Which laws apply

• Pickle Bill (2009 Wisconsin Act 101; Wis. Stat. section 97.29(2)(b)2.) - home-canned acidic fruits and pickled vegetables
• Court-ordered baked-goods exemption (Lafayette County Circuit Court, Case No. 2016CV6, 2017) - homemade, shelf-stable baked goods

Allowed foods

Pickle Bill (no license): home-canned fruits and vegetables that are naturally acidic or acidified by pickling or fermenting, equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower - e.g., pickled fruits and vegetables (not refrigerator pickles), salsas, chutneys, sauerkraut, kimchi, fruit-based jams and jellies, cherries, peaches, applesauce and other fruits. NOT allowed without a license: processed fruits/vegetables with pH above 4.6, fish, meat, pickled eggs, lemon curd, pesto, dressings, low-acid vegetables. Baked-goods exemption (no license under the 2017 court order): baked, not-potentially-hazardous (shelf-stable) homemade baked goods such as cookies, cakes and muffins. NOT allowed under the order: unbaked confections (fudge, candies - confirmed by the Nov. 19, 2024 Court of Appeals reversal in 2023AP367), and items with cream or custard fillings or buttercream frosting that require refrigeration (potentially hazardous). All other homemade foods for sale - hot meals, sandwiches, dairy, meat, canned low-acid foods - require a DATCP or DATCP local-agent license.

Sales caps

Pickle Bill home-canned foods: less than $5,000 per year per person (Wis. Stat. 97.29(2)(b)2.c.). Home-baked goods under the 2017 court order: the court order sets NO statutory or judicial sales cap (proposed caps, e.g., the $40,000 two-tier cap in 2025 AB 748, never became law). No future cap change is scheduled or in effect.

Permit steps

1. Pickle Bill home-canned foods: NO permit or license is required - the statute creates an outright licensing exemption. (No registration with DATCP is required under current law.)
2. Home-baked non-potentially-hazardous goods: NO permit or license is required - the exemption comes from the 2017 court order enjoining DATCP from enforcing the retail food establishment licensing requirement against home bakers of shelf-stable baked goods.
3. For all other home-prepared foods sold to the public (potentially hazardous foods, meals, unbaked confections, meat/dairy, low-acid canned goods): you MUST obtain a DATCP food processing plant license and/or a retail food establishment license (issued by DATCP or by a local health department acting as DATCP's agent), meet facility/sanitation standards, and submit to inspection - apply through DATCP licensing at (608) 224-4923.

How to start in Wisconsin

1. Pick your lane: home-canned acidic foods under the Pickle Bill, or home-baked shelf-stable goods under the 2017 court order. 2. If canning: use tested recipes, verify the finished product has an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower (DATCP recommends testing the pH of finished acidified products), and can in your home kitchen. 3. Sell only direct from producer to consumer at a farmers' market, community or social event, or flea market in Wisconsin (Pickle Bill); do not sell out of your home, wholesale, on consignment, over the internet, or out of state under the exemption. Keep Pickle Bill gross sales under $5,000 per person per year. 4. Post the required point-of-sale sign: 'These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection.' 5. Label every container with: your name and address, the canning date, the statement 'This product was made in a private home not subject to state licensing or inspection.', and all ingredients in descending order of prominence including the common name of any major allergen (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame). 6. If baking: bake in your home kitchen; make only shelf-stable items (no cream/custard fillings or perishable frostings); label ingredients and include your contact information; sell directly to Wisconsin consumers. No license, permit, or registration is needed for either path under current law. 7. Keep batch records (recipe, amounts, dates, sale locations, gross sales receipts, pH test results) - DATCP recommends this. 8. If you want to sell anything beyond these two narrow categories, contact DATCP licensing at (608) 224-4923 about the proper food processing plant or retail food establishment license.

Recent changes

November 19, 2024: In Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP (Appeal No. 2023AP367), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals REVERSED a circuit court order that had declared the retail food establishment laws unconstitutional as applied to sellers of UNBAKED, not-potentially-hazardous homemade foods (fudges, candies, energy bars, roasted coffee beans, dried soup mixes). The court held the licensing laws constitutional and remanded with directions to enter judgment for DATCP and dismiss - so unbaked homemade confections still require a license, and the 2017 ruling remains confined to baked goods. March 19, 2026: 2025 Assembly Bill 748 (LRB-5514/1), which would have replaced the Pickle Bill exemption with a unified two-tier cottage-food system (DATCP registration + product/ingredient lists, general liability insurance, <$10,000/year 'small producers' with a point-of-sale sign, $10,000-$40,000/year 'cottage food producers' with a certified food protection manager credential and a DATCP home inspection, plus a < $40,000 gross-sales cap), FAILED TO PASS pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 after a Jan. 29, 2026 public hearing. Earlier failed bills: 2023 AB 897 and SB 813 (would have raised the Pickle Bill cap to $20,000/$25,000 and added non-potentially-hazardous foods) did not pass in the 2023-24 session; 2017 SB 271/AB 360 ($7,500 baked-goods exemption) also did not pass. Net: no statutory change to the Pickle Bill $5,000 cap or baked-goods rules in 2024-2026; could not verify from a primary source whether WCFA petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court for review of the Nov. 2024 decision, or whether a successor cottage-food bill will be introduced in a future session.

Official sources

• DATCP - Home-Canned Foods (official guidance on the Pickle Bill: allowed foods, $5,000 cap, sales and labeling rules)
• Wisconsin Legislative Council Act Memo - 2009 WI Act 101 (the Pickle Bill, effective Feb. 19, 2010)
• 2025 Assembly Bill 748 - bill text with LRB analysis (two-tier cottage-food exemption that failed to pass)
• Record of Committee Proceedings, Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection - AB 748: public hearing Jan. 29, 2026; failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 on March 19, 2026
• Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, 2023AP367, Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP (filed Nov. 19, 2024; reversed order that would have exempted unbaked homemade foods)