Last verified: October 22, 2026. I’m a Texas home baker, not a lawyer — laws change, so always confirm with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) or your local health department before you sell.

ILLINOIS COTTAGE FOOD AT A GLANCE

Annual sales cap: None in the current law — the Home-to-Market Act removed the old $25,000 cap

License or permit: No license — but annual registration is required with your local health department, which issues a certificate of registration with a registration number (the department may charge a fee of up to $50)

Kitchen inspection: No routine inspection — the health department may inspect only on a complaint, a foodborne-illness outbreak, or a similar trigger

Food safety credential: A Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certification is required for anyone preparing or packaging cottage food products — a manager-level credential, a step above a basic food handler card

Shipping: Non-TCS (shelf-stable) foods may be shipped within Illinois only, sealed so tampering shows; no out-of-state shipping

Wholesale: Not permitted — sales are direct to consumers for their own use, never for resale

WHY ILLINOIS REWARDS BAKERS WHO DO THE PAPERWORK

Illinois rewrote its cottage food rules with the Home-to-Market Act (effective January 1, 2022), and the modern law is genuinely baker-friendly: online sales are in, in-state shipping of shelf-stable foods is in, there’s no sales cap, and — a favorite around here — buttercream frosting is expressly allowed, which is more than New York can say. Ignore any summary written before 2022: farmers-market-only sales, a $25,000 cap, and free registration all describe a law that no longer exists.

The trade-off is two real startup steps. You register with your local health department every year, and someone preparing or packaging your products must hold a Certified Food Protection Manager certification. Neither is hard, but both take a little lead time — so Illinois rewards the bakers who do the paperwork before the orders arrive.

One neighboring program to know by name only: Illinois also has a separate Home Kitchen Operation category that some local governments opt into. It’s a different lane with its own rules — everything in this guide is about the cottage food operation.

WHAT YOU CAN (AND CAN’T) SELL

Allowed: Non-TCS (shelf-stable) foods sold direct to consumers — breads, cookies, cakes, and pastries, including baked goods frosted with buttercream (dairy and eggs are allowed as ingredients in non-TCS baked goods; egg-based frostings must use non-raw eggs). Jams, jellies, and other foods appear on the statute’s framework as well, some with conditions — canned tomatoes need a tested USDA/Extension recipe followed exactly (or lab testing), and fermented or acidified foods need a tested recipe or a written food safety plan with periodic pH testing.

Prohibited: Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and shellfish. Pumpkin pies, sweet potato pies, cheesecakes, custard pies, crème pies, and pastries with TCS fillings or toppings. Low-acid canned foods. Sprouts. Cut or pureed fresh tomato or melon, dehydrated tomato or melon, and frozen cut melon. Wild-harvested mushrooms. Alcoholic beverages. Kombucha. Garlic-in-oil (unless acidified). Cut leafy greens (except dehydrated, acidified, or blanched-and-frozen). If a health department suspects a cheese baked good might actually be a TCS food, they can require a lab test at your expense to prove it isn’t.

ILLINOIS LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Illinois requires cottage foods to be prepackaged with a prominent label carrying exactly seven elements:

  1. The name of your cottage food operation and the unit of local government where it’s located (your city or county — note: the statute does not ask for your full street address)
  2. Your registration number from your certificate of registration, and the name of the municipality or county where the registration was filed
  3. The common or usual name of the product — “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” not just your brand name
  4. All ingredients, including any color, artificial flavor, and preservative, in descending order by weight, by their common or usual names
  5. This exact statement, verbatim, in prominent lettering: “This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department.”
  6. The date the product was processed
  7. Allergen labeling as specified under federal labeling requirements

And one more requirement that is NOT on the label: at the point of sale — a placard at your market stall, or a notice on your online checkout — Illinois requires this shorter notice, worded differently on purpose: “This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens.” Don’t swap the two wordings; the label gets the long version, the point of sale gets the short one.

One gray area, honestly flagged: net quantity (net weight) is not one of the seven cottage-food elements above. The statute’s packaging clause also points to the general Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and some guides treat net quantity as required through that law. When in doubt, ask your local health department — many bakers include a net weight anyway, since scale labels print it for free.

WHERE YOU CAN SELL IN ILLINOIS

Directly to consumers (never for resale): farmers’ markets, including mobile farmers markets; fairs, festivals, and public events; online sales; pickup from your home or farm; delivery to your customer; and pickup from a third-party private property with the property holder’s consent. Shelf-stable (non-TCS) products may also be shipped within Illinois, sealed in a way that reveals tampering. No out-of-state shipping under the cottage rules. TCS foods, where allowed, must be kept and transported at the holding temperatures in the Department’s rules.

YOUR 3 STEPS TO START

  1. Get certified. Earn the Certified Food Protection Manager certification (a Department-approved course and exam) — anyone who prepares or packages your products needs it, so build in study time before your launch date.
  2. Register with your local health department. Registration is annual, the fee can’t exceed $50, and you’ll receive a certificate with your registration number. Guard that number — it goes on every label you print.
  3. Label completely, and post your notice. Every prepackaged product gets all seven label elements, with the verbatim statement in prominent lettering. Then put the shorter point-of-sale notice where customers check out — a placard at your stall, a notice on your online ordering page.

KEEP EXPLORING

Selling in more than one state, or just curious how Illinois compares? See the full Cottage Food Laws by State hub: https://cottagebakersupply.com/cottage-food-laws-by-state/ — and when you’re ready to price your bakes, the free Cottage Baker Tools page has the calculators I use: https://cottagebakersupply.com/tools/

OFFICIAL ILLINOIS SOURCES

This guide is for informational purposes only and isn’t legal advice. Cottage food laws change — I last verified this page on October 22, 2026. When in doubt, ask IDPH or your local health department.

Just add sprinkles!