Last verified: October 23, 2026. I’m a Texas home baker, not a lawyer — laws change, so always confirm with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) before you sell.

WISCONSIN COTTAGE FOOD AT A GLANCE

Annual sales cap: None — no statute sets a dollar limit on court-order cottage food sales.

License or permit: Not required for non-potentially hazardous baked goods sold directly to consumers — the license statutes that would have applied were struck down by court orders in 2017.

Kitchen inspection: None — no inspection of your home kitchen is required before you sell under the court orders.

Food handler course: Not required. Nothing in Wisconsin law or the court orders imposes a training requirement on court-order home bakers.

Shipping: Wisconsin only — the court orders protect direct sales to consumers, and DATCP’s FAQ limits them to Wisconsin consumers. Mailing to out-of-state buyers is not covered.

Wholesale: Never — the court orders protect sales directly to consumers only. Selling through grocery stores or distributors takes you outside their protection.

WHY WISCONSIN HOME BAKERS BAKE UNDER A COURT ORDER, NOT A LAW

Wisconsin is the one state where “cottage food law” is a misnomer. The legislature tried to pass one — the 2025–26 legislative session saw a Republican-led bill that would have legalized up to $50,000 in annual cottage food sales with labeling rules, and it’s stalled. So home bakers still rely on two court orders: Kivirist v. Quanderer (2017), which struck down Wisconsin’s ban on selling home-baked non-potentially hazardous goods, and Zinniker v. Severson (2022), which struck the state’s attempted $25,000 cap and its $7,500-per-item limit as unconstitutional under the same reasoning. DATCP — the state agriculture department — disagrees with the 2022 ruling and has appealed it, but it remains the law unless a higher court says otherwise.

What does that mean for you, practically? The day you sell your first cookie under the court orders, you’re relying on a judge’s ruling, not a statute written to welcome you. The orders are broad — no license, no sales cap, direct-to-consumer only, non-potentially hazardous baked goods — but they say nothing about buttercream, nothing about mail order, and nothing about home kitchens beyond baked goods. DATCP’s own FAQ fills some gaps (shipping within Wisconsin is fine; other products may need licenses), and the department has made clear it will enforce against products outside the orders. Read this guide as “what the orders protect,” and treat anything outside their four corners as a call-your-lawyer question, not a farmers-market experiment.

One more Wisconsin distinction worth knowing: baked goods sold under the court orders don’t have to carry any label at all — but you should label anyway. If a customer has an allergy question and your cookie has no label, that’s your problem, not the state’s. The Pickle Bill’s canned goods, by contrast, must be labeled by law (see below).

WHAT YOU CAN (AND CAN’T) SELL

The court orders protect non-potentially hazardous baked goods — foods that don’t support rapid bacterial growth at room temperature, because they are low-acid enough or dry enough. Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 70.19, written for food processors, gives the practical yardstick home bakers use: water activity (aw) of 0.85 or less, pH of 4.6 or less, or a combination of aw and pH shown by testing to control pathogens. If your product needs refrigeration to stay safe, the court orders don’t cover it.

The finished product must be non-potentially hazardous — not just the batter. That’s the trap with items like pumpkin pie and cream-filled pastries: baked crust, perishable filling. A fruit pie from a high-acid fruit is one thing; a pie that needs refrigeration is another, and it’s outside the orders.

Covered by the court orders: Non-potentially hazardous baked goods — cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, donuts, pastries, and similar items that are shelf-stable at room temperature. Home-baked goods only; the orders were written for bakers.

The frosting question — answered in two parts: (1) Shelf-stable frostings made with shortening, oils, powdered sugar, and other non-perishable ingredients — including royal icing made with meringue powder rather than raw egg whites — fit the non-potentially hazardous standard and are covered like the baked goods they top. (2) Frostings and fillings that need refrigeration to stay safe — buttercream made with butter and milk, cream cheese frosting, custards — take your product outside the court orders. The orders don’t name buttercream, but they only protect non-potentially hazardous goods; a perishable frosting makes the finished product perishable. Don’t assume.

