to consumers, through a store or kiosk (third-party vendor), and for non-TCS foods through a third-party delivery platform
Not allowed: Alcohol, unpasteurized milk, fish and shellfish, and meat and poultry (except limited exemptions); products with marijuana; selling as an ingredient for retail food
Training required: A food handler course from an accredited program, kept current

Who the Arizona law covers

Arizona’s cottage food law is in sections 36-931 to 36-933 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, with rules in R9-8-101.02 of the Arizona Administrative Code. A cottage food product is food prepared in a home kitchen by, or under the direct supervision of, a person registered with ADHS. A home kitchen is a kitchen in your residence of a type normally found in a home and not larger than 1,000 square feet, or a kitchen in a facility for people with developmental disabilities. A 2024 law (House Bill 2042) widened the program, and the current rule was published in the Arizona Administrative Register in February 2025.

What you can sell

The statute does not give a list of allowed foods. It defines cottage food broadly and then excludes certain products, and ADHS rules treat foods as either non-TCS or TCS.

Is it covered by the Arizona cottage food law?
Food	Allowed?
Baked goods, candy, tortillas, jams, dry mixes and other non-TCS foods	Yes
TCS foods without meat or poultry (for example cheesecake or cream-filled desserts)	Yes, with limits in-person delivery only, kept at a safe temperature, one destination, no more than two hours
Meat and poultry products	Only if exempt poultry under the federal 1,000-bird exemption or from an inspected source, or meat from an inspected source
Fish and shellfish products	No
Alcoholic beverages and foods containing alcohol	No
Unpasteurized milk and milk products	No
Products containing marijuana	No
Food sold to be used as an ingredient in products sold at a retail food establishment	No

You may use only ingredients from an approved source that are allowed by law, and you may not use your home kitchen as a commissary for a mobile food unit. Keep products and food preparation equipment inside your home; you cannot store them elsewhere.

Powdered sugar cookies piled on a glass cake stand — Cookies and other shelf-stable baked goods are the simplest products to sell.

How to register

Complete a food handler training course from an accredited program that follows national standards for certifying individuals.
Apply to ADHS for registration. You provide your name, address, telephone number and email, the address of the home where you will prepare the food, whether that home is a facility for people with developmental disabilities, a description of each product, a copy of your active training certificate, and a signed attestation that you have reviewed ADHS food safety information and will follow the law.
ADHS issues a certificate of registration if the application meets the rule. If it needs more information, you have 30 days to respond or the application is treated as withdrawn.
Renew your registration every three years, keep your food handler certification active, and report any change in your information within 30 days.
When you sell anywhere other than your home kitchen, display your certificate of registration.

The rule does not state a registration fee. You may not prepare cottage food for sale if your registration or your certification has expired.

Home rules

You must prepare the food in the registered home kitchen, dispose of food and kitchen waste safely, and directly supervise anyone who helps and is not registered. Packaging must be clean, sanitary and secure, suited to the food’s consistency and temperature, fully enclose the food and carry a tamper-evident seal, which can be the label. ADHS can suspend or revoke your registration for noncompliance, a verified food safety complaint, or impeding a foodborne illness investigation, and you can appeal.

Arizona label requirements

Each package needs an attached, legible label (printed or handwritten) showing:

your name and ADHS registration number;
a list of all ingredients;
the date the food was prepared;
the statement “This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection”;
the statement “To obtain additional information about cottage foods or to report a foodborne illness, go to azdhs.gov/Cottagefood”;
if it applies, a statement that the food was prepared in the home kitchen of a facility for people with developmental disabilities.

If you sell online, give a prominent notice that includes all of this labeling information.

Product nameCinnamon Cookies

PreparerExample Home Kitchen
ADHS registration no. 000000

IngredientsWheat flour, sugar, butter (cream (milk), salt), eggs, cinnamon, baking powder. Contains: wheat, milk, eggs

Date preparedOctober 1, 2026

Required statementsThis product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection.
To obtain additional information about cottage foods or to report a foodborne illness, go to azdhs.gov/Cottagefood.

Example label with the parts the statute and rule list. The business and number are made up.

Federal labeling rules also require naming major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

Where you can sell

Only inside Arizona. Offer and deliver cottage food only in Arizona.
Non-TCS foods: sell and deliver directly to consumers, through a third-party vendor, or deliver through a third-party food delivery platform that agrees to the statute’s rules.
TCS foods and foods with meat or poultry: deliver in person, directly to the consumer. Do not use a delivery platform, keep the food at a safe temperature, go to no more than one destination for no more than two hours (including time stuck in traffic), and sell it only at that first destination.
Stores and kiosks: the product must be in a separate section or display case from non-homemade food, and the store must display a sign saying the product is homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection.

Stack of freshly cooked homemade flatbread — Breads and flatbreads can be sold directly, through a store or through a delivery platform.

Training and insurance

A food handler course from an accredited program is required before you register, and the certification must stay active. Counties differ on which training they accept, so check the ADHS cottage food page. Product liability coverage is also worth considering. See our guide to liability, risk and insurance.

Local rules and HOAs

The law does not change county or municipal building, zoning or land use rules, so ask your city or county about a home business. It also does not exempt you from other required inspections, such as brand or animal health inspections, or from the rules on milk sales. Private rules apply too, so check your HOA covenants and lease. For general background, see our planning and zoning guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell food made in my home kitchen in Arizona?

Yes, if you complete an accredited food handler course, register with ADHS and follow the labeling, packaging and delivery rules.

Do I need a license to sell baked goods from home in Arizona?

You need ADHS registration, not a food establishment permit. The registration lasts three years.

Is there a sales limit in Arizona?

Neither the statute nor the rule sets a sales limit.

Can I sell cottage food online or by mail in Arizona?

You can sell online, but only inside Arizona, and the listing must show your full label information. Non-TCS foods may be delivered through a third-party delivery platform.

Can I sell to grocery stores?

You can sell through a third-party vendor such as a store or kiosk if the product is in a separate section with a homemade sign. You cannot sell cottage food as an ingredient for food made at a retail food establishment.

Can I sell pickles or canned goods in Arizona?

The statute does not name canned or pickled foods. ADHS divides foods into non-TCS and TCS, so check the ADHS approved foods guidance for your recipe before you sell.

Note on conflicting sources

Many older guides describe Arizona’s earlier home baked and confectionery goods program, which allowed only a short list of foods and used different label wording. The 2024 law and the 2025 rule widened the program and changed the allergen statement, so labels printed before 2025 may need to be reprinted. The statute says preparers may sell to the maximum extent federal law allows, while the rule limits offers and delivery to Arizona, and we followed the rule. We did not find the ADHS pages with the approved foods list, the registration process and any fee, so confirm them with ADHS before you apply.

Official sources

Arizona Revised Statutes, sections 36-931 to 36-933 (cottage food)
Arizona Administrative Code, R9-8-101.02 (Cottage Food), Arizona Administrative Register, February 28, 2025
Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS): Cottage Food Program
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Food Allergies (FASTER Act, sesame)

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the official sources above or contact ADHS before you start selling.