Cottage Food Laws by State
Arizona Cottage Food Laws
Arizona lets home cooks sell a wide range of foods with no dollar cap on sales, but you do have to register with the state health department first. Registration means holding a food handler card and filing an online application; there is no kitchen inspection.
Since the 2024 expansion, even perishable foods like cheesecake can qualify, as long as you follow stricter sale and delivery rules.
Annual sales cap
No cap
Permit
Required
Training
Required
Home inspection
No
Online sales
Allowed
Shipping
Allowed
Across state lines
Not allowed
Verified against official sources on 2026-10-21.
Where You Can Sell in Arizona
You can sell from home, at markets and events, online, and through stores or restaurants that give your products a clearly marked, separate display. Sales must stay inside Arizona.
Shelf-stable items may travel by delivery apps or carriers. Perishable items must go directly to the customer, handed over by you, on a single trip of no more than two hours.
| Channel | Status |
|---|---|
| From home | Allowed |
| Farmers markets |
Conditions apply
Show your certificate of registration when selling away from your kitchen; local rules may add requirements. |
| Events & festivals | Allowed |
| Roadside stands | Allowed |
| Online orders |
Conditions apply
Listings must prominently show the required label information. |
| Retail stores |
Conditions apply
Products must sit in a separate section or display case from non-homemade food, with a sign saying they are homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection. |
| Restaurants |
Conditions apply
Same separate-display and sign rule as stores; cottage foods may not be used as an ingredient in other food the business prepares. |
What You Can Sell in Arizona
Most foods are fair game, from baked goods and candy to jams and dry mixes, plus perishable items under the delivery rules. Alcohol, raw milk, fish, shellfish and marijuana products are out.
Meat and poultry are excluded except in narrow cases federal law already permits, so confirm your product with ADHS before listing it.
Most foods are allowed, including perishable ones under stricter delivery rules, except alcohol, raw milk, fish, shellfish, marijuana, and meat or poultry outside narrow federal exceptions.
Allowed with conditions
- Foods needing time/temperature control (e.g. cheesecake, cream-filled items, other perishable foods) — Sell directly to the consumer only, deliver in person, keep at safe temperature, one destination, within two hours; no third-party delivery apps.
- Dairy products — Allowed as perishable foods under the direct-sale and delivery rules above; unpasteurized milk is excluded.
- Meat or poultry — Excluded unless federal law allows it (inspected source, or poultry under the federal 1,000-bird exemption) and sold directly to the end consumer.
Not allowed
Limits and Requirements
Annual sales cap
No cap
- Must be registered with ADHS before preparing products for sale
- Made in your own home kitchen (under 1,000 square feet, or a qualifying developmental-disability facility)
- Sell only within Arizona
- Do not store products or food-prep equipment outside your home
- Home kitchen cannot serve as a commissary for a mobile food business
- Products cannot be sold for use as an ingredient in food sold at retail establishments
- Unregistered helpers must be directly supervised by you or someone with a food handler card
Local rules: The cottage food law does not override county or city zoning, building codes or other local rules, so check with your city or county about home-business zoning and where you may sell. Maricopa County says ADHS, not the county, runs registration there.
How to Start Selling in Arizona
-
1
Get an accredited food handler card
Complete a food handler course from an accredited program and save the certificate; you will upload it with the application and must keep it current.
-
2
Create an account in the ADHS portal
Go to azdhs.gov/CottageFood, click Login, then Register, and set up an account with your email.
-
3
Submit the cottage food registration
Give your home kitchen address (no P.O. boxes), a menu-style list of foods, sign the attestations, and upload your food handler certificate.
-
4
Wait for your certificate
ADHS says processing can take 4 to 6 weeks, though most applicants hear back within about two weeks. It is emailed to you.
-
5
Label your products and follow delivery rules
Use the required home-kitchen label; keep your certificate on hand when selling away from home.
-
6
Renew and report changes
Renew every three years and report changes to your application information within 30 days.
What a Compliant Arizona Label Looks Like
Quickly Cottage builds your ingredient list, detects allergens, and adds the required disclosure automatically.
Product
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Pops
Produced: November 1, 2026
Sunflower Home Bakery
Permit #CF-10293
Ingredients:
Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Corn Starch, Salt, Soybean Oil; Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla; Sugar, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Confectioner's Glaze, Carnauba Wax, FD&C Colors; Water, Propylene Glycol, FD&C Red 40.
Contains:
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.
Label Requirements
Every cottage food product sold in Arizona must have a label that includes the following.
| Required field |
|---|
| All 9 FDA major allergens present |
| Complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight |
| Business name |
| Product name |
| Permit number |
| Date of production |
| "Not inspected" disclosure statement |
| Department Website |
Arizona Labeling Notes
- Packaging must be clean, fully enclosed and tamper-evident; the label can serve as the seal.
- Online listings must prominently display the same label information.
- Display your certificate of registration when selling away from your kitchen.
Required Label Disclosure
This exact text must appear on every label you sell in Arizona.
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.
Quickly Cottage adds this to your label automatically.
Generate your Arizona label in minutes
Ingredient lists, allergens, and the required disclosure — built in automatically.
Arizona Cottage Food — Common Questions
You must register online with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Cottage Food Program and hold a certificate, renewed every three years.
Arizona does not set a dollar cap on cottage food sales.
Active food handler certificate from an accredited (ANSI) course, uploaded with your application; cost depends on the course provider.
Online sales are allowed. Shipping is allowed. Listings must prominently show the required label information.
Not allowed: Alcoholic beverages and foods containing alcohol; Unpasteurized milk; Fish and shellfish; Meat or poultry not meeting the federal-law exceptions; Marijuana or marijuana by-products.
Resources and Law History
Who to contact
Arizona Department of Health Services, Cottage Food Program
602-364-3118 ext. 2
Agency website2024
HB2042 (signed March 29, 2024) expanded the program to perishable foods with direct-delivery conditions and added registration with ADHS and food handler certification.
2025
ADHS rule A.A.C. R9-8-101.02 implementing the expanded law took effect (reported as February 4, 2025).
Law reference: Arizona Food Freedom Act (A.R.S. 36-931 to 36-933 (Cottage food)) · Last updated 2026 · Always verify requirements with your state's department of agriculture before selling.
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