Start a Home Kitchen in Montana

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

Cottage food law Food freedom act

Sales cap: NO SALES CAP in either of Montana's home-kitchen regimes. The cottage food statutes (50-50-116, 50-50-117 — unchanged since 2015) and the Montana Local Food Choice Act (50-49-201 through 50-49-203) contain no dollar or gross-sales limit, and no future cap is scheduled in law. Limits are on WHAT may be sold and HOW (allowed food types, direct-to-consumer channels, intrastate sales), not on revenue.

Allowed foods: COTTAGE FOOD (50-50-102, 50-50-116, 50-50-117): only foods that are NOT potentially hazardous — jams, jellies, dried fruit, dry mixes, and baked goods, plus other similar non-potentially-hazardous foods defined by DPHHS rule. Direct (face-to-face) sale to consumers in Montana only — no consignment (including at retail food establishments or through wholesalers), no shipping, no internet sales, no sales to restaurants/distributors for resale. MONTANA LOCAL FOOD CHOICE ACT / food freedom (50-49-201 through 50-49-203): broad 'homemade food and homemade food products' INCLUDING potentially hazardous / time-and-temperature-controlled foods, sold directly by the producer to an informed end consumer, for home consumption or consumption at a traditional community social event (weddings, funerals, potlucks, church socials, school events, farmers markets, neighborhood gatherings, etc.). Sales must stay in Montana — interstate commerce is prohibited. Key restrictions: (a) meat or meat products may not be used in homemade food sold under the act, except poultry from producers slaughtering fewer than 1,000 birds/year (subject to federal recordkeeping, 9 CFR 381.10(c) and 381.175) and except temporary food establishments under 50-50-120; (b) homemade food generally may not be sold to or used in a retail food establishment, EXCEPT raw, unprocessed fruit, vegetables, and aquaculture products (80-3-302); (c) small dairies (no more than 5 lactating cows, 10 lactating goats, or 10 lactating sheep) may sell raw milk and raw milk products direct to consumers, subject to mandatory testing — milk/cream tested every 6 months for standard plate count, coliform, and somatic cell count; every animal tested yearly for brucellosis; 2 years of records kept for the Department of Livestock; (d) producers may donate homemade food to traditional community social events but may NOT donate milk; (e) producers must inform consumers the food is unlicensed, unpermitted, uncertified, unpackaged, unlabeled, and uninspected. Alcohol and THC/marijuana-infused products are not covered — existing liquor and marijuana licensing laws still apply (DPHHS guidance).

🥧 Cottage track in Montana

🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track: preorder / pickup, never reservations.

Sales cap (cottage track): NO SALES CAP in either of Montana's home-kitchen regimes. The cottage food statutes (50-50-116, 50-50-117 — unchanged since 2015) and the Montana Local Food Choice Act (50-49-201 through 50-49-203) contain no dollar or gross-sales limit, and no future cap is scheduled in law. Limits are on WHAT may be sold and HOW (allowed food types, direct-to-consumer channels, intrastate sales), not on revenue.

Labeling (from the published steps):

Inform every consumer that the homemade food has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected per any official regulations — via a label, sticker, or sign at the point of sale (50-49-203(3)).
provide the operation name, physical address, ingredient sources, a complete product list, and copies of each label
Cottage food: label every product with your name/address, the product name, ingredients in descending order of predominance, net quantity, allergen labeling, and the conspicuous statement 'Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections' (50-50-116(2)(b)).

Where you may sell (from the published rules):

Cottage food: label every product with your name/address, the product name, ingredients in descending order of predominance, net quantity, allergen labeling, and the conspicuous statement 'Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections' (50-50-116(2)(b)).
Cottage food producers must print the full statutory label, including the statement 'Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.' 5
Cottage food: face-to-face direct sales only — no shipping, no internet sales, no consignment

🌮 Street track in Montana

🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile

Street and mobile vendors do not cook from home kitchens — a different permit stack, and walk-up sales only.

No distinct street-vendor (sidewalk / mobile) regime is documented in Montana's published data on this site yet — mobile food is permitted separately from home kitchens; check with the local health department.

