Catering license requirements by state
Who issues a caterer’s permit in your state, whether you can cook at home, and what the cottage food law lets you sell, plus the agency to confirm every answer with and the states still on the way.
Food permitting in the United States is not federal and it is not uniform. In most states the health or agriculture department writes the code and a county or city health department issues the permit, sets the fee and inspects; in the rest the state issues it directly. That single fact decides who you call first, and it is the field third-party guides get wrong most often, because writers default to "state health department". Every page below states the issuing level plainly, names the binding authority, and links the agency page to confirm every answer with.
Reviewed August 2026
24 states, one page each
| State | Who issues the caterer's permit | Home production | Sales cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Local: your county environmental health department | Cottage food route | No cap in the statute |
| Arkansas | State: the Arkansas Department of Health, through county health units | Cottage food route | None stated on the agency page read |
| California | Local: your county environmental health department | Cottage food route | Statutory base $75,000 (Class A) / $150,000 (Class B), adjusted annually for inflation |
| Connecticut | Split: the Department of Consumer Protection licenses cottage food, your local health district licenses caterers | Cottage food route | $50,000 total annual gross sales per calendar year |
| Florida | State: the Department of Business and Professional Regulation issues a named caterer license | Cottage food route | $250,000 in annual gross sales, the highest in the country |
| Georgia | Local: your county health department licenses caterers | Cottage food route | No limits on gross sales or units produced |
| Idaho | Local: one of Idaho’s seven public health districts | Cottage food route | None stated on the agency page read |
| Illinois | Local: your county or municipal health department, and Chicago is its own jurisdiction | Cottage food route | Not stated on the agency page read |
| Iowa | Split: the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, with some contracted local authorities | Cottage food route | No cap on the cottage food exemption |
| Maryland | Local: your county health department | Cottage food route | Not stated on the agency page read |
| Minnesota | Split: the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health, with delegated county and city authorities | Cottage food route | $78,000 gross receipts, adjusted for inflation every two years |
| Mississippi | State: the Mississippi State Department of Health | Cottage food route | $35,000 in gross annual sales, raised from $20,000 by Senate Bill 326 (2020) |
| Missouri | Local: your county or city health department | Cottage food route | No cap in the statute |
| Nebraska | Split: the Department of Agriculture, with delegated local health departments | Cottage food route | No cap stated on the agency page read |
| New Jersey | Split: the state Department of Health for cottage food, your municipal health department for catering | Cottage food route | $50,000 in gross annual sales |
| New Mexico | Split: the Environment Department statewide, with Albuquerque running its own food program | Cottage food route | Not stated on the sources read |
| New York | Local: your county health department, or the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City | Cottage food route | No cap; no production limits are specified |
| Oklahoma | Split: the State Department of Health, with county and city-county health departments administering | Cottage food route | Under $75,000 in gross annual sales |
| Oregon | Split by sector: the Department of Agriculture for home kitchens, your county health department for catering | Cottage food route | No cap on the domestic kitchen license |
| Pennsylvania | Split: the Department of Agriculture, except where a county or city health department holds delegated authority | Cottage food route | No cap stated on the agency page read |
| Rhode Island | State: the Department of Health licenses everything; there is no county layer | Cottage food route | Not stated by the Department; a $50,000 figure circulates unconfirmed |
| Texas | Split: the Department of State Health Services, except in the many cities and counties with their own health departments | Cottage food route | $150,000 in annual gross income (confirm the current threshold) |
| Vermont | State: the Department of Health, Food and Lodging Program | Cottage food route | Exemptions at $10,000 and $30,000 in annual sales |
| Wyoming | Split: the Department of Agriculture, Consumer Health Services, with six local inspection programs | Cottage food route | No cap |
27 more states on the way
A state gets its page once we’ve confirmed its rules against the state’s own sources. Still to come: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin. Wherever you are, your county or city health department is the right first call — they’ll have the current fee schedule and forms.
Once the permit is sorted, price the work
CaterKit costs every dish from your own ingredients, prices the quote at your margin, and sends it as a page the client can accept on their phone.
New to this? Start with the licenses, permits and food safety chapter, or the guide to starting a catering business.