Montana: the home-kitchen movement
Food freedom Cottage food law · Food freedom act
Montana runs two home-kitchen tracks. The Montana Local Food Choice Act (SB 199, 2021; MCA 50-49-201 et seq.), one of the broadest food-freedom laws in the country, exempts producers selling homemade food — including potentially hazardous foods and raw dairy from small dairies (5/10/10 herd rule) — from all licensing, permitting, certification, packaging, labeling, and inspection, as long as sales are direct from producer to informed end consumer, for home consumption or at traditional community social events (including farmers markets), and stay inside Montana. A separate cottage food law (MCA 50-50-116/117, 2015) covers non-potentially-hazardous foods only (baked goods, jams, jellies, dried fruit, dry mixes) and requires registration with the county health authority ($40 one-time fee). Neither track has a 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
2024: No changes to Montana's home-kitchen statutes. Montana's legislature holds regular sessions in odd-numbered years (68th Legislature in 2023, 69th in 2025), so there was no 2024 regular session. 2025: SB 161 (Sen. Hertz), 'Provide for regulation and sale of aquaculture,' signed into law; Chapter 344, Laws of 2025, effective on passage and approval. It amended the MLFCA (50-49-203) and the retail-food definitions (50-50-102): raw, unprocessed aquaculture products (as defined in 80-3-302) joined raw fruits and vegetables as homemade food that may be sold to or used in a retail food establishment; aquaculture products were added to the 'raw agricultural commodity' definition in 50-50-102; homemade food/MLFCA products and cottage food products were added as exceptions to the method-of-sale commodity rules (30-12-301); and aquaculture definitions, exemptions, and rulemaking were added to 80-3-302. The 2025 session also revised licensed-establishment fee and establishment-category definitions in 50-50-102 (MCA history note: Ch. 737, L. 2025); this did not alter cottage-food or MLFCA home-kitchen rules. 2025: SJ 11 (enrolled) directed an interim committee to study farmers markets and the impact, opportunities, and challenges of the MLFCA (Title 50, ch. 49, part 2) and the state cottage food laws (Title 50, ch. 50), plus producer-liability and consumer-protection statutes, with all work concluded by September 15, 2026 and findings reported to the 70th Legislature — the pending study most likely to shape the next round of home-kitchen legislation (2027 session). 2026: no regular session; no additional changes or pending bills verified from primary sources. Background (outside the 2024-2026 window): SB 202 (2023), 'Generally revise the Montana Local Food Choice Act,' Chapter 347, Laws of 2023, amended 50-49-202, 50-49-203, and 50-50-102.
Residents can find and support local kitchens through the Montana hub — browse kitchens, read the law guide, and see what is cooking near you.
How we got here
- 2024 — Cottage food law
2024: No changes to Montana's home-kitchen statutes. Source - 2023 — Cottage food law
Montana's legislature holds regular sessions in odd-numbered years (68th Legislature in 2023, 69th in 2025), so there was no 2024 regular session. Source - 2025 — Cottage food law
Hertz), 'Provide for regulation and sale of aquaculture,' signed into law; Chapter 344, Laws of 2025, effective on passage and approval. Source - — Cottage food law
It amended the MLFCA (50-49-203) and the retail-food definitions (50-50-102): raw, unprocessed aquaculture products (as defined in 80-3-302) joined raw fruits and vegetables as homemade food that may be sold to or used in a retail food establishment; aquaculture products were added to the 'raw agricultural commodity' definition in 50-50-102; homemade food/MLFCA products and cottage food products were added as excepti 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 Montana (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
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