Washington · Cottage Food
Part of our walk-through for all 50 US states — see every state.
Answer a few plain-English questions about what you make and how you want to sell it. We check it against Washington’s cottage food rules, flag anything that isn’t allowed, and build you a personalized checklist and a printable food label. One place, no legal jargon.
Built from public WSDA guidance. Not legal advice and not WSDA approval — rules can change, so verify final requirements with WSDA before selling.
Often yes, but Washington cottage food is not an open-ended home bakery exemption. A standard path is for non-potentially-hazardous foods made in your primary home kitchen, sold directly to the end consumer inside Washington, and kept under the current $35,000 annual gross-sales cap. The wizard below checks the choices that commonly change the answer.
Washington rule review
The page is built from WSDA Cottage Food and the cited official sources below, then turns those rules into a practical pre-sale review.
Final wording should be checked against WAC 16-149 before printing.
Usually blocks the cottage food path
Cottage food can’t be shipped. Internet and mail-order sales are prohibited.
Usually blocks the cottage food path
Selling to a store that resells your product is not allowed — cottage food must go direct to the person who eats it.
Usually blocks the cottage food path
Consignment sales through a third party are not allowed.
Usually blocks the cottage food path
You can only sell to customers inside Washington. Out-of-state sales are prohibited.
Usually blocks the cottage food path
Foods that require refrigeration to stay safe can’t be made and sold as cottage food.
Needs extra review
If it might spoil at room temperature, it may not qualify.
Washington permit prep
This is the shortest practical order for getting from idea to permit-ready label draft without missing the common WSDA packet items.
Step 1
Start with shelf-stability, direct-to-consumer in-state sales, and the $35,000 annual gross-sales cap. If any of those fail, stop before you spend time on labels.
Step 2
Typical packet items include the business license, food worker card, water-supply documentation, floor plan, recipes, sanitation plan, sales plan, and child or pet management details.
Step 3
Include the product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, allergen information, net weight or volume, operation name, permit number, and the required home-kitchen disclosure.
Step 4
The checklist and label draft help you catch blockers like shipping, resale, refrigeration, or higher-risk product categories before you rely on the permit path.
Washington FAQ
These are the questions most likely to show up before someone commits to the full walk-through.
Yes. Washington’s standard cottage food path requires a WSDA cottage food permit before you sell approved products.
No. Washington cottage food is a direct-to-consumer in-state path, and mail-order or shipped sales are not part of the standard permit route.
The core fields are the product name, ingredients by weight, allergens, net weight or volume, operation name, permit number, and the required home-kitchen disclosure.
The current gross-sales cap is $35,000 per year for the standard cottage food operation path.