Last verified: October 23, 2026. I’m a Texas home baker, not a lawyer — laws change, so always confirm with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Food Safety Division before you sell.

OREGON COTTAGE FOOD AT A GLANCE

Annual sales cap: $52,700 per year from your exempt cottage food (that’s the 2026 figure, and it moves — ODA adjusts it every five years for inflation, with the next adjustment due in 2027). Over the cap, the exemption ends and you need a license.

Registration: None — no permit, no license, no registration for exempt food. This is a true exemption, not a registration program.

Who runs it: The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), Food Safety Division. ODA’s exemption covers farmers, gardeners, and home kitchens making the specific foods in ORS 616.723; Oregon State University Extension publishes the guidance most bakers actually read.

Kitchen inspection: Not required for exempt producers. But the exemption has a compliance backbone: on your first sale, ODA sends you an explanation of the law, a self-evaluation form, and food-safety training materials; you must return a signed compliance statement with copies of the food handler cards (see below) and your product labels. After that, your file at ODA must stay current — any new product, label change, or new food handler card gets submitted, and you must keep records of every sale for three years.

Food handler course: Yes — required, and it’s the step people skip. Every person working in the production area during preparation must hold a food handler card from an accredited program (ANSI-accredited or Oregon Health Authority-approved). The card costs around $10, is good for three years, and is only needed by people who work in the production area during preparation — no food handling, no card.

Shipping: In-state, by mail, allowed. The statute says delivery can be by any means a retailer could use — including “in any manner,” expressly including mail — so shipping your cookies within Oregon is fine.

Wholesale: Not in the way you might hope. A producer can only sell directly to the consumer — so you can’t sell your goods to a store for resale, except in one specific way (see the retail workaround below).

FROM LICENSED KITCHENS TO THE COTTAGE FOOD EXEMPTION

Before 2012, Oregon had no exemption at all — every home food business needed a licensed kitchen. The 2012 Farm Direct law carved out farm sales, and in 2015 the legislature added the residential exemption (ORS 616.723) that took effect in 2016 — more foods, no license, no registration. If you were licensed before, you can keep your license; most home bakers switched to the exemption.

WHAT YOU CAN (AND CAN’T) SELL

Oregon’s exempt food list (ORS 616.723, detailed in ODA’s 2024 guidance) is specific. The allowed foods are: baked goods that don’t need refrigeration — breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, pies (that don’t require refrigeration); jams, jellies, preserves, and fruit butters; dried fruits, vegetables, and herbs; dehydrated mixes like soup, dip, and seasoning mixes; popcorn and popcorn balls; roasted coffee; dry baking mixes; and vinegars and flavored vinegars. The list is narrower than it looks — read the exclusions before you get excited.

Freeze-dried — the honest answer: Oregon’s allowed list never mentions freeze-drying. The statute allows “dried” fruits and vegetables, and OSU Extension’s guidance treats freeze-drying as a drying method — but the law’s own words say “dried,” so if freeze-dried candy or fruit is your product, get ODA’s answer in writing before you invest. (Compare Kentucky, which expressly allows freeze-dried produce; Oregon doesn’t say the words.)

Buttercream — the honest answer: Oregon’s rules never mention buttercream by name. The statute allows baked goods that don’t require refrigeration for safety — shelf-stable, in the exemption’s own words. A buttercream made with only shelf-stable ingredients (shortening-based, no dairy) is the classic cottage buttercream; a buttercream with butter, cream cheese, or milk is a different question, because the food must not require refrigeration for safety. OSU Extension’s fact sheet flags frostings as the gray area. If your signature product is a frosted cake, confirm it with ODA before you print labels.

Pets in the picture — Oregon is one of the few states that writes it into the exemption. Household pets are allowed in the home, but they must be kept out of the production area during preparation, and the statute specifically requires you to keep pets out of any area where food is being prepared or packaged. (Service animals are a different matter — they’re covered by disability law, not this statute.)

Honey — allowed, and Oregon gives it its own lane. Honey sold under the exemption must be labeled as a cottage food, and OSU Extension notes that honey is one of the few exempt foods that can also be sold wholesale to retailers — the one exception to the direct-to-consumer rule.

