Texas Cottage Food Law (2026): What Changed and What Goes on the Label

Texas changed its cottage food law in a big way on September 1, 2025, when Senate Bill 541 took effect. Home producers can now sell many foods that need refrigeration, called "time and temperature control for safety" (TCS) foods. Shelf-stable items can be sold through third-party "cottage food vendors". The label disclosure was also rewritten. If your labels were printed before September 2025, check them against the wording below.

Who counts as a cottage food production operation

An individual working from their home, or a nonprofit working from a director's or officer's home, can produce almost any food except:

• Meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry products
• Seafood, fish, and shellfish
• Ice products, including shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, and gelato
• Low-acid canned goods
• Products containing CBD or THC
• Raw milk and raw milk products

Your annual gross income from these sales must be $150,000 or less. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) adjusts that figure every year for inflation, so check DSHS for the current number.

Registration: only for TCS foods

Most Texas cottage food producers don't need a permit, and local health departments are barred from requiring one or regulating your production. There is one exception. If you sell TCS foods, such as cheesecakes, cut fruit, or other refrigerated items, you must register with DSHS, store and deliver the food at safe temperatures, and add extra label information. Everyone who runs an operation must complete an accredited food handler course.

Where you can sell

• Directly to consumers, in person, almost anywhere local venue rules allow.
• Online within Texas, but the operator, an employee, or a household member must personally deliver the food. You also have to post the required labeling information on your website before taking payment. There's no shipping by mail or courier.
• Through a cottage food vendor. A Texas business with a contract with you can sell your non-TCS foods at a farmers' market, farm stand, food service establishment, or retail store. The vendor registers with DSHS, posts a sign with the disclosure, and the label must show the date the food was made.

Pickled, fermented and acidified foods

These require a recipe from a DSHS-approved source, a lab-tested recipe, or a process-authority-approved recipe. Otherwise you must pH-test every batch to confirm 4.6 or below. Each batch gets a unique batch number, and you keep records for 12 months.

The Texas cottage food label

DSHS lists these label elements:

• The name of the operation
• The address of the operation, or a unique ID number issued by DSHS if you register
• The common or usual name of the product
• Any major food allergen, including sesame
• This disclosure, exactly: "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."
• A batch number for pickled, fermented, or acidified products

For TCS foods, also add the date the food was made, and this statement in at least 12-point font on the label or on the invoice or receipt: "SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria, keep this food refrigerated or frozen until the food is prepared for consumption."

If a food is too large or bulky to package, such as a tiered cake, put the label information on the invoice or receipt instead.

When Nutrition Facts come in

The Texas cottage food statute doesn't add a Nutrition Facts requirement of its own. Federal rules still apply as a practical line, though. Once your label or ads make a nutrient claim like "sugar-free" or "high protein", plan on a full panel. Cottage food vendors and stores sometimes ask for one anyway. Our standard vertical format and bilingual English–Spanish format cover most Texas products.

Official source

Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production. Statute: Texas Health & Safety Code ch. 437.