Cottage food quick guide · Last reviewed October 2026
Selling homemade food in Illinois
- Sales cap
- No cap
- Permit or registration
- Local health department registration (up to $50); certified food protection manager
- Online & shipping
- Online, delivery, and in-state shipping of non-TCS foods
- Sell through stores
- No stores or restaurants
- Refrigerated foods
- Some refrigerated fermented and acidified foods with a plan; many TCS foods prohibited
Allowed from a home kitchen
Sourdough bread · Cookies & brownies · Fruit pie · Cake with buttercream · Macarons · Strawberry jam · Pepper jelly · Shelf-stable salsa · Hot sauce · Canned pickles · Sauerkraut & kimchi · Canned tomato sauce · Granola · Spice rubs & seasoning blends · Dried fruit & fruit leather · Freeze-dried candy · Chocolates & truffles · Toffee, fudge & caramels
Needs a commercial kitchen or other license
Pumpkin pie · Cheesecake · Meat tamales · Fresh salsa (refrigerated) · Garlic or herb-infused oil · Home-cooked meals‡ · Beef jerky‡ · Cheese & yogurt‡ · Cold-pressed juice‡ · Kombucha
Ask the agency first
Cake with cream cheese frosting · Fruit tamales · Low-sugar or freezer jam · Roasted coffee · Loose-leaf tea blends · Marshmallows · Nut butter · Pure honey · Infused honey · Vanilla extract · Fruit-infused vinegar · Mustard (no egg)
Every product has conditions, such as registration, training, labeling, and sales limits. See the full guide for each one. ‡ General rule; not specifically addressed in this state's guidance.
How to start
- Make sure the product isn't prohibited (meat, seafood, most dairy, custard and cream pies, kombucha, and others).
- Become a certified food protection manager.
- Register each year with your local health department (fee up to $50).
- For acidified, fermented, or canned tomato products, follow a tested recipe or a written food safety plan with pH testing.
- Label every product and post the required notice where you sell.
Key label items
Use the exact required wording shown in the full guide and on the agency's site.
- “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.”
- Name of the operation and its unit of local government
- Registration number and where you registered
- Common or usual name of the food
- All ingredients by predominant weight
- Processing date
- Allergens per federal labeling law