Arizona Cottage Food Law

HB 2042 amended ARS § 36-931 to add time-and-temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) foods to the cottage food list, provided they contain dairy products, USDA-inspected meat under 9 CFR § 303.1(d), or poultry from either federally inspected sources under 9 CFR § 381.10(d) or small-flock producers operating under the federal 1,000-bird exemption at 9 CFR § 381.10(c). The expansion is paired with the in-person delivery rule at ARS § 36-932(E): TCS items must be sold directly by the preparer (not by a third-party vendor and not via a third-party food delivery platform), maintained at the appropriate temperature during transport, transported to no more than one destination, and transported for no longer than two hours. The expansion does not authorize unpasteurized milk, fish, shellfish, or alcohol — those remain excluded categorically.

A small-flock Arizona poultry producer may process up to 1,000 birds per year on-farm under the federal exemption and use that poultry as an ingredient in cottage food products. The exemption is federal, applies only to on-farm processing for direct sale, and does not authorize interstate commerce. The exemption operates alongside Arizona's cottage food framework rather than as a substitute for it — a producer using the 1,000-bird exemption to source the poultry still needs the ADHS cottage food registration and the food handler certificate to prepare and sell the finished cottage food product.

Under ARS § 36-932(E)(4), non-TCS cottage food products may be sold through a retail food sales establishment — grocery store, convenience store, coffee shop, or restaurant. The retailer must display the cottage food items in a separate section or display case from commercial products and post a conspicuous sign indicating that the items are "homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection." The signage wording is statutory and may not be paraphrased. The retail path is not available for TCS items, which must be sold directly by the preparer and delivered in person.

Does Arizona have a cottage food law?

Yes. Arizona's framework lives in ARS § 36-136 and in ARS Chapter 8, Article 2 (§§ 36-931 through 36-933), added by HB 2042 (2024) and implemented by Arizona Administrative Code R9-8-101.02. The Arizona Department of Health Services administers the program through its online cottage food registry. Operating under a valid registration exempts the producer from the licensing and inspection regime that would otherwise apply to a retail food establishment.

Is there a revenue cap on Arizona cottage food sales?

No. Arizona has no statutory revenue cap on cottage food sales. A registered producer can sell five hundred dollars or five hundred thousand dollars a year of cottage food and the framework does not change. Arizona is in the small group of "food-freedom" states — alongside Wyoming, North Dakota, Maine, Utah, Iowa, Alabama, and post-HB-398 Georgia — that have no statutory cap on cottage food sales. The constraints that replace the cap are the food list, the labeling rule, the in-state-only restriction, and the in-person-delivery rule for TCS items.

Do I need a permit or license to sell cottage food in Arizona?

No permit, no license, and no fee. Arizona requires registration with the ADHS online cottage food registry, which is free, plus completion of an ANSI-accredited food handler training course before registration. The registration is renewed every three years per AAC R9-8-101.02(F) and the food handler certificate must remain current. The state does not inspect the producer's home kitchen as part of registration — Arizona relies on the certified food handler training and the labeling disclaimer rather than an in-person inspection.

What did HB 2042 change in 2024?

HB 2042 was signed March 29, 2024 and took effect September 14, 2024. It carved cottage food out of ARS § 36-136 and gave it its own three-section article (§§ 36-931 through 36-933). It expanded the food list to include time-and-temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) foods containing dairy, meat from federally inspected sources under 9 CFR § 303.1(d), and poultry from federally inspected sources under 9 CFR § 381.10(d) or from small-flock producers under the federal 1,000-bird exemption at 9 CFR § 381.10(c). And it added the in-person delivery rule for TCS items at ARS § 36-932(E) — two-hour maximum, one destination, no third-party delivery platforms. Arizona is the first state in the country to authorize a meaningful list of TCS foods (dairy, meat, poultry) at the cottage food tier.

What is the in-person delivery rule for perishable cottage food in Arizona?

Under ARS § 36-932(E), any cottage food product that is a TCS food or contains dairy, meat, or poultry must be sold directly by the food preparer (not by a third-party vendor and not via a third-party food delivery platform like DoorDash, UberEats, or Grubhub), delivered in person to the consumer, maintained at the appropriate temperature during the entire delivery, transported to no more than one destination, and transported for no longer than two hours from when it leaves the cottage food preparer's home to when it arrives in the customer's hand. The rule does not prohibit online ordering — a customer may order a refrigerated quiche through the producer's website — but the handoff must be hand-to-hand and the cold chain must hold for the entire two-hour window. Shelf-stable cottage food (cookies, jams, dry mixes, candies, honey) is not subject to the in-person delivery rule and can move through any channel.

Can I sell Arizona cottage food online or wholesale to grocery stores and restaurants?

Yes to both, with one channel-specific rule for perishable items. ARS § 36-932(E) authorizes sales through the food preparer, an agent of the food preparer, or a third-party vendor (grocery store, retail food sales establishment, convenience store, restaurant). Online sales are permitted with the same label information surfaced as a prominent notification on the listing. The retailer must display cottage food items in a separate section from commercial products with a conspicuous "homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection" sign. The only structural restriction: TCS items (dairy, meat, poultry, anything requiring temperature control) must be sold directly by the preparer and delivered in person — they cannot go through the retail-venue path or any third-party delivery platform. Non-TCS items move through any channel.

What goes on an Arizona cottage food label?

Five required elements. The food preparer's name and ADHS registration number. A complete ingredient list in descending order by predominance by weight (with sub-ingredients in parentheses for compound ingredients). The production date. The verbatim statutory disclaimer required by ARS § 36-932(A)(3): "This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection." And an information statement directing consumers to azdhs.gov/Cottagefood for foodborne-illness reporting, registration verification, and complaint information. The disclaimer wording is statutory and may not be paraphrased. Labels must be attached to packaging with a tamper-evident seal. Online sales must display the same information as a prominent notification on the product listing. Federal allergen labeling under FALCPA and the FASTER Act applies on top of the state rule.

Can I ship Arizona cottage food across state lines?

No. ARS § 36-932 and AAC R9-8-101.02 do not authorize sales outside Arizona, and federal FDA jurisdiction picks up the moment a package crosses a state line regardless of state law. Online and wholesale sales within Arizona are authorized, but a producer who wants to ship to an out-of-state customer needs a commercial food processor license and FDA food facility registration. Several third-party state-law summaries incorrectly describe Arizona as authorizing interstate sales — the statute does not.