The permit steps

MONTANA LOCAL FOOD CHOICE ACT path: NO license, permit, registration, certification, or inspection is required — 50-49-203(1)(a) expressly prohibits any state agency or agency of a political subdivision from requiring them for compliant homemade-food sales.
Sell only direct from the producer to the informed end consumer, for home consumption or consumption at a traditional community social event (weddings, funerals, potlucks, farmers markets, neighborhood gatherings, etc.); keep every transaction inside Montana — no interstate commerce (50-49-203(2)).
Inform every consumer that the homemade food has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected per any official regulations — via a label, sticker, or sign at the point of sale (50-49-203(3)).
COTTAGE FOOD path: register with the local health authority in the county where your domestic residence is located; provide the operation name, physical address, ingredient sources, a complete product list, and copies of each label; pay the nonrefundable registration fee ($40 one-time per county registration documents; the department sets the fee by rule) (50-50-117).
Cottage food: label every product with your name/address, the product name, ingredients in descending order of predominance, net quantity, allergen labeling, and the conspicuous statement 'Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections' (50-50-116(2)(b)).
Cottage food: process and package only in the registered area of your domestic residence and store products only there (or temporarily in a transport vehicle); consignment sales — including at retail food establishments or through wholesalers — are prohibited (50-50-116(3)-(5)).
SMALL-DAIRY raw milk producers under the MLFCA: sample/test/retest milk or cream every 6 months for standard plate count, coliform count, and somatic cell count; test every lactating animal yearly for brucellosis; maintain 2 years of records to provide to the Department of Livestock if it suspects a foodborne illness (50-49-203(8)).

How it works, start to finish

Choose your track: (a) Montana Local Food Choice Act — no license, permit, registration, or inspection needed; covers broad homemade foods including hot meals and raw dairy, but only direct producer-to-consumer sales in Montana; or (b) Cottage food — non-potentially-hazardous foods only (baked goods, jams, jellies, dried fruit, dry mixes), requires county registration.
If you plan to sell raw dairy under the MLFCA, keep no more than 5 lactating cows, 10 lactating goats, or 10 lactating sheep, and set up the testing schedule required by 50-49-203(8): milk/cream tested every 6 months (standard plate count, coliform, somatic cell count), every animal tested yearly for brucellosis, records kept 2 years.
Cottage food track: contact the environmental health office of your county health authority, submit the registration (operation name, home address, ingredient sources, complete product list, copies of labels), and pay the one-time $40 registration fee.
Set up labeling: MLFCA producers must inform every buyer that the food was not licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected — a label, sticker, or sign at the point of sale works. Cottage food producers must print the full statutory label, including the statement 'Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.'
Sell only through allowed channels. MLFCA: direct to the informed end consumer at your home/farm or at a traditional community social event (including farmers markets); the internet may be used for advertising, marketing, and payment, but the exchange must be in person — no third-party delivery services and no selling to stores for resale (Missoula County MLFCA guidance, 2024). Cottage food: face-to-face direct sales only — no shipping, no internet sales, no consignment.
Keep all sales within Montana; MLFCA sales may not involve interstate commerce.

Where to apply in Montana

Cottage food operations must register with the LOCAL health authority in the county where the domestic residence is located (50-50-117): the county reviews the application (operation name, address, ingredient sources, product list, labels), may request additional food-safety information, and collects the nonrefundable registration fee ($40 one-time, per county registration documents). The Montana Local Food Choice Act, by contrast, is a state-level exemption: a state agency or agency of a political subdivision may not require licensure, permitting, certification, packaging, labeling, testing, sampling, or inspection of compliant homemade food (50-49-203(1)(a)), and MLFCA transactions are not subject to regulation by a board of county commissioners (50-49-203(2)(d)). County/local health officers retain a role only in investigating complaints or suspected foodborne illness.

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

Inspection prep (general)

General prep that applies in most programs — your law guide and health department have the specifics for Montana:

Write your standard operating procedures: foods handled, prep methods, cleaning schedule, refuse disposal, and your time/temperature control plan.
Complete the food safety training your program requires and keep the certificate where an inspector can see it.
Have a calibrated food thermometer, proper cold storage, and labels that meet your program's rules.
Keep pets out of the kitchen during production, and separate household and business ingredients.

Read the full Montana law guide → · Check your eligibility → · Ask the guide about Montana →