Cottage food laws in West Virginia

The limits

Sales cap

West Virginia's cottage food law imposes no dollar or unit-volume sales cap on either tier. This research read the full, current operative statute — W. Va. Code §19-35-6 (nonpotentially hazardous cottage foods, sold without any permit) and §19-35-5 together with the new cottage foods article enacted by 2026 Senate Bill 44 (effective June 12, 2026), which governs permitted potentially hazardous cottage foods (acidified, pickled, fermented, and other time/temperature-controlled items) — and none of these provisions includes a revenue or sales-volume ceiling of any kind, unlike some other states' cottage food statutes which state an explicit cap.

You can sell

• Non-potentially-hazardous tier: Shelf-stable foods with low risk of bacterial growth — breads, cookies, cakes, and certain jams and jellies • Potentially-hazardous tier (new, effective June 12, 2026 under SB 44): Canned acidified foods, pickled products, salsas, fermented products, cut produce, hot sauces/marinara, and non-standard jams and jellies; many such products additionally require approval from a WVDA-recognized process control authority before sale

You cannot sell

West Virginia's cottage foods law categorically excludes meat, meat products, poultry, poultry products, seafood, and Grade A dairy products from the cottage foods framework — these cannot be made or sold as cottage food under either the no-permit nonpotentially-hazardous pathway or the newly created permitted potentially-hazardous-foods pathway (acidified/pickled/fermented items), regardless of permitting or inspection status. This is a change made effective June 12, 2026 by Senate Bill 44, which restructured and expanded the prior cottage food framework while retaining this exclusion.

Getting set up

Permit / registration

Varies by tier — non-potentially-hazardous cottage foods may be sold without any cottage food vendor permit; potentially-hazardous cottage foods require mandatory registration with WVDA for a Potentially Hazardous Cottage Food vendor permit, including a kitchen inspection prior to permit issuance, annual registration running January 1–December 31, WVDA label review, and training certification

Cost

Not confirmedUnverified — confirm with WVDA (cottagefoods@wvda.us, 304-558-2227). West Virginia's 2026 cottage foods law (S.B. 44) does not set a permit fee amount in the statute itself; it delegates fee-setting to WVDA through legislative/emergency rulemaking ('the department shall propose emergency or legislative rules for approval...for the purposes of implementing this article, including the setting of any fees'). Selling nonpotentially hazardous cottage foods requires no permit and therefore no fee. News coverage of the law's passage reported a $35 annual permit fee for potentially hazardous cottage food vendors, but this research could not locate and read WVDA's actual fee rule or fee schedule (referenced on the agency's cottage-food page as a 'Filed Cottage Food Rule Emergency Rule 2026' document) to confirm that figure against a primary source, and news coverage does not qualify as an acceptable source of record under this project's rules.

Training

No, for the non-potentially-hazardous tier; Yes, for the potentially-hazardous tier (training certification required as part of permitting)

Kitchen inspection

No, for the non-potentially-hazardous tier; Yes, for the potentially-hazardous tier (WVDA kitchen inspection required prior to permit issuance)

Labeling

"This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens." Plus an ingredient list (main ingredient listed first), net weight in both English and metric units, and the name, phone number, and address of the residential kitchen

Where you can sell

Permitted venues

Direct to consumer, within West Virginia only — potentially-hazardous cottage foods "may only be sold within the geographic boundaries of West Virginia" per WVDA

Online sales

West Virginia's cottage foods statute explicitly permits remote (online) sales. Nonpotentially hazardous cottage foods may be sold to the consumer in person or remotely, directly by the producer or through an agent or third-party vendor, which covers online ordering.

Delivery in state

Delivery of cottage food products is expressly permitted under West Virginia's statute — products may be delivered to the consumer by the producer, an agent of the producer, a third-party vendor, or a third-party carrier — but this is limited to sales within West Virginia. Both WVDA's own cottage food program page and the enacted 2026 cottage foods statute state that cottage food sales must stay within the state's borders.

Shipping out of state

No — WVDA explicitly restricts potentially-hazardous cottage food sales to within West Virginia; federal rules generally bar interstate shipment of cottage food in any case

The fine print

Statute

W. Va. Code Chapter 19, Article 35 (Cottage Food Operation); note some secondary sources also cite W. Va. Code § 19-35-5 and § 19-35-6 for specific provisions

Recent changes

Senate Bill 44 (2025 Regular Session), effective June 12, 2026 — expands the cottage food program to allow sale of "potentially hazardous" foods (acidified, pickled, or fermented, and time/temperature-controlled items) under a new WVDA vendor-permit tier with mandatory kitchen inspection

Notes

WVDA's own page focuses primarily on the new potentially-hazardous tier; full text of the non-potentially-hazardous tier's statute (cited by aggregators as W. Va. Code § 19-35-1) and SB 44's complete bill text could not be retrieved directly during our research session (the West Virginia Legislature's own bill-status page for "SB 44" in the 2025 session returned an unrelated child-care-ratio bill, indicating a possible bill-number mismatch in secondary sourcing — confirm the correct SB number and full statute citation directly with WVDA or the WV Legislature's bill tracker before publishing). Sales cap, fees, and full labeling/prohibited-foods lists should be confirmed directly with WVDA.