Not allowed: anything potentially hazardous or requiring refrigeration for safety — cheesecakes, cream pies, custard-filled pastries, meringue pies, pumpkin pies that need refrigeration; low-acid canned foods (pickles, salsa, canned vegetables — those need a license); meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood products; and anything with alcohol. Also: no internet sales to consumers outside Oregon (the exemption is Oregon-only), and no sales at interstate venues.

OREGON LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Oregon’s label list is statutory (ORS 616.723(3)) — and the required statement’s wording is exact, so copy it carefully: (1) the name and address of the manufacturer, (2) the common or usual name of the food, (3) the ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight, (4) the net weight or volume, and (5) allergen information meeting federal labeling law. Every label needs:

  1. The name and address of the manufacturer — the statute says the name and address of the person who prepared the food. Your full home address; Oregon offers no ID-number substitute.
  2. The common or usual name of the food — “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” not “Grandma’s Famous.”
  3. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight.
  4. The net weight or volume by standard measure (“Net wt 12 oz”) or the numerical count.
  5. Allergen information meeting federal labeling law (21 U.S.C. 343(w)) — the Big 9: milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame. Name tree nuts specifically (“almonds,” not just “nuts”).
  6. This exact statement, verbatim — and note the statute’s punctuation (no commas after “homemade” or “establishment”): This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.
  7. If you have pets in the home: a disclosure that the food was prepared in a home where pets are present — even if they’re kept out of the production area.

One honest footnote: the required statement is long, and the statute’s own punctuation is what it is — “This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.” Copy it exactly; don’t “fix” the commas.

Nothing else is required — no nutrition facts panel (unless you make a nutrition claim like “low fat” or “high fiber,” which triggers federal nutrition labeling), no sell-by date, no registration number.

WHERE YOU CAN SELL IN OREGON

Sell directly to consumers, in Oregon: from your home, at farmers markets, farm stands, festivals, fairs, and community events — and by mail, anywhere in Oregon. The statute allows delivery “in any manner,” including by mail, so an Etsy-style shop shipping within Oregon fits the exemption. You must keep records of every sale — your name and address, the product, the quantity, the date, and the buyer’s name and address — for three years.

Mailing your cookies — the agreement: packaged food can go by mail to Oregon consumers, but the package must carry the full cottage-food label, and you must keep the sale in your three-year records. Out-of-state mail orders are not covered by the exemption.

Not permitted: wholesale (selling to a store for resale) — except honey, which has its own wholesale lane; sales to restaurants or institutions; sales outside Oregon; and sales at a venue that crosses state lines. The one retail workaround: a retailer can sell your product, but only if you deliver it there yourself, it carries your full label plus the “stored and displayed separately” statement, and the retailer keeps it separate from other foods — that’s the “merchandised by a retailer” language in the required statement.

YOUR 3 STEPS TO START

  1. Get your food handler card — before your first sale. Every person who works in the production area during preparation needs an ANSI-accredited or Oregon Health Authority-approved food handler card (about $10, good for three years). You’ll send ODA a copy with your compliance statement.
  2. Build your label — and decide about pets. Name and address, product name, ingredients by weight, net weight or count, allergen information, the exact statement (copy it character-for-character — This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.), and — if you have pets — the pet disclosure. No pets, no disclosure needed.
  3. Make your first sale — and watch your mailbox. On your first sale, ODA sends the explanation packet, self-evaluation form, and training materials; return the signed compliance statement with your food handler card copies and labels. Keep your file current (new products, new labels, new cards) and your three-year sale records — your name, the product, quantity, date, and buyer — in a book from sale #1.

Keep exploring: see the Cottage Food Laws by State hub (https://cottagebakersupply.com/cottage-food-laws-by-state/) for every state’s rules, and the free tools page (https://cottagebakersupply.com/tools/) — the Cottage Label Generator and the Cottage Cost Calculator — built for home bakers.

OFFICIAL OREGON SOURCES

This guide is for informational purposes only and isn’t legal advice. Cottage food laws change — I last verified this page on October 23, 2026. When in doubt, ask ODA’s Food Safety Division.

Just add sprinkles!