Cottage food laws in Massachusetts

The limits

Sales cap

None — Massachusetts sets no statewide dollar limit on Retail Residential Kitchen sales

You can sell

Non-potentially-hazardous/non-TCS foods only: breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, candy, chocolate-covered items, crackers, granola, popcorn, jams, jellies, dried herbs, spices, tea, and coffee beans

You cannot sell

Perishable baked goods and any potentially-hazardous/TCS food requiring time/temperature control (e.g., items needing refrigeration), pickles, sauces, and fermented foods per aggregator guidance — confirm exact list with local board of health, as specifics can vary

Getting set up

Permit / registration

Yes — a Residential Kitchen Permit issued and inspected by the local board of health in the city/town where the kitchen is located (Retail tier); a Wholesale Food Processor License from the state DPH Food Protection Program is required to sell to retail stores/restaurants

Cost

Varies by municipality — annual permit fees typically run about $50–$100; exact amount set locally

Training

Varies by county/local board of health — some municipalities require a food safety certification (e.g., ServSafe) and/or allergen awareness training; not uniformly mandated statewide — Varies by county

Kitchen inspection

Yes — local board of health must inspect the kitchen before permit approval; private well/septic systems may require additional testing

Labeling

Product name, business name, business address, ingredients list, allergen declarations, and net weight; exempt residential kitchens (e.g., religious/charitable bake sales, B&Bs) must instead post a placard/disclosure informing consumers the food is prepared in a kitchen not subject to regulatory inspection

Where you can sell

Permitted venues

Direct-to-consumer sales, which under state guidance explicitly include farmers markets, craft fairs, and sales by internet or mail; local aggregator sources also describe farmers markets, roadside stands, events, and home pickup as allowed for retail-permitted kitchens

Online sales

Yes

Delivery in state

Yes — "direct to the consumer" is defined to include sales by internet or mail

Shipping out of state

No — sales must remain direct-to-consumer within the state per cottage food/residential kitchen framework

The fine print

Statute

105 CMR 590.000 (State Sanitary Code, Article X / Massachusetts Food Code, merged retail food code provisions), specifically 590.001 (definitions) and 590.010 (guidance on retail operations, residential kitchen exemptions)

Recent changes

Not confirmedUnverified — confirm with the Food Protection Program whether 105 CMR 590 has been amended since 2023. No specific amendment was located during this research; the Department of Public Health adopts and incorporates the 2013 Food Code by reference (as amended by its Supplement), but no 2024-2025 change to residential-kitchen/cottage-food provisions specifically was found.

Notes

Massachusetts is a county/municipal-variation state: because permitting, fees, and some training requirements are set by each of the 351 individual local boards of health (within the floor established by 105 CMR 590), exact costs and training rules should be confirmed with the specific city/town board of health. Automated WebFetch of mass.gov pages returned HTTP 403 errors during our research; the content above reflects WebSearch-indexed excerpts of those official pages plus cross-checks, not a full direct fetch — recommend a follow-up manual check of mass.gov before publishing.