Washington: the home-kitchen movement
Cottage food (restricted) Cottage Food Operations
Washington allows home-kitchen food sales only under its Cottage Food Operations program (Chapter 69.22 RCW), administered statewide by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). Operators need a biennial WSDA permit, a home-kitchen inspection, a Food Worker Card, and a state business license, and may sell only shelf-stable, nonpotentially hazardous foods directly to consumers within Washington — no wholesale, mail order, or out-of-state sales. Annual gross sales are capped at $35,000 per residence, and local zoning/home-business rules still apply. There is no MEHKO-style program for hot, perishable meals in Washington — the 2025 SB 5605 proposal to create one has not passed.
Where it stands
No cottage food law passed in 2024–2026; Chapter 69.22 RCW is unchanged since the 2023 amendments (2023 c 352), whose implementing rules (WSR 24-01-031) took effect January 11, 2024 — raising the sales cap from $25,000 to $35,000 per year, making permits biennial, and updating fees. Pending proposals: SB 5605 (2025), which would create a county-permitted microenterprise home kitchen operations (MEHKO) program for hot, perishable meals, got a Senate Ag & Natural Resources hearing on February 10, 2025 with no committee action and was reintroduced/retained on January 12, 2026 — it has NOT passed. HB 2703 (introduced January 29, 2026) would expand the definition of cottage food products to explicitly include baked and stovetop candies, vanilla and alcohol-based extracts, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods — still in House Agriculture & Natural Resources, NOT passed. Separately, the Department of Health developed agency-request legislation through 2025 to update Chapter 69.22 and fold cottage food operations into the public health system; no resulting bill has passed as of September 29, 2026.
Residents can find and support local kitchens through the Washington hub — browse kitchens, read the law guide, and see what is cooking near you.
Cottage food fight in Washington
- 2023 — 2023 amendments (c 352) — cap $25,000 to $35,000; biennial permits; fees updated
Washington's 2023 cottage food amendments (2023 c 352; rules effective January 11, 2024) raised the sales cap from $25,000 to $35,000 per year, made permits biennial, and updated fees. Source - 2026 — Cottage Food Operations
HB 2703 (introduced January 29, 2026) would expand the definition of cottage food products to explicitly include baked and stovetop candies, vanilla and alcohol-based extracts, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods — still in House Agriculture & Natural Resources, NOT passed. Source
How we got here
- 2024 — Cottage Food Operations
No cottage food law passed in 2024–2026; Chapter 69.22 RCW is unchanged since the 2023 amendments (2023 c 352), whose implementing rules (WSR 24-01-031) took effect January 11, 2024 — raising the sales cap from $25,000 to $35,000 per year, making permits biennial, and updating fees. Source - 2025 — Cottage Food Operations
Pending proposals: SB 5605 (2025), which would create a county-permitted microenterprise home kitchen operations (MEHKO) program for hot, perishable meals, got a Senate Ag & Natural Resources hearing on February 10, 2025 with no committee action and was reintroduced/retained on January 12, 2026 — it has NOT passed. Source - 2026 — Cottage Food Operations Cottage food fight
HB 2703 (introduced January 29, 2026) would expand the definition of cottage food products to explicitly include baked and stovetop candies, vanilla and alcohol-based extracts, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods — still in House Agriculture & Natural Resources, NOT passed. Source - 2025 — Cottage Food Operations
Separately, the Department of Health developed agency-request legislation through 2025 to update Chapter 69.22 and fold cottage food operations into the public health system; no resulting bill has passed as of September 29, 2026. Source - 2023 — 2023 amendments (c 352) — cap $25,000 to $35,000; biennial permits; fees updated Cottage food fight
Washington's 2023 cottage food amendments (2023 c 352; rules effective January 11, 2024) raised the sales cap from $25,000 to $35,000 per year, made permits biennial, and updated fees. Source
Supporters
On the public record supporting home kitchens in Washington.
COOK Alliance
Has pushed MEHKO-style home-meal permits as a bridge to business in Washington
Institute for Justice
Has pushed MEHKO-style home-meal permits in Washington and lists Washington among its food-freedom reform states
Opposition
On the public record opposing, described briefly and neutrally.
Washington State Department of Health
Raised food-safety concerns about cooling, cross-contamination, and inspecting private homes.
The deciders
Governor
Office of the Governor of Washington (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
A pre-written letter in Washington's own terminology. The buttons open it in your email — addressed by you to the office above. Nothing sends until you press send.