Start a home kitchen in Massachusetts

The steps, the costs, where to apply, and how to get inspection-ready — in Massachusetts's own program terms.

Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation') Wholesale Residential Kitchen

Sales cap: No sales cap is set by current Massachusetts law or regulations — 105 CMR 590 (retail/cottage food) and 105 CMR 500 (wholesale) contain no annual, monthly, or per-transaction sales limit for permitted residential kitchens.

Allowed foods: Only non-time/temperature-control-for-safety (non-TCS) foods that can be safely held at room temperature — e.g., baked goods (breads, cakes, cookies), jams, jellies, confections. TCS ingredients such as milk, cream, and eggs may be used in preparation only if the final product is not a TCS food. Prohibited finished products include cream-filled pastries, cheesecake, custard, cut fruit and vegetables, pickled products, relishes, tomato and barbecue sauces, salad dressings, and cannabis baked goods. Prohibited processing operations include acidification, hot fill, thermal processing in hermetically-sealed containers (except jams and jellies), vacuum packaging, and curing/smoking. Products sold under the retail/cottage-food permit must be prepackaged with an ingredient label (operation name and address, product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, net weight/volume, allergen information). Bake sales and charitable food distribution are exempt from permitting under M.G.L. c. 94 sec. 328 with conditions.

The permit steps

1. Determine your sales channel: direct-to-consumer (retail) goes to your city/town board of health under 105 CMR 590; wholesale to stores or restaurants goes to the MA DPH Food Protection Program under 105 CMR 500 (you may need both).
2. Confirm municipal zoning allows a residential kitchen food business in your city/town — zoning rules may prohibit residential kitchens in some municipalities.
3. Contact your local board of health for the Residential Kitchen / Cottage Food Operation permit application and plan-review forms (requirements vary by municipality).
4. Complete the application and any required plan review; if the board of health requires a pre-operational inspection, pass it (a current pending bill, H.140, would require such inspections within 30 days, but that is not yet law).
5. Prepare to sell only prepackaged, non-TCS products with full ingredient labels per 105 CMR 590 / the DPH guidance (name and address, product name, ingredients in descending order, net weight/volume, allergen information).
6. For wholesale: apply to the DPH Food Protection Program for a residential-kitchen license under 105 CMR 500 and comply with Good Manufacturing Practice requirements (including possible laboratory evidence that products are not TCS).

How it works, start to finish

1. Decide retail (direct to consumers, e.g., farmers markets, craft fairs, internet/mail sales) vs. wholesale (stores, restaurants); many startups start retail.
2. Check with your city/town's zoning or planning office that a home food business is allowed at your residence.
3. Contact your local board of health and request the Cottage Food Operation / Residential Kitchen permit application and plan-review packet.
4. Submit the application, pay the local fee, and complete any plan review and pre-operational inspection the board requires.
5. Set up your kitchen per the DPH 'Retail Food Code Standards for Permitted Residential Kitchens' (no pets or children in the kitchen during production, separate domestic activity from production, no bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food).
6. Prepare compliant labels for every product (operation name and address, product name, ingredients descending by weight, net weight/volume, allergens).
7. If you later want to sell wholesale, add a 105 CMR 500 license from the DPH Food Protection Program (617-983-6770).

Where to apply in Massachusetts

Massachusetts residential kitchens are permitted by city/town government, not county government: Retail Residential Kitchens are inspected and permitted by the local board of health in the city or town where the kitchen is located, under 105 CMR 590.010(F)(2)(a), and are permitted as 'Cottage Food Operations.' Wholesale Residential Kitchens are inspected and licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) Food Protection Program under 105 CMR 500.015(B). Local boards of health set their own application, plan-review, and inspection processes, and municipal zoning rules may prohibit residential kitchens in some cities and towns.

Official sources — start with the agency or department that runs Massachusetts's program:

• Mass.gov — Residential Kitchen Questions and Answers (DPH Food Protection Program)
• Mass.gov — Retail Food Code Standards for Permitted Residential Kitchens (guidance)
• malegislature.gov — Bill S.1512, An Act to promote economic opportunity by licensing home kitchens (bill history)
• malegislature.gov — Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries bill summary for H.140, An Act to promote economic opportunities for cottage food entrepreneurs

Inspection prep (general)