Cottage food laws in Iowa

The limits

Sales cap

None

You can sell

Foods prepared in a private residence that do not require time/temperature control for safety, sold directly from producer to consumer, and properly labeled; includes home-canned/processed pickles, vegetables, or fruits with a finished equilibrium pH of 4.60 or below, or a water activity of 0.85 or below, measured per batch, with the processing/canning date on each container

You cannot sell

Any food that must be kept hot or cold for safety; dairy products; and meat, meat food products, poultry, or poultry food products.

Getting set up

Permit / registration

No — cottage foods meeting the statutory criteria are not subject to licensing or inspection

Cost

None

Training

Not stated as a requirement on Iowa DIAL's cottage food program page — confirmed by direct fetch that the page's requirements cover preparation location, temperature control, direct sales, and labeling, with no training mandate mentioned. Per source rules, this absence cannot be read as confirming no training is required. Confirm with Iowa DIAL (dial.iowa.gov).

Kitchen inspection

Only on complaint (consistent with the "not subject to licensing or inspection" framing) — not explicitly confirmed in sourced text; confirm with DIAL

Labeling

Name and address, phone number, or email address of the person preparing the food; the common name of the food; the ingredients in descending order of predominance; the required disclosure "This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection."; an allergen statement identifying each major food allergen by common name where applicable; and, for home-processed and home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits, the date the food was processed and canned.

Where you can sell

Permitted venues

Direct producer-to-consumer sales, including temporary food establishments operated by the producer (e.g., farmers markets)

Online sales

Yes — orders may be taken by website, social media, email, or phone

Delivery in state

Yes — delivery by mail or carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx) within Iowa is permitted

Shipping out of state

No — out-of-state shipping is not authorized under cottage food law, as that would constitute federally regulated interstate commerce

The fine print

Statute

Iowa Code Chapter 137F (Food Establishments and Food Processing Plants); cottage food provisions established/updated via House File 2431 (2022)

Recent changes

House File 2431 (2022) established/updated Iowa's cottage food exemption; no further legislative amendments identified since 2023 in the sources reviewed. An Iowa Administrative Rules notice (ARC 6569C) referencing cottage food rulemaking was located but not reviewed in full — confirm with DIAL whether it reflects a pending or finalized change

Notes

DIAL's own cottage food page did not yield extractable sales-cap, training, or inspection-trigger detail on direct fetch; those fields are drawn from cross-checked aggregator and university-extension sources (Forrager, PickYourOwn, Iowa Food Protection Task Force) and should be confirmed directly with DIAL. No MEHKO-specific law was identified for Iowa.