Kansas: the home-kitchen movement
Full cottage food Cottage food law · Beekeeper honey retail exemption
Kansas has no separately named cottage-food statute. Instead, K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4) exempts anyone who produces food for sale directly to the end consumer from food-establishment licensing, as long as the food does not require time and temperature control for safety or specialized processing, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) administers this exemption statewide: no license, registration, routine inspection, or sales cap applies to qualifying non-TCS foods sold direct to consumers, including at farmers markets, fairs, roadside stands, and online (shipping allowed, subject to the receiving state's rules). In 2026, HB 2158 (signed April 9, 2026) added a narrow second exemption letting qualifying beekeepers sell packaged honey and honeycomb at retail without a food establishment or food processor license.
Status, history, and administering agency are verified from the state law guide's primary sources. Supporter/opposition research for this state is still in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Where it stands
HB 2158 (2025-2026 session) is the only home-kitchen food-law change in Kansas during 2024-2026. Introduced January 29, 2025 by Rep. Schmoe at the request of the Kansas Honey Producers Association and the Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association, it amends K.S.A. 65-689 to add a beekeeper exemption (new (d)(15)): qualifying beekeepers may sell packaged honey and honeycomb for sale or resale at retail without a food establishment or food processor license, without KDA registration, and without a commercial kitchen. Legislative path: passed the House as amended Feb 19, 2025 (85-34); passed the Senate as amended Mar 20, 2025 (40-0); conference committee agreement Mar 23, 2026 adopted by the Senate (40-0) and House (110-11) on Mar 24, 2026; approved by the Governor April 9, 2026; effective from and after publication in the statute book. The final version sets the beekeeper annual gross sales cap at $35,000 and adds record-keeping and labeling requirements (including a 'not subject to routine inspection' disclaimer) in place of the registration the Senate version had proposed. No changes were made to the general direct-to-consumer exemption (K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4)) during 2024-2026, and no other home-kitchen bills were found in primary sources for this period.
How we got here
- 2025 — Cottage food law
HB 2158 (2025-2026 session) is the only home-kitchen food-law change in Kansas during 2024-2026. Source - 2025 — Cottage food law
Introduced January 29, 2025 by Rep. Source - — Cottage food law
Schmoe at the request of the Kansas Honey Producers Association and the Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association, it amends K.S.A. Source - — Cottage food law
65-689 to add a beekeeper exemption (new (d)(15)): qualifying beekeepers may sell packaged honey and honeycomb for sale or resale at retail without a food establishment or food processor license, without KDA registration, and without a commercial kitchen. Source
Supporters
Supporter research for this state is in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Opposition
No on-record opposition has been verified for this state yet.
The deciders
Governor
Office of the Governor of Kansas (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
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