TL;DR
New York's cottage food law has no sales cap at all — you can register for free with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and sell as much as you want, including through retail stores and restaurants. The catch is a stricter-than-usual list of allowed foods: New York is the only state that allows candy but bans chocolate outright, and several dry goods (spices, dried fruit, roasted nuts) must start from commercially-processed ingredients rather than something you dried or roasted yourself.
⚠️ Important disclaimer
This article is informational and is not legal or tax advice. Cottage food rules can be updated by state agencies without a new bill, and local health departments or HOA rules can add restrictions New York's statewide rule doesn't mention. Always confirm current requirements with the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets before making business decisions. Last reviewed: July 2026.
i spent an embarrassing twenty minutes on the phone with my cousin in rochester last month trying to convince her that no, she really doesn't have a sales cap, because i'd just spent a week writing about texas's $150,000 limit and florida's $250,000 limit and my brain had decided every state has a ceiling somewhere. she kept saying "there's no cap, i checked twice," and she was right. new york just... doesn't have one.
that's the headline, and it's a genuinely good one for ambitious home bakers. but new york's law has a personality all its own, and it's not all generous. it's the only state in the country that lets you sell candy but specifically bans chocolate. it makes you buy your dried herbs and roasted nuts pre-processed instead of doing it yourself in your own kitchen. those two rules alone have derailed more than one new york baker's product line.
let's get into what the rule actually says, not what you assume it says because you read the texas or florida version first.
What is New York's cottage food law?
New York's cottage food law is a set of rules from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets — created through administrative rule changes in 2018 and 2020 rather than a new bill — that lets home cooks sell certain non-perishable foods made in a home kitchen without a food service establishment permit, as long as they register with the state and follow the approved-foods and labeling rules. ## The part everyone gets wrong: there's no sales cap
Most cottage food laws set a dollar ceiling — Texas at $150,000, Florida at $250,000, California splitting Class A and B at different tiers. New York doesn't. There is no maximum gross sales limit for registered home processors. That's a genuinely rare setup, and it changes how you should think about growth. In a capped state, you eventually have to decide whether to stop at the ceiling or move into a commercial kitchen. In New York, the ceiling is your own capacity — oven space, your own hours, and how much of the business you actually want. If you're the kind of baker who wants to scale past a side hustle without immediately needing a commercial lease, that's worth knowing before you assume you're stuck small.
New York also permits something most cottage food states restrict: indirect sales, meaning you can sell through retail stores and restaurants, not just direct to the customer. Combined with no cap, that's a meaningfully bigger runway than most states offer.
Registration: free, and it doesn't expire
You do need to register before your first sale — this isn't a no-paperwork state, it's a no-cap state. Here's what's actually required:
| Requirement | New York cottage food |
|---|---|
| Sales cap | None |
| Registration | Required, but free |
| Registration expiration | Does not expire (unless you move) |
| Food handler course | Not required |
| Kitchen inspection | Not required |
| Home address on label | Required (no PO box swap like some states allow) |
The registration form goes to the Department of Agriculture and Markets, and you list every product type you plan to sell. Good news: you can add new products to your registration later at no additional cost — you're not locked into whatever you listed on day one. If your home's water comes from a private well, you'll also need annual coliform testing, which is a smaller ask than it sounds and usually costs under $50 through a local lab.
What you can sell — and the rule that trips people up
New York allows the usual cottage food staples: breads, bagels, cookies, cakes (including wedding cakes), cupcakes, muffins, scones, tortillas, pies, jams and jellies, honey, syrups, and several snack categories like granola, kettle corn, and candied apples.
Then it gets specific in a way other states don't:
- Candy is allowed. Chocolate is not. New York is the only state cottage food law that draws this exact line — hard candy, brittle, fudge, and toffee are fine, but anything chocolate or chocolate-dipped is off the table entirely.
- Some dry goods must be commercially processed first. You can't dry your own herbs, dehydrate your own fruit, or roast your own nuts in your home kitchen and then sell them — you have to start with herbs, dried fruit, or nuts that were already commercially processed and just repackage or use them as an ingredient.
- No fruit or vegetable add-ins in baked goods. Banana bread and blueberry muffins are technically outside the approved list, because they contain fruit or vegetables baked into the product.
if you came from a state like texas or florida where the "allowed foods" list is mostly about perishability, new york's list will feel oddly specific — it's less "is this shelf-stable" and more "is this on our exact list," and the exact list has some genuinely surprising gaps.
Where you can sell it
New York is generous on sales channels to match its generous cap. You can sell:
- Direct to consumer — home, farmers markets, events, roadside stands
- Retail stores and restaurants — indirect sales are allowed, unlike most states
- Online, with in-state shipping — added by the 2018 rule change
- Wholesale — also permitted, which is unusual for cottage food law
What's off the table: catering, and — same as almost every other state — interstate shipping. Your instagram followers in new jersey can't legally get a mail-order box of your cookies, even though the ones in albany can. ## Labeling requirements
Every product needs a compliant label with your business name, home address, product name, ingredient list (descending by weight), allergen statement, and net weight. New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets also recommends — though doesn't strictly require — a line like "Made at Home by [business name]" or "Made in a Home Kitchen." Our full labeling requirements guide walks through ingredient ordering and allergen callouts if you want the detail.
The contrarian take: no cap is a trap for bakers who don't track anything
Every "cottage food law New York" article leads with "no sales cap!" like it's an unqualified win, and mostly it is. But i'll push back a little here: a hard cap forces discipline. Texas bakers watching a $150,000 ceiling have to track their gross sales monthly, because crossing the line has real consequences. New York bakers have no forcing function like that — which means the bakers I've seen struggle in uncapped states aren't struggling with the law, they're struggling because nothing ever made them look at their numbers. No cap doesn't mean no bookkeeping. If anything, it means you need to build the habit of tracking gross sales and real margins yourself, because the state won't do it for you with a ceiling. (Related: understanding profit margins for cottage bakers.)
Keeping your paperwork straight without a cap to watch
Since New York doesn't force a sales-cap check on you, build your own habit: register your products up front, keep your label wording consistent across every batch, and track gross sales monthly even though nothing requires it. That's exactly the kind of quiet background tracking the CrumbCoach compliance dashboard handles automatically — it stores your registration and food handler documents, generates compliant labels, and keeps a running log of your sales even in states without a cap to track against. It's built into the app on iOS and Android.
Frequently asked questions
Does New York have a cottage food sales cap?
No. New York is one of the few states with no maximum gross sales limit for registered cottage food producers. You still need to register for free with the Department of Agriculture and Markets before your first sale.
Can I sell chocolate-covered treats under New York's cottage food law?
No. New York specifically allows non-chocolate candy like fudge, brittle, and toffee, but bans chocolate and chocolate-covered or chocolate-dipped products entirely under the cottage food exemption.
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from home in New York?
You need to register with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which is free and doesn't expire unless you move. You don't need a food service license, food handler certificate, or home kitchen inspection.
Can I sell my baked goods in a New York retail store or restaurant?
Yes. New York is one of the few cottage food states that allows indirect sales through retail stores and restaurants, in addition to direct sales at markets, online, and from home.
Can I ship my baked goods outside New York?
No. New York allows online orders and in-state shipping, but interstate shipping is prohibited under the cottage food exemption, regardless of how much demand you have from out-of-state customers.
crumb coach was built for cottage bakers running real businesses in every state — capped or not. the app tracks your sales, generates compliant labels, and stores your registration documents so the paperwork runs quietly in the background while you bake. it's on iOS and Android.