2026 reference
District of Columbia Cottage Food Law
District of Columbia's cottage food law sets no statewide revenue cap and producers must register with the state before the first sale. Sales only within the District of Columbia, through direct, retail, and online sales and, since June 10, 2025, wholesale to licensed food establishments (D.C. Code § 7-742.01(3), as amended by D.C. Law 26-7). DC Health describes retail sales as excluding sales to restaurants and grocery stores, while allowing wholesale to licensed food establishments consistent with District law. Cottage food products may not be sold or shipped outside the District (25-K DCMR § 105.1(k); DC Health FAQ). Every product must be stored on the business premises and sold prepackaged with the required label (D.C. Code § 7-742.02(c)).
Watch for: Only foods on DC Health's approved list (25-K DCMR § 103.5), or foods DC Health approves after reviewing lab pH and water activity results, may be sold. Canning, jarring, and hermetic sealing are prohibited, so jams and jellies are allowed but not canned, and fruit butters are banned. The 2017 regulations still describe a $25,000 revenue limit and farmers-market-only sales, but the D.C. Code has since removed the cap and added retail, online, and wholesale channels.
Key facts
Where you can sell
Sales only within the District of Columbia, through direct, retail, and online sales and, since June 10, 2025, wholesale to licensed food establishments (D.C. Code § 7-742.01(3), as amended by D.C. Law 26-7). DC Health describes retail sales as excluding sales to restaurants and grocery stores, while allowing wholesale to licensed food establishments consistent with District law. Cottage food products may not be sold or shipped outside the District (25-K DCMR § 105.1(k); DC Health FAQ). Every product must be stored on the business premises and sold prepackaged with the required label (D.C. Code § 7-742.02(c)).
- Direct (in-person)
- Farmers markets
- Online (in-state)
- Restaurants / food service
What's required before your first sale
Register with DC Health's Cottage Food Business Registry before operating (D.C. Code § 7-742.02(b)(1)). The business must be run from the owner's primary residence in the District and hold a Home Occupancy Permit (§ 7-742.01(2)(D); DC Health FAQ). DC Health also requires proof of calibrated scales if food is sold by weight, a Certified Food Protection Manager certification, a DC-issued Certified Food Protection Manager ID card, the list of products to be made, and sample labels (25-K DCMR § 102; DC Health). The registration fee is $50 for a certificate valid for two years (25-K DCMR § 102; DC Health FAQ). DC Health may require a pre-operational home kitchen inspection and may inspect in response to complaints (D.C. Code § 7-742.02(b)(2), (d)). DC Health issues a cottage food business identification number, which must appear on every label, and a certificate listing the approved products.
Allowed and excluded foods
Permitted under cottage food
- Baked goods without cream, custard, cheese, or meat fillings, such as breads, biscuits, churros, muffins, rolls, scones, and sweet breads; unfilled baked donuts
- Cakes, including celebration cakes; pastries, pies, brownies, cookies, and tortillas; fruit pies, fruit empanadas, and fruit tamales
- Candies, such as brittles, toffee, chocolates, cotton candy, fudge, truffles, and confections
- Snacks such as caramel corn, chocolate-covered nonperishable foods, nuts and dried fruits, crackers, pretzels, seeds, and popcorn
- Jams, jellies, syrups, marmalades, and other preserves (not canned or hermetically sealed)
- Honey and honeycomb (with DOEE beekeeping registration)
- Cereals, trail mixes, granola, waffle cones, pizzelles, dried pasta, dry herbs and seasoning blends, dry tea blends, dry baking mixes, roasted coffee, and vinegar and flavored vinegars
Excluded from cottage food
- Potentially hazardous (TCS) foods, including baked goods that need refrigeration such as cream, custard, or meringue pies and cream cheese icings (25-K DCMR § 106.1)
- Meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish products, including jerky
- Milk and dairy products, and cheese made with unpasteurized milk
- Canned, jarred, or hermetically sealed foods; acidified and low-acid canned foods; canned pickled products such as pickles, relish, or sauerkraut (25-K DCMR §§ 105.1, 106.1)
- Pumpkin or fruit butters; sugar-free jams, jellies, syrups, and preserves
- Barbecue sauces, ketchups, and mustards; garlic or vegetable in oil mixtures
- Cut fresh fruits or vegetables and foods made from them; foods made with cooked vegetable products; mushrooms; raw seed sprouts; raw cookie dough
- Pressed juices, ice, alcohol, and pet foods or treats
Label requirements
- Cottage food business identification number issued by DC Health (D.C. Code § 7-742.02(c)(2)(A))
- Name of the cottage food product
- Ingredients in descending order of the amount of each ingredient by weight (DC Health says the specific tree nut must be named)
- Net weight or net volume
- Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements (21 CFR part 101)
- Nutrition information under federal labeling requirements, only if a nutritional claim is made
- Name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor (21 CFR 101.5): 25-K DCMR § 104 requires labeling in accordance with 21 CFR part 101, and no DC source lets the identification number replace this information
- Verbatim disclosure required by D.C. Code § 7-742.02(c)(2)(G), in 10-point or larger type in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label: "Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to the District of Columbia's food safety regulations." (25-K DCMR § 104 prints the same sentence without the final period)
Generate your District of Columbia disclosure label in one click
Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for District of Columbia from data you already track — the state's required disclosure statement rendered verbatim (and sized to meet the state's minimum type size where one applies), your operator info, ingredients in descending order by weight, the federal "Contains:" allergen line, net weight, and lot code. A validation checklist flags anything District of Columbia requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.
Sources
- DC Department of Health — Cottage Food Businesses
- DC Health — Cottage Food Regulations FAQ (PDF)
- Forrager — cottage food law database
- D.C. Code §§ 7-742.01 to 7-742.03 (Cottage food businesses)
- D.C. Law 23-61, Cottage Food Expansion Amendment Act of 2019 (revenue cap repealed; effective March 10, 2020)
- D.C. Law 26-7, Certificate of Need Improvement Amendment Act of 2025, § 3(b) (wholesale to licensed food establishments; effective June 10, 2025)
- 25-K DCMR (Cottage Food Regulations), 64 DCR 13555 (December 29, 2017)
Reference content only — not legal advice. State laws change frequently. Verify against the official source before launching.
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