Cottage Food Laws by State
Kansas Cottage Food Laws
Kansas does not have a law called a cottage food act. Instead, its food licensing statute exempts people who sell food straight to the end consumer when the food needs no temperature control or specialized processing. There is no sales cap and no state registration, but you do need a sales tax certificate, and foods that need refrigeration still require a license.
Permit
None
Training
Not required
Home inspection
No
Online sales
Allowed
Shipping
Allowed
Wholesale
Not allowed
Verified against official sources on 2026-10-21.
Where You Can Sell in Kansas
You can sell your own products at farmers markets, festivals, bazaars, and craft shows, and take orders online, then ship or hand-deliver them to the customer. Selling to restaurants, stores, or craft malls that resell your goods, or leaving items on consignment, falls outside the exemption and requires a processing license. Your market may add its own rules.
| Channel | Status |
|---|---|
| Farmers markets |
Conditions apply
Individual markets may set stricter rules than the state, and KDA inspectors visit markets. |
| Events & festivals |
Conditions apply
Applies to festivals, bazaars, craft shows, and similar events where the maker sells their own products. |
| Online orders |
Conditions apply
Exempt foods may be sold online and shipped to the customer's home or delivered by the producer directly to the end consumer. |
| Retail stores | Not allowed |
| Wholesale | Not allowed |
| Restaurants | Not allowed |
What You Can Sell in Kansas
Think shelf-stable: cookies, breads, cakes, fruit pies, candy, fudge, jams, flour, nuts, honey, dried pasta, and tea all qualify. Cream-filled bakery items, pickles, fermented foods, jerky, and low-acid canned goods need a license. Some borderline items, like salsa or low-sugar jam, require lab testing first to see which side of the line they fall on.
Foods that do not need temperature control for safety and do not require a specialized process may be sold direct to consumers without a license; products needing refrigeration, acidifying, curing, fermenting, or sprouting require a KDA license.
Bread
Candy
Condiments
Dry goods
Preserves
Snacks
Other
Allowed with conditions
- Bread with cheese or vegetables baked in or on top — Needs water activity testing and formulation review to learn whether a license is required.
- Icing and frosting, including cream cheese-based — No testing needed if known to be over 65% sugar by weight; otherwise test to decide if a license is required.
- Salsa, barbecue sauce, mustard, low-sugar jams, pepper jams, pumpkin butter, flavored syrups — Need pH and/or water activity testing to find out whether they are exempt.
- Unpasteurized juice or cider — Must carry the state warning statement on the label and be sold packaged, not by the glass.
- Pet treats — A Kansas commercial feed license and small pet product application are required, plus a guaranteed analysis on the label.
Not allowed
Limits and Requirements
Annual sales cap
- Direct-to-consumer sales only; sales to restaurants, grocery, variety, or convenience stores, craft malls where product is left, and consignment require a KDA food processing license
- Foods needing temperature control or specialized processing cannot be made in a home kitchen without a license
- A Kansas Retail Sales Tax certificate is required for every vendor
- Exempt vendors can still be inspected if a violation is reported or observed
- Selling a chef demonstration's results more than six times per year needs a Food Establishment license
- Scales used to sell by weight must be tested once a year by a licensed service company
How to Start Selling in Kansas
-
1
Check your product against the KDA/K-State lists
Review the K-State Extension Simplified Guide (MF3729) and MF3138 to confirm your food is exempt, needs testing, or needs a license.
-
2
Test borderline products
For items such as salsa, mustard, or low-sugar jam, have pH or water activity tested, for example by the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab, and keep the results.
-
3
Get a Kansas retail sales tax certificate
Contact the Kansas Department of Revenue at 785-368-8222 or through ksrevenue.gov.
-
4
Choose a business structure
Sole proprietors do not file with the Secretary of State; other entities can register at sos.ks.gov.
-
5
Label your products
Include the common name, your name and physical address, ingredients in descending order with allergens in plain language, and net quantity.
-
6
Follow sanitation rules and market rules
Meet K.A.R. 4-28-33 hygiene requirements and ask your market manager about additional vendor rules.
What a Compliant Kansas Label Looks Like
Quickly Cottage builds your ingredient list, detects allergens, and adds the required disclosure automatically.
Product
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Pops
Net Wt: 8 oz (227g)
Sunflower Home Bakery
412 Maple Ave, Springfield, KS
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:
Label Requirements
Every cottage food product sold in Kansas 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 |
| Business address |
| Product name |
| Net weight |
Kansas Labeling Notes
- A 'homemade' or 'not inspected' statement is not required for uninspected Kansas foods, though you may add one.
- Unpasteurized juice or cider must carry the state warning about harmful bacteria.
- Pet treats need a guaranteed analysis for protein, fat, and fiber.
- Health, nutrient, or function claims must follow FDA label claim rules.
Generate your Kansas label in minutes
Ingredient lists, allergens, and the required disclosure — built in automatically.
Kansas Cottage Food — Common Questions
No state license or registration is needed to sell qualifying foods directly to consumers; anything that needs temperature control or specialized processing requires a Kansas Department of Agriculture food license.
The limit is in gross sales.
No state food handler or cottage food training is required for exempt foods; hygiene rules in K.A.R. 4-28-33 still apply.
Online sales are allowed. Shipping is allowed. Exempt foods may be sold online and shipped to the customer's home or delivered by the producer directly to the end consumer.
Not allowed: Cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, custard, cream and meringue pies, pumpkin pie, and quiche (license required); Pickles, hot sauces, lemon curd, and other acidified canned foods (license required); Low-acid canned vegetables and similar foods (license required); Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha (license required); Sprouted grains; Beef jerky, vacuum-packaged temperature-control foods, and nitrite-cured items (license required).
Resources and Law History
Who to contact
Kansas Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Lodging Program
785-564-6767
Agency website2018
K.S.A. 65-689 last amended (L. 2018, ch. 71, section 38), effective July 1; the direct-to-consumer exemption sits in subsection (d).
2026
K-State Extension and KDA revised guides MF3138 and MF3729 (January 2026), adding clarifications on allergens, craft-mall resale, and chocolate candies.
Law reference: Kansas Cottage Food Law (K.S.A. 65-689 (food establishment license; exemption in subsection (d)(4))) · Last updated 2026 · Always verify requirements with your state's department of agriculture before selling.
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