Which laws apply

• Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: almost any food produced in the home — including time/temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) foods like cream pies, cheesecakes, and refrigerated prepared foods — subject to registration and handling rules. Not allowed: meat, meat products, poultry, or poultry products; seafood, fish, shellfish and their products; ice or ice products (shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, gelato); low-acid canned goods; products containing CBD or THC; raw milk and raw milk products. TCS foods require DSHS registration, a date-of-production on the label, safe-handling instructions, and temperature-controlled storage/delivery; TCS foods may NOT be wholesaled or donated.

Sales caps

$150,000 annual gross income from cottage food sales (up from $50,000 under SB 541), with DSHS required to adjust the cap annually for inflation using the CPI-U. Effective September 1, 2025; no further scheduled changes.

Permit steps

1. No permit or license is required from the state or any local health department to produce or sell cottage foods.
2. Complete an accredited food handler / basic food safety training course (per HSC ch. 438(D)).
3. If selling TCS foods, register on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry (began September 1, 2025).
4. If operating as a cottage food vendor (buying cottage foods at wholesale and reselling to consumers), register on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry.
5. Optionally register to use a DSHS-issued identification number on labels instead of your home address.
6. Label and package foods per DSHS rules before selling.

How to start in Texas

1) Make sure your product isn't one of the six prohibited categories (meat, seafood, ice products, low-acid canned goods, CBD/THC, raw milk). 2) Complete an accredited food handler training course. 3) If your product is a TCS food (needs refrigeration), register with DSHS on its Online Licensing Registry; otherwise no registration is needed. 4) Package food to prevent contamination and label it: your operation's name, home address or DSHS registration number, product name, major allergens, and the disclosure 'THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.' 5) For TCS foods add the date made and 'SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria, keep this food refrigerated or frozen until the food is prepared for consumption' in at least 12-point font. 6) Sell directly to Texas consumers (home, farmers' markets, events, online with personal delivery by you, an employee, or a household member). 7) To reach retail shelves, sell non-TCS foods at wholesale to a registered cottage food vendor — vendors may resell at farmers' markets, farm stands, food service establishments, or retail stores (baked goods and TCS foods excluded). 8) Keep annual gross sales at or below the $150,000 cap.

Recent changes

SB 541 (89R, 2025; authored by Kolkhorst, House sponsor Hull) — signed by the governor May 30, 2025, effective September 1, 2025 — was the biggest change: sales cap raised $50,000 → $150,000 with annual CPI-U inflation adjustment; allowed foods flipped from a non-TCS-only list to 'any food except' the six prohibited categories (TCS foods now legal with registration + handling rules); nonprofit organizations added to the definition; new 'cottage food vendor' wholesale tier created (non-TCS, non-baked-goods foods may be wholesaled to registered vendors for retail resale); DSHS registration registry launched; local preemption strengthened — local governments may not regulate production or require any license, permit, or fee, and may not employ a person who knowingly requires one; and mail-order sales were removed as an authorized channel. Companion HB 2588 ('Food Freedom Act') was laid on the table after SB 541's House substitute took its language. Texas holds regular sessions in odd years, so there is no 2026 regular session and no pending cottage-food bills were found; the next session is the 90th Legislature in January 2027.

Official sources

• Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production (SB 541 guidance, registration, labeling)
• Texas Legislature Online — SB 541 (89R) bill history (signed 5/30/2025, effective 9/1/2025)
• Texas Statutes — Health & Safety Code ch. 437 (current codified text)
• Texas Legislature Online — SB 541 enrolled bill text (PDF)