Cottage food laws in Texas

The limits

Sales cap

$150,000 (raised from prior lower threshold by SB 541, effective September 1, 2025)

You can sell

Broad — as of SB 541 (eff. 9/1/2025), any homemade food item is allowed EXCEPT the categories listed under Prohibited Foods below.

You cannot sell

Meat, meat products, poultry, poultry products; seafood, fish, shellfish and their products; ice or ice products (shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, gelato); low-acid canned goods; cannabis/CBD/THC-containing products; raw milk/milk products

Getting set up

Permit / registration

Varies — no permit needed for non-TCS (shelf-stable) sales direct to consumer. Operators selling Time/Temperature-Control-for-Safety (TCS) foods, and cottage food vendors purchasing at wholesale from a CFPO, must register on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry.

Cost

None — statute bars health departments from charging a fee to produce or sell directly to a consumer

Training

Yes — a basic food safety education/training program for food handlers accredited under Health & Safety Code Ch. 438(D); a Food Manager Certification satisfies this

Kitchen inspection

No (not required for standard CFPO operation; TCS registrants are subject to DSHS registry oversight)

Labeling

Operation name; address or DSHS registration number; product's common/usual name; major food allergens; required disclosure: "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION"; for TCS foods, date made and safe-handling instructions in 12-point font

Where you can sell

Permitted venues

Direct to consumer at farmers markets, farm stands, food service establishments, retail stores, online, and (as of SB 541) wholesale to registered cottage food vendors for non-TCS foods

Online sales

Yes, with restrictions — label information must be posted on the website before payment, and the address/registration number provided on the label after purchase

Delivery in state

Yes, with restrictions — online orders must be personally delivered by the operator, an employee, or a household member (not third-party carrier/mail per the sourced material)

Shipping out of state

Not allowed. Texas cottage food law restricts internet sales to transactions completed "in this state," and even then requires the operator (or an employee/household member) to personally deliver the food to the consumer — there is no provision authorizing mail or commercial-carrier shipment, in state or out. This applies independent of SB 541 (2025), which raised the sales cap to $150,000 effective September 1, 2025 but did not add an interstate shipping allowance. Shipping across state lines would fall outside the cottage food exemption and into federal/interstate-commerce jurisdiction requiring a licensed commercial kitchen.

The fine print

Statute

Health and Safety Code § 437; 25 Texas Administrative Code § 229.661

Recent changes

SB 541, effective September 1, 2025 — expanded allowable foods to "any food except..." model, raised the annual gross income threshold to $150,000, permitted wholesale sales to registered cottage food vendors (non-TCS only), allowed sampling at any location, and allowed a registration number to replace the home address on labels

Notes

None identified — DSHS page and cross-checked aggregator (texascottagefoodlaw.com) agree on the $150,000 cap and SB 541 effective date.