Not covered — foods outside the orders may need licenses: Anything potentially hazardous (anything needing refrigeration); home-canned low-acid foods like green beans or plain corn; fermented foods; meat or jerky; candy made outside a baked good is not clearly covered by the orders either (the cases were about baked goods). Some of these have their own legal lanes — the Pickle Bill below covers acid canned goods — and others need a licensed kitchen. DATCP decides product-by-product where its enforcement lines are.

Freeze-dried foods: Not covered by the court orders — they aren’t baked goods, and home freeze-dried foods are exactly the kind of product DATCP watches. If freeze-drying is your plan, you need a licensed commercial kitchen, not a court order.

The other door — the Pickle Bill: Wisconsin’s separate “Pickle Bill” (2010 Wis. Act 101, Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2.) lets you sell home-canned acid foods — pickles, salsas, sauerkraut, jams, and similar canned goods with an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below — up to $5,000 a year without a license, provided you complete a qualifying food safety training (a $35 online course, or an approved equivalent). No baked goods under this one, and no crossing the $5,000 line without a license — but for canners it’s a real second lane. Pickle Bill products must be labeled: the product name, your name and address, the statement “These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection,” and — for anything except jams and jellies — the full ingredient list. Registration isn’t required, but DATCP asks Pickle Bill sellers to register their operation voluntarily so the department can reach them.

WISCONSIN LABELING REQUIREMENTS

For court-order baked goods: no label is legally required. The court orders impose no labeling rule at all. Label anyway — your name, what it is, what’s in it, and the allergens. It’s good business, and it’s the only thing standing between you and an allergic customer’s bad day.

For Pickle Bill canned goods, labeling is mandatory, and the statute is specific (Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2.):

  1. The name and address of the person who canned the food
  2. The date the food was canned
  3. A statement that the food was canned in a home kitchen (the required wording: “These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection,”)
  4. A list of ingredients in descending order by weight — required for every canned product except jams and jellies
  5. The common or usual name of the food
  6. The net weight or net volume of the food

For Pickle Bill canned goods sold at a community or social event or farmers market, the food must also carry a sign at the point of sale stating: “This product was made in a private home not subject to state licensing or inspection.” One related licensing note: bakers who want to wholesale or sell potentially hazardous food can apply for a DATCP retail food license — the 2025 fee was $465 — but that’s a licensed retail operation, not cottage food.

WHERE YOU CAN SELL IN WISCONSIN

Directly to consumers — that’s the court orders’ boundary. Sell from your home, at farmers markets and stands, and at community events. The Kivirist order protects sales directly to the end consumer; the moment a store or distributor sits between you and the eater, you’re outside it.

Online and mail order — yes, with a Wisconsin-only limit. DATCP’s FAQ confirms court-order home bakers may sell online and ship by mail — but only to Wisconsin consumers. No out-of-state sales under the orders, and no shipping baked goods across state lines. (Contrast: Pickle Bill canned goods may not be sold by mail or online at all — only in person at community or social events and farmers markets.)

One venue rule to know: a farmers market or event can set its own vendor rules on top of the court orders — some require product liability insurance or their own application process. The orders protect you from the state; they don’t guarantee any particular market a stall.

And one warning about the edges: DATCP has been public that it enforces against sales outside the court orders — including products that aren’t baked goods and sales that aren’t direct to consumers. The department appealed Zinniker and disagrees with it. That doesn’t change the law today, but it means the department is watching, and it means you should stay clearly inside the orders’ four corners: non-potentially hazardous, baked, direct to Wisconsin consumers.

YOUR 3 STEPS TO START

  1. Confirm your products are non-potentially hazardous baked goods. Shelf-stable at room temperature — no refrigeration needed. If your signature item wears buttercream or cream cheese frosting, reformulate it shelf-stable or accept that it’s outside the court orders. If you’re canning instead, check the Pickle Bill lane: pH 4.6 or below, training done, under $5,000.
  2. Label everything — even though the court orders don’t make you. Name, product, ingredients, allergens, net weight. For Pickle Bill goods, use the mandatory label plus the point-of-sale sign.
  3. Sell direct, sell Wisconsin-only. Your home, farmers markets, community events, and online orders shipped to Wisconsin buyers. No wholesale, no out-of-state shipping — and if a market asks for insurance or an application, that’s the market’s call, not the state’s.

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 WISCONSIN 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 the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Just add sprinkles!