Where You Can Sell Cottage Food in Texas: Direct, Online, Samples and Wholesale

Texas cottage food law tells you two big things: what you can make at home and how it can reach your customers. Most people know the first part (since SB 541 took effect on September 1, 2025, it's almost anything except a short list). The second part is where a lot of good food creators get tripped up. Here's a plain-English walkthrough of the four ways a Texas cottage food operation can get food into customers' hands, plus the extra steps that come with each one.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules can change, so check the official sources linked at the end before you make big decisions.

First, who these rules cover

Under Texas Health and Safety Code § 437.001, a cottage food production operation is an individual cooking in their own home (or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using the home of a director or officer) that:

• makes foods other than meat or poultry, seafood, ice and frozen treats like ice cream or popsicles, low-acid canned goods, CBD or THC products, and raw milk products;
• earns $150,000 or less a year in gross income from those foods (the state adjusts this figure for inflation each year); and
• sells directly to consumers or to a registered cottage food vendor.

Every operator also needs to complete an accredited food handler training course (§ 437.0195). DSHS will accept a Food Manager Certification in its place. Anyone else helping in your kitchen has to be trained too, work under the direct supervision of someone who is, or be a member of your household.

If you run a food truck or a licensed commercial kitchen, you're working under a different set of rules (local permits and the Texas Food Establishment Rules). Check with your local health department for those. Open Cottage is built for all of you, but the selling rules below are specific to cottage food operations.

1. Selling directly to customers

This is the classic setup: someone orders, and you hand the food over. The statute says you deliver "at the point of sale or another location designated by the consumer." So a porch pickup, a meet-up spot your customer chooses, or delivering to their door all fit.

The best part: a city, county or local health department can't require you to get a permit or license, or pay a fee, to produce or sell cottage food directly to consumers (§ 437.0192). They also can't regulate how you make food in your home kitchen. DSHS or a local health authority can still step in if there's an immediate and serious threat to health, and health departments keep records of complaints.

Tip: Put your pickup area, delivery radius and order deadline in one place customers can find again. A Story disappears in 24 hours; a menu page doesn't.

2. Taking orders online

Online orders are allowed in Texas, with two conditions (§ 437.0194(b)):

1. The order is personally delivered. You, your employee or a member of your household has to hand the food to the customer. Because the law calls for personal delivery, mailing or shipping orders doesn't fit this path.
2. Labeling info is posted before payment. Before you accept payment, post a legible statement on your website with all the required labeling information. You don't have to post your home address there. After payment, the food itself needs your address or your DSHS registration number on the label.

If you sell time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods, those label items (the date made and the safe-handling statement) belong in that online statement too. If you need a refresher, see our Texas cottage food label checklist.

Tip: A page that lists every item along with its allergens and label details takes care of the "post it before payment" rule and answers customer questions at the same time.

3. Samples and donations

Since SB 541, a cottage food operation can give out samples at any location in Texas (§ 437.01955). Samples have to meet the sanitary standards in § 437.020(c). Those include handing samples out in a sanitary way, wearing clean disposable gloves or washing your hands right before you prep, having potable water on hand, using smooth, easy-to-clean (or disposable) cutting surfaces, and keeping potentially hazardous food at 41°F or below or throwing it out within two hours.

You can also donate cottage foods for sale or service at events such as a religious or charitable organization's fundraiser sale, to the same extent any individual can donate food. The one exception is TCS foods, which can't be donated.

Tip: Sampling at a market or event works best when people can find you again later. Bring a card or QR code that points to your menu page.

4. Wholesale to a registered cottage food vendor (new)

Before SB 541, cottage food operations couldn't sell wholesale at all. Now there's one exception (§ 437.0194(a-1) and § 437.01965):

• You may sell non-TCS cottage foods wholesale to a cottage food vendor. That's a person in Texas who has a contract with your operation and resells to consumers in Texas on your behalf.
• The vendor has to register with DSHS if they buy from you at wholesale.
• The vendor can sell to consumers at a farmers' market, a farm stand, a food service establishment (like a restaurant or café), or any retail store.
• The vendor has to display a sign near the food that reads: "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."
• Food sold through a vendor needs the date it was made on the label.

TCS foods can't be sold wholesale.

What "TCS" means and why it matters

A time and temperature control for safety food is one that has to be kept at certain temperatures to limit bacteria growth. Think cream or custard pies, or cakes that need refrigeration. Texas cottage food operations can sell TCS foods, but they have to (§ 437.01953; DSHS):

• register on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry;
• store and deliver the food at temperatures that keep it safe (DSHS gives 41°F or below for cold items and 135°F or above for hot items as the internal temperature targets);
• put the date made on the label, along with the 12-point safe-handling statement on the label or receipt; and
• skip wholesale and donations for those items.

Quick checklist before your next sale

• Food handler training is done (or you hold a Food Manager Certification).
• Every item is on the allowed list, and you know which ones are TCS.
• Labels are complete. If you'd rather keep your home address off them, register with DSHS and use your ID number instead.
• Online orders: label info is posted before payment, and delivery is in person.
• Sampling plan meets the sanitary basics.
• Selling through a vendor? They're registered, the sign is up, and the date made is on the label.

Make it easy for customers to find you

Knowing where you can sell is half of it. The other half is making sure people can find your menu when they're ready to order. Open Cottage gives food creators one free page for your menu, photos and how to order. Home cooks, food trucks and licensed cottage kitchens are all welcome, and sign-ups are open nationwide. Reserve your name at opencottage.net.

Sources

• Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 437 (§§ 437.001, 437.0192, 437.0193, 437.0194, 437.0195, 437.01953, 437.01955, 437.01965, 437.020): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.437.htm
• Texas DSHS, Texas Cottage Food Production (SB 541 overview, registration, distribution, labeling, training): https://www.dshs.texas.gov/retail-food-establishments/permits-retail-food-establishments/texas-cottage-food-production

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