Home kitchen laws in Illinois
The plain-English guide to selling food from home in Illinois.
Which laws apply
- Cottage food law
Allowed foods
Allowed: nearly everything NOT on the prohibited list — baked goods, jams, jellies, candies, dry mixes, spices, granola, pickles and fermented/acidified foods (with a USDA/extension-tested recipe OR a written food safety plan + pH test every 3 years), canned tomatoes (USDA/extension-tested recipe or commercial lab test), cheese-topped baked goods proven non-TCS, pre-bottled drinks, and more. Not allowed: (1) meat, poultry, fish, seafood, shellfish; (2) dairy except as an ingredient in non-TCS baked goods/candy or frostings like buttercream; (3) eggs except as an ingredient in non-TCS foods or cooked-egg frostings; (4) pumpkin/sweet potato pies, cheesecakes, custard/creme pies, and pastries with TCS fillings or toppings; (5) garlic in oil unless acidified; (6) low-acid canned foods; (7) sprouts; (8) cut leafy greens except dehydrated, acidified, or blanched-and-frozen; (9) cut or pureed fresh tomato or melon; (10) dehydrated tomato or melon; (11) frozen cut melon; (12) wild-harvested mushrooms; (13) alcoholic beverages; (14) kombucha.
Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Illinois
🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in Illinois: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.
Allowed foods: Allowed: nearly everything NOT on the prohibited list — baked goods, jams, jellies, candies, dry mixes, spices, granola, pickles and fermented/acidified foods (with a USDA/extension-tested recipe OR a written food safety plan + pH test every 3 years), canned tomatoes (USDA/extension-tested recipe or commercial lab test), cheese-topped baked goods proven non-TCS, pre-bottled drinks, and more.
Prohibited foods: (1) meat, poultry, fish, seafood, shellfish; (2) dairy except as an ingredient in non-TCS baked goods/candy or frostings like buttercream; (3) eggs except as an ingredient in non-TCS foods or cooked-egg frostings; (4) pumpkin/sweet potato pies, cheesecakes, custard/creme pies, and pastries with TCS fillings or toppings; (5) garlic in oil unless acidified; (6) low-acid canned foods; (7) sprouts; (8) cut leafy greens except dehydrated, acidified, or blanched-and-frozen; (9) cut or pureed fresh tomato or melon; (10) dehydrated tomato or melon; (11) frozen cut melon; (12) wild-harvested mushrooms; (13) alcoholic beverages; (14) kombucha.
Sales cap (cottage track): No state-mandated sales cap — earlier $25,000 then $36,000 annual caps were removed by the Home-to-Market Act (P.A. 102-633, effective 1/1/2022), and the 2026 Cottage Food Guide confirms 'those no longer apply.' No scheduled future cap changes found. (Separate legacy provision: the old 'home kitchen operation' track at 410 ILCS 625/3.2 still limits monthly gross sales to $1,000 and applies only to non-potentially-hazardous baked goods.)
Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):
- Register annually with your county (local) health department: submit the county's registration application, your CFPM certificate, a list of all foods you plan to sell, and product labels
Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):
- Sell direct-to-consumer only: farmers markets, fairs, festivals, public events, online (Illinois customers only), pickup from your home/farm, delivery, or pop-ups on consenting third-party property
- Display the home-kitchen placard at your booth or the disclaimer on your online sales page
Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Illinois
🌮 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 state-mandated sales cap — earlier $25,000 then $36,000 annual caps were removed by the Home-to-Market Act (P.A. 102-633, effective 1/1/2022), and the 2026 Cottage Food Guide confirms 'those no longer apply.' No scheduled future cap changes found. (Separate legacy provision: the old 'home kitchen operation' track at 410 ILCS 625/3.2 still limits monthly gross sales to $1,000 and applies only to non-potentially-hazardous baked goods.)
Permit steps
- Complete a Department-approved Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) course and exam — required for anyone preparing or packaging cottage food.
- Register annually with your county (local) health department: submit the county's registration application, your CFPM certificate, a list of all foods you plan to sell, and product labels; some counties require a Home Self-Certification Checklist.
- Pay the county registration fee — capped by state law at $50 (varies by county; some charge nothing).
- If you will sell canned tomatoes: use an exact USDA or cooperative-extension-tested recipe, or have the recipe lab-tested at your expense and submit annual test documentation.
- If you will sell fermented or acidified foods: use a USDA/extension-tested recipe, or submit a written food safety plan (annually) plus a pH test every 3 years.
- No routine home-kitchen inspection is required; inspections happen only after a complaint, illness outbreak, or other imminent health hazard.
- Home-rule cities/counties may not regulate cottage food operations in a way inconsistent with state law.
How to start in Illinois
1. Get your Certified Food Protection Manager certificate (IDPH-approved course + exam). 2. List every food you want to sell, checking each against the 14-category prohibited list — most other foods are allowed. 3. For canned tomatoes or fermented/acidified foods, use a USDA or extension-tested recipe, or budget for a commercial lab test ($ varies) and a written food safety plan. 4. Register with your county health department (annual; fee up to $50) and include your product list, CFPM certificate, and labels — if your county has no health department, it contracts with a neighboring one. 5. Label every product with your operation name and locality, registration number, product name, full ingredient list, allergen info, production date and net weight, and the required home-kitchen disclaimer. 6. Sell direct-to-consumer only: farmers markets, fairs, festivals, public events, online (Illinois customers only), pickup from your home/farm, delivery, or pop-ups on consenting third-party property. 7. Display the home-kitchen placard at your booth or the disclaimer on your online sales page. 8. Re-register every year and keep your CFPM certificate current.
Recent changes
P.A. 103-0903 (SB2617, signed 8/9/2024, effective 1/1/2025) — the most recent amendment to 410 ILCS 625/4: (a) requires counties without a local health department to contract with an adjacent county's health department to register cottage food operations; (b) modernized terminology, replacing 'non-potentially hazardous' with 'not a time/temperature control for safety food'; (c) added definitions (cut leafy greens, microgreen, sprout, low-acid canned food, TCS food) and removed the old pH ≤4.6 / water-activity ≤0.92 product-assessment safe harbor. IDPH and Illinois Extension released the 2026 Cottage Food Guide (plus an addendum to the 2024 guide) clarifying rules on frostings, cheese baked goods, freeze-dried foods, reusable packaging, pop-up sales inside licensed establishments, and labeling (full production date + net weight). Pending in the 104th General Assembly (2025–2026): no cottage-food-substantive bill found — HB3701 (Good Food Purchasing Act), which touched the 'Illinois-grown/Illinois-sourced' packaging designation in the cottage food section, stalled in committee (re-referred to Rules 4/11/2025); SB1288 (gluten/celiac food-handler training) became P.A. 104-0090 but does not change cottage food rules. Illinois has no MEHKO/microenterprise home kitchen program and no food freedom act.
Official sources
Start a home kitchen in Illinois → · Check your eligibility → · Compare states →
Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with Illinois's health department before selling.