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Checked 2026-09-08 · Source linked below

Cottage food laws in Michigan

What you can sell from your home kitchen in Michigan, how much of it, where you can sell it, and what has to go on the label — with the government source for every line.

Blake Boykin

Researched and maintained by Blake Boykin, Founder, Boykin Web Management. Last checked 2026-09-08.

We are not lawyers. Confirm anything here with Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) before you produce or sell. Fields marked Not confirmed are open questions, not zeros. How we source this.

Michigan

Permissive

Michigan Cottage Food Law · Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)

The limits

Sales cap
$50,000 per year standard; $75,000 per year if all products sold are priced at $250 or more per unit (both caps to be adjusted for inflation starting October 2026). Note: these are the NEW figures effective March 24, 2026 under Public Act 51 of 2025 (House Bill 4122) — the prior cap was $25,000.
You can sell
Non-potentially-hazardous foods not requiring time/temperature control: breads and baked goods, candies, condiments (honey, nut butters, syrups, vinegars), dry goods, extracts, pastries, jams/jellies, and snacks (granola, popcorn, crackers, etc.). Maple syrup and honey also operate under a separate, related exemption with its own (lower) cap.
You cannot sell
Perishable baked goods, acidified/canned foods, pickles, fermented items, salsas, sauces, meat jerky, juices, carbonated beverages, kombucha, and pet food

Getting set up

Permit / registration
No license or inspection required by MDARD; voluntary registration with the MSU Product Center (for a registration number to use on labels instead of a home address) is optional
Cost
None required; optional MSU Product Center registration costs up to $50 one-time
Training
No — optional; MSU Extension offers a free food safety course
Kitchen inspection
No
Labeling
Product name, ingredients, allergens, business name and address (or phone number plus registration number in lieu of address), net weight/volume, and a required disclaimer statement that the product is not inspected/licensed by the state

Where you can sell

Permitted venues
Farmers markets, roadside stands, events, home sales, and — as of the 2025 amendment — online sales, mail order, and third-party delivery platforms (e.g., DoorDash) for in-state consumers. Restaurants, retail stores, wholesale, and catering remain prohibited.
Online sales
Yes with restrictions — permitted under the 2025 amendment (effective March 24, 2026) provided the producer gives consumers an opportunity for direct interaction (in person or virtual) before the sale
Delivery in state
Yes — mail order and third-party food delivery platforms are now explicitly authorized for in-state sales
Shipping out of state
No — sales are limited to in-state consumers

The fine print

Statute
MCL 289.4102, MCL 289.1105(1)(j)&(k), MCL 289.1107(c), MCL 289.1111(n); most recently amended by 2025 House Bill 4122, enacted as Public Act 51 of 2025
Recent changes
Public Act 376 of 2024 first raised the cap from $25,000 to $50,000/$75,000 and authorized third-party delivery. House Bill 4122 (Public Act 51 of 2025), signed December 23, 2025 and effective March 24, 2026, further expanded the law to explicitly allow online sales, mail order, and third-party delivery platform sales in-state, and set the inflation-indexing mechanism starting October 2026. As of this writing (September 2026), HB 4122 is in effect.
Notes
This is one of the most significant recent cottage food changes in any of the researched jurisdictions — Michigan's cap has roughly doubled and online/delivery sales are now allowed, a major shift from the pre-2024 law. Given the law took effect only recently (March 24, 2026) and MDARD's own site returned a 403 to automated fetch, confirm current implementation details (e.g., final inflation-adjustment formula, any interim MDARD guidance) directly at michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/cottage-food before publishing.

Questions that apply in every state — pricing, insurance, labeling, pet treats, sales caps — are answered in the full FAQ.

Knowing the rules is the easy part

The harder part is selling without a place of your own to sell from.

  • Your buyers are Messenger threads, not customers

    There is no export and no list, so there is no way to tell 400 past buyers that holiday pre-orders open Friday. Every season starts from zero.

  • Marketplace listings do not rank on Google

    Three years of posting can leave you with no searchable presence at all, while the people searching for what you make land on whoever does have a page.

  • Every order costs you a conversation

    Price, pickup time, allergens, payment, three follow-ups — by hand, per order. That is the real ceiling on how much you can sell, and it has nothing to do with how fast you bake.

The longer version, plus what to run your business on, is on the main reference page.

Free, before you decide anything

Stop selling through Messenger threads

Michigan lets you take orders online. A Marketplace listing cannot take an order, hold a pickup window, or collect an email address — a page of your own does all three, and it keeps showing up in Google long after the listing expires.

Tell me what you make and I will build you a sample site — real and clickable, not a mockup. You see it first, and owe nothing if it is not right for you.

  • Built around Michigan's labeling and disclosure rules
  • Order cutoffs and pickup windows, so nothing oversells
  • Yours to keep — your domain, your customer list

No cost and no obligation. You see the sample first and decide from there.