TL;DR
Michigan's cottage food law lets you sell up to $50,000 a year in gross sales from your home kitchen — or up to $75,000 if every product you sell is priced at $250 or more, like wedding cakes. A 2025 law (HB 4122, effective March 2026) doubled the old $25,000 cap and, for the first time, allowed online sales, shipping, and third-party delivery. No license, inspection, or food safety training is required, though a low-cost voluntary registration exists if you don't want your home address on your labels.
⚠️ Important disclaimer
This article is informational and is not legal or tax advice. Cottage food rules change, and county health departments or HOA rules can add restrictions the state law doesn't. Always confirm current requirements with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development before making business decisions. Last reviewed: July 2026.
i was updating a spreadsheet of state sales caps for a client back in february, saw "michigan: $25,000," and made a mental note that it was one of the stingiest limits in the country — dead last, tied with a couple others. i went to double-check that number for this post in july and the whole thing had changed. michigan doubled its cap. quietly. no press conference, just a bill (HB 4122) that took effect in march 2026 and moved the ceiling from $25,000 to $50,000, with a $75,000 tier for anyone selling higher-priced items.
that's the kind of change that's easy to miss if you're not checking your state's rule sheet regularly, and it's exactly why "i think i remember the cap" is a bad strategy for cottage food compliance. here's what's actually true right now.
What is Michigan's cottage food law?
Michigan's cottage food law, first enacted in 2010 and most recently updated by House Bill 4122 in March 2026, allows home cooks to make and sell certain non-perishable foods directly to consumers from a home kitchen without a food establishment license or inspection, as long as annual gross sales stay under the state's cap and products are properly labeled. ## The 2026 cap: $50,000, or $75,000 for high-priced items
Michigan's sales limit has two tiers:
| Tier | Annual sales cap | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $50,000 | Default cap for most cottage food sellers |
| High-priced products | $75,000 | Only if every product you sell is priced at $250 or more per item (e.g., wedding cakes) |
This is a genuinely big jump. Before HB 4122 took effect in March 2026, Michigan's cap had sat at $25,000 for over a decade — one of the lowest in the country. The new law doubled it outright, and starting in October 2026 the state agriculture department gets the option (not the obligation) to adjust the cap further for inflation each year. That "not the obligation" detail matters: don't assume the number goes up automatically. Check it yourself before you plan a year of production around it. the $75,000 tier is an all-or-nothing deal, which trips people up. if you sell one $18 dozen of cookies alongside your $400 custom cakes, you don't get the higher cap — every single product has to clear the $250 threshold to qualify.
What changed in 2026: online sales and delivery, finally
The bigger practical shift isn't just the dollar figure — it's where you're now allowed to sell. Before HB 4122, Michigan cottage food producers were largely limited to in-person, direct sales. The 2026 update opened up:
- Online sales through your own site or a marketplace
- In-state shipping
- Third-party delivery (think DoorDash-style platforms), with one condition
That condition is real: to sell online, by mail order, or through a delivery platform, you have to give the customer the opportunity to "directly interact" with you before they buy — meaning an in-person or virtual face-to-face meeting has to be offered, even if the customer never takes you up on it. You don't have to force a meeting, you just have to make one available. Wholesale through retail stores or restaurants is still not allowed. Direct-to-consumer is the whole model, just with a lot more ways to reach the consumer than before.
No license or inspection — but registration is worth the $50
Michigan doesn't require a state license or home kitchen inspection to start selling. Here's the actual requirement list:
| Requirement | Michigan cottage food |
|---|---|
| State license | Not required |
| Kitchen inspection | Not required |
| Food safety training | Not required (free 2-hour MSU Extension course available) |
| Registration | Optional — one-time fee up to $50 through the MSU Product Center |
| Private well testing | Recommended annually if applicable |
The registration is optional, but here's why bakers get it anyway: without it, your home address has to appear on every label. With a registration number from the MSU Product Center, you can list your phone number and registration number instead — a real privacy trade worth $50 for anyone uncomfortable putting their home address on a package that ends up in a stranger's kitchen.
What you can and can't sell
Michigan allows most of the standard cottage food catalog: breads (sourdough included), cakes, cookies, pastries, candies, honey, jams, and a wide range of dry snack foods like granola and kettle corn.
Notable restrictions:
- No fermented foods — this specifically excludes things like kombucha, and it's worth double-checking your fermentation process against the list, since "fermented" catches more than people expect
- No pickles, sauces, salsas, ketchup, or mustard — acidified foods generally require a different food safety pathway
- No juices, carbonated drinks, or meat jerkies
- Only two approved buttercream frosting recipes — Michigan specifies exact recipes on the state's cottage food page rather than allowing any buttercream
Maple syrup and honey fall under a separate exemption with their own $15,001/year cap, not the general cottage food limit — worth knowing if you sell both baked goods and syrup, since you're tracking two different numbers.
The contrarian take: the cap increase matters less than the delivery change
Every headline on this update leads with "Michigan doubles its cottage food cap," and sure, that's true and worth celebrating if you were bumping up against $25,000. But i think the bigger story for most bakers is buried lower: online sales and delivery are now legal at all. A doubled cap only matters if you were already near the old ceiling — realistically, a small fraction of home bakers. Being able to legally sell online and use delivery platforms changes how every Michigan cottage baker can reach customers, whether they're making $8,000 a year or $48,000. If you'd written off selling online in Michigan because it used to be against the rules, that assumption is now six months out of date.
Tracking two numbers instead of one
Because Michigan's cap depends on your pricing mix ($50K standard vs. $75K if every item is $250+), you're effectively tracking two things: your gross sales, and whether your product mix still qualifies for the higher tier. That's harder to eyeball than a flat cap, and it's exactly the kind of thing the CrumbCoach compliance dashboard is built to handle — it tracks your running gross sales against your state's cap and flags your product pricing mix automatically. It's built into the app on iOS and Android.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cottage food sales limit in Michigan in 2026?
Michigan's standard cap is $50,000 in gross annual sales. If every product you sell is priced at $250 or more per item, like wedding cakes, you can sell up to $75,000 a year instead. The cap doubled from $25,000 under HB 4122, effective March 2026.
Can I sell my baked goods online in Michigan?
Yes, as of the March 2026 update. You can sell online, ship in-state, and use third-party delivery platforms, as long as you give customers the option of a direct (in-person or virtual) interaction with you before they purchase.
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from home in Michigan?
No. Michigan doesn't require a state license or kitchen inspection for cottage food sales. Registration through the MSU Product Center is optional and costs up to $50 one time — it lets you use a registration number instead of your home address on labels.
Can I sell sourdough bread under Michigan's cottage food law?
Yes. Breads, including sourdough, are allowed as long as they're shelf-stable and don't contain prohibited ingredients like fresh fruit fillings, alcohol, or ingredients that make the product perishable.
Can I sell my baked goods wholesale to a Michigan retail store?
No. Michigan's cottage food law only permits direct-to-consumer sales — home, events, markets, online, and delivery. Selling through retail stores, restaurants, or other food establishments is not allowed under this exemption.
crumb coach was built for cottage bakers running real businesses — the app tracks your sales against your state's cap, generates compliant labels, and stores your food safety documents, so the legal side runs quietly in the background while you bake. it's on iOS and Android.