Massachusetts: the home-kitchen movement
Full cottage food Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation') · Wholesale Residential Kitchen
Massachusetts has no standalone cottage-food statute; home-kitchen food businesses operate under DPH regulations. Anyone producing food in a private home for direct-to-consumer sale is a Retail Residential Kitchen and needs a permit from the local (city/town) board of health under 105 CMR 590, issued as a 'Cottage Food Operation.' Anyone producing for wholesale sale needs a license from the MA DPH Food Protection Program under 105 CMR 500. Only shelf-stable, non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods are allowed, and there is no state sales cap.
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
No enacted changes to Massachusetts home-kitchen rules in 2024-2026; 105 CMR 590 was last substantively amended effective October 5, 2018. Two bills are pending in the 194th General Court (2025-2026): H.140 (Rep. Uyterhoeven) / S.69 (Sen. Oliveira, identical), 'An Act to promote economic opportunities for cottage food entrepreneurs,' which would require DPH to establish statewide cottage-food rules, allow certain categories of cottage food products to be sold without a local-board-of-health permit, and create a voluntary DPH cottage-food registry (registration fee not to exceed $25) — public hearing held July 9, 2025, reporting date September 7, 2025; and S.1512 (Sen. Driscoll), 'An Act to promote economic opportunity by licensing home kitchens,' which would bar local boards of health and zoning boards from regulating home kitchen operations — reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Public Health on October 14, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Neither bill has been enacted, so the regulation-based system described above remains current law. Could not verify from a primary source whether H.140/S.69 advanced after the September 2025 reporting date.
Residents can find and support local kitchens through the Massachusetts hub — browse kitchens, read the law guide, and see what is cooking near you.
Cottage food fight in Massachusetts
- 2025 — H.140 / S.69 — statewide cottage rules, no-permit categories, $25 registry (pending)
H.140 (Rep. Uyterhoeven) / S.69 (Sen. Oliveira), 'An Act to promote economic opportunities for cottage food entrepreneurs' (2025-2026, pending), would require DPH to establish statewide cottage-food rules, allow certain categories of cottage food products to be sold without a local-board-of-health permit, and create a voluntary DPH cottage-food registry with a registration fee not to exceed $25; public hearing held July 9, 2025. Source
How we got here
- 2024 — Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation')
No enacted changes to Massachusetts home-kitchen rules in 2024-2026; 105 CMR 590 was last substantively amended effective October 5, 2018. Source - 2025 — Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation') Cottage food fight
Two bills are pending in the 194th General Court (2025-2026): H.140 (Rep. Source - — Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation')
Uyterhoeven) / S.69 (Sen. Source - 2025 — Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation')
Oliveira, identical), 'An Act to promote economic opportunities for cottage food entrepreneurs,' which would require DPH to establish statewide cottage-food rules, allow certain categories of cottage food products to be sold without a local-board-of-health permit, and create a voluntary DPH cottage-food registry (registration fee not to exceed $25) — public hearing held July 9, 2025, reporting date September 7, 2025; Source - 2025 — H.140 / S.69 — statewide cottage rules, no-permit categories, $25 registry (pending) Cottage food fight
H.140 (Rep. Uyterhoeven) / S.69 (Sen. Oliveira), 'An Act to promote economic opportunities for cottage food entrepreneurs' (2025-2026, pending), would require DPH to establish statewide cottage-food rules, allow certain categories of cottage food products to be sold without a local-board-of-health permit, and create a voluntary DPH cottage-food registry with a registration fee not to exceed $25; public hearing held July 9, 2025. 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 Massachusetts (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
A pre-written letter in Massachusetts's own terminology. The buttons open it in your email — addressed by you to the office above. Nothing sends until you press send.