Start a home kitchen in Utah

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

Cottage food law Microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO-style) Food freedom act

Sales cap: NO SALES CAP in any of Utah's three regimes. Cottage food (4-5-501), food freedom (4-5a), and microenterprise home kitchens (26B-7-401 et seq.) all operate with no dollar or gross-sales limit in the statutes — no scheduled change to introduce one. Limits are operational, not monetary: cottage food is restricted to non-TCS (shelf-stable) foods; microenterprise kitchens must serve TCS food the same day or within 72 hours with logging (per SB 315, effective 5/7/2025), allow no on-site consumption, and hold an annual local permit. (The original 2021 Microenterprise Home Kitchen Act included a per-county limit on the number of permits with a sunset date; its current status could not be verified from a primary source.)

Allowed foods: COTTAGE FOOD (UDAF registration, Utah Code 4-5-501): Allowed: nonpotentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods only — baked goods (shelf-stable; no cream, uncooked egg, custard, meringue, or cream-cheese frosting), breads (non-TCS inclusions only, e.g. nuts, dried fruit), fruit pies only, cakes/cupcakes, cookies, honey, popcorn, dry mixes, candy/chocolates, jams, jellies, preserves, cereals, trail mixes, granola, dried fruits (acidic fruits; melons not allowed). Baked goods must be cooked with dry heat (oven/skillet) — no frying or steaming; no filling or fresh-fruit toppings added after baking. Not allowed: any time/temperature-controlled food — meat, dairy-based foods, refrigerated or frozen products, and anything requiring refrigeration for safety. MICROENTERPRISE HOME KITCHEN (local health dept permit, 26B-7-401 et seq.): Allowed: ready-to-eat food INCLUDING hot meals and TCS foods (cooked meats, cooked vegetables, hot-held dishes). Not allowed: raw time/temperature-controlled foods (raw fish, raw milk, raw shellfish); foods requiring a HACCP special process; fish from waters of the state; wild-picked mushrooms; game animals unless raised/slaughtered/processed per UDAF meat and poultry rules; milk/dairy not from Grade A sources. FOOD FREEDOM (4-5a-101 et seq., no registration): broad 'homemade food products' including TCS foods sold direct to informed consumers. Not allowed under this path: raw dairy/raw dairy products; meat products (except poultry up to 1,000 birds/year under the USDA 1,000-bird exemption, and domesticated rabbit meat pending USDA approval).

The permit steps

1. Choose your regulatory path: cottage food (UDAF registration), food freedom (no registration, business license only), or microenterprise home kitchen (local health department permit).
2. Cottage food: complete the UDAF Cottage Food Establishment application with recipes, ingredient lists, labels, and plans for storage, packaging, transportation, and sales; submit to the UDAF Cottage Food Program.
3. Obtain a valid food handler's permit from your local health department — required for every person handling food in both the cottage and microenterprise programs.
4. Cottage food: submit to any required pH/water-activity product testing, then meet the UDAF compliance officer for a consultation and pre-registration kitchen inspection.
5. Cottage food: pay the $100 UDAF food-establishment registration fee (per the official UDAF fee schedule); registration is valid through December 31 of the year issued and renewable.
6. Microenterprise: apply to your local health department with (a) written consent to enter the premises and (b) written standard operating procedures covering all foods, prep methods, cleaning schedules, refuse disposal, and time/temperature control plans.
7. Microenterprise: pay the local permit fee (set by each local health department to reimburse its regulatory costs); pass inspection. The permit is annual, nontransferable, restricted to the listed location and hours, and must state 'This location is permitted under modified FDA requirements.'
8. Food freedom path: no registration, inspection, or training required — obtain any required city business license and label products with name/address, the no-inspection disclosure, and allergen information.

How it works, start to finish

1. Pick your path: (a) Cottage food — shelf-stable foods only, requires UDAF registration; (b) Food freedom — homemade foods sold directly to consumers, no registration or inspection; (c) Microenterprise home kitchen — hot meals and TCS foods, requires a local health department permit.
2. Get a food handler's permit from your local health department — required for anyone handling food under the cottage-food and microenterprise paths.
3. Cottage food: submit the UDAF Cottage Food Establishment application (up to ~10 recipes with ingredients, labels, and storage/packaging/transportation/sales plans); UDAF may require pH or water-activity testing of products first.
4. Meet with the UDAF compliance officer for your pre-registration consultation/inspection, present your valid food handler's permit, and pay the $100 UDAF registration fee.
5. Microenterprise: contact the local health department for your area; submit the application with written consent to enter the premises and written standard operating procedures (all foods, prep methods, cleaning schedules, refuse disposal, time/temperature control plan); pay the local permit fee; pass the inspection.
6. Label correctly: cottage products must show the product name, full ingredients/allergens, net quantity, your business name and contact info, and 'Home Produced' prominently; food-freedom sales must carry your name and address, a disclosure that the product is not for resale and was prepared without state or local inspection, and an allergen statement.
7. Sell only through allowed channels and within Utah: direct-to-consumer (home, farmers markets, roadside stands, events, delivery); no on-site consumption at a microenterprise kitchen; food-freedom products may not go to restaurants or wholesalers.
8. Keep required records — e.g., if your microenterprise kitchen holds TCS foods beyond the same day, maintain time/temperature logs (updated every 2 hours during operation; fridge/freezer logs at start/end of day and every 4 hours; retained 90 days) and mark each item with its sell-by/discard date.

Where to apply in Utah

Microenterprise home kitchen permits are issued by the LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT with jurisdiction over the area — not the state. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) sets statewide permitting standards and regulations (per 26A-1-121), but each local health department: grants, renews (annual), and may revoke permits; sets its own permit fee in an amount that reimburses its regulatory costs (26A-1-114); inspects kitchens; and may charge an extra inspection fee if the kitchen is found to have produced adulterated food or caused an illness outbreak. Operators must give the local health department written consent to enter the premises and submit written standard operating procedures (foods handled, prep methods, cleaning schedules, refuse disposal, time/temperature control plan). The permit is nontransferable, renewable annually, and restricted to the location and hours listed on it. Counties implement the program through their own health-department regulations (e.g., Salt Lake County adopted its own microenterprise home kitchen regulation in 2024). By contrast, cottage-food operations are registered with the STATE (UDAF), and compliant ones are outside local health department jurisdiction except for foodborne-illness investigations.

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

• UDAF Cottage Food Production page — permitted products, registration, fees, contact
• Utah Code 26B-7-401 (Microenterprise Home Kitchen Act definitions), effective 5/7/2025
• Utah Code 4-5a-104 (Home producer direct sales — food freedom), effective 5/6/2026
• SB 315 (2025) Microenterprise Home Kitchen Amendments — 72-hour rule, effective 5/7/2025
• UDAF fee schedule — Cottage food establishment registration $100
• UDAF Cottage Food Establishment application form — application steps, testing, inspection

Inspection prep (general)