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Home kitchen laws in Arizona

The plain-English guide to selling food from home in Arizona.

🏢️ State-run program.
In Arizona, one statewide agency sets the home-kitchen rules — the same requirements apply wherever you live in the state.

Which laws apply

  • Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: virtually any homemade food — both shelf-stable goods and potentially hazardous/time-temperature-control foods such as tamales, dairy items, and meat or poultry dishes, as long as federal limits are respected. Poultry is allowed only if the preparer raised it under the federal 1,000-bird exemption (9 CFR 381.10(c)) or it comes from an inspected source (9 CFR 381.10(d)); meat is allowed only from an inspected source (9 CFR 303.1(d)). All ingredients must come from sources approved by law and food additives must be FDA GRAS. Not allowed: alcoholic beverages or foods containing them; unpasteurized milk; fish and shellfish products; meat, meat by-products, poultry or poultry by-products except as federally allowed above; marijuana or marijuana by-products. Cottage food products may not be used as ingredients in food sold at a permitted retail food establishment.

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Arizona

🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in Arizona: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.

Allowed foods: Allowed: virtually any homemade food — both shelf-stable goods and potentially hazardous/time-temperature-control foods such as tamales, dairy items, and meat or poultry dishes, as long as federal limits are respected. Poultry is allowed only if the preparer raised it under the federal 1,000-bird exemption (9 CFR 381.10(c)) or it comes from an inspected source (9 CFR 381.10(d)); meat is allowed only from an inspected source (9 CFR 303.1(d)). All ingredients must come from sources approved by law and food additives must be FDA GRAS.

Prohibited foods: alcoholic beverages or foods containing them; unpasteurized milk; fish and shellfish products; meat, meat by-products, poultry or poultry by-products except as federally allowed above; marijuana or marijuana by-products. Cottage food products may not be used as ingredients in food sold at a permitted retail food establishment.

Sales cap (cottage track): No sales cap — the statute lets preparers sell 'to the maximum extent allowed by federal law' (A.R.S. §36-932(D)(1)). No scheduled change to this has been announced.

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

  • label every product per §36-932 (name + registration number, all ingredients, production date, home-kitchen disclaimer, ADHS website address).

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

  • Follow the delivery rules: dairy/meat/poultry items must be sold by the preparer (in person or online, excluding third-party food delivery platforms) and delivered in person
  • Check ADHS's Approved Food Products guidance to confirm what you plan to make is allowed, and buy all ingredients from approved sources (grocery stores/retail establishments)
  • Choose sales channels — farmers markets, from home, online, and retail stores are allowed
  • Dairy, meat, or poultry items must be sold by you (in person or online, never via third-party delivery apps) and delivered to the consumer in person

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Arizona

🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile

Street and mobile vendors do not cook from home kitchens — they sell in public places under different permits, and on this site they are walk-up only (no bookings).

Sales caps

No sales cap — the statute lets preparers sell 'to the maximum extent allowed by federal law' (A.R.S. §36-932(D)(1)). No scheduled change to this has been announced.

Permit steps

  1. Complete a food handler training course from an accredited program and maintain active certification (A.R.S. §36-932(C)).
  2. Register with the Arizona Department of Health Services online Cottage Food registry (A.R.S. §36-932(C), §36-136(I)(13)).
  3. Registration fee — could not be verified from a primary source; the statute does not set one.
  4. Display your certificate of registration when operating as a temporary food establishment.
  5. Use only ingredients from approved sources; label every product per §36-932 (name + registration number, all ingredients, production date, home-kitchen disclaimer, ADHS website address).
  6. Follow the delivery rules: dairy/meat/poultry items must be sold by the preparer (in person or online, excluding third-party food delivery platforms) and delivered in person; temperature-controlled items must stay at proper temperature, be transported no more than once, and for under 2 hours.
  7. No kitchen inspection is required. ADHS can investigate reported foodborne illness and may require recertification or suspend/revoke registration for noncompliance.

How to start in Arizona

1. Complete an accredited food-handler training course and keep your certification active. 2. Register with the Arizona Department of Health Services' online Cottage Food registry (A.R.S. §36-136(I)(13)). 3. Check ADHS's Approved Food Products guidance to confirm what you plan to make is allowed, and buy all ingredients from approved sources (grocery stores/retail establishments). 4. Print a compliant label for every product: your name and registration number, all ingredients, production date, the home-kitchen disclaimer, and the ADHS website address. 5. Choose sales channels — farmers markets, from home, online, and retail stores are allowed; products sold in a store must be on a separate display with a sign saying they are homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection. Dairy, meat, or poultry items must be sold by you (in person or online, never via third-party delivery apps) and delivered to the consumer in person. 6. Keep temperature-controlled items at the right temperature and transport them at most once and for under two hours. 7. Check city/county zoning or home-occupation rules — state law does not override local land-use codes.

Recent changes

HB 2042 (56th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess.; Laws 2024, Ch. 18) — the 'tamale bill' — signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on March 29, 2024 and effective September 14, 2024. It created A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 8, Article 2 (§§36-931–36-933), expanding cottage food to potentially hazardous and time/temperature-control foods, including meat, dairy, and poultry within federal limits. It added the 'home kitchen' definition (≤1,000 sq ft), required in-person delivery for meat/dairy/poultry items, a single-transport/under-2-hour rule for temperature-controlled items, stronger labeling, and ADHS rulemaking and enforcement authority (rules adopted as A.A.C. R9-8-101.02). Backstory: HB 2509 (2023) was vetoed by Gov. Hobbs over food-safety concerns and the veto-override attempt failed; HB 2864 (2024), which would have added precut/processed freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, passed the House 47–9 in February 2024 but did not become law — ADHS now addresses freeze-dried foods in its program guidance instead. The 57th Legislature (2025–2026) enacted no changes to the cottage-food article and no cottage-food bills are pending; the statute compilation is current through the 57th Legislature's 2nd Regular Session.

Official sources

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Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with Arizona's health department before selling.