Can you sell dog treats under your state's cottage food law?
Verified September 7, 2026. Figures quoted from the statute, rule, fee page or form.
Cottage food laws let a person make certain low-risk foods in a home kitchen and sell them without a commercial kitchen. They are written for food people eat. Pet treats sit in a different statute in every state verified so far, and the route through it is a commercial feed law, or in one state a pet food act, rather than the cottage food law.
Three different ways a state says no
The wording is worth reading, because the mechanism differs and the mechanism is what a reader can check.
Some states define the whole cottage food regime around food for human consumption, so pet food never enters the frame. Some run a closed list of permitted product classes and separately bar producing anything not on that list, which excludes pet treats without ever naming them. And some say nothing at all in the statute, and the answer comes from the agency in writing: the health department that runs cottage food tells pet bakeries to call the feed control office instead.
The trap is a state whose food definition covers food for humans or animals. There the human-food-only argument does not work, and the exclusion has to be found elsewhere, usually in a closed product list.
A cottage food registration does not carry over
Registering as a cottage food operation does nothing for a pet treat business. It is a different agency, a different statute and a different inspection regime. One state even publishes its pet food guidance under the heading of a regulatory guide for the cottage industry, which is the single most reliable source of this confusion in the country.
The instrument that does apply is on your state page: a firm license, a product registration, or both.
What each verified state says, in its own words
Texas
no: the cottage food production operation definition reaches an individual producing food at the individual home and names no pet food or animal feed; DSHS answers that it does not regulate pet food manufacturing and refers pet bakeries to the Office of the Texas State Chemist
"Cottage food production operation" means an individual, operating out of the individual's home, or a nonprofit organization that: (A) produces at the individual's home or the home of an individual who is a director or officer of the nonprofit organization, as applicable, any food other than:
Tex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 437.001(2-b) (Definitions)
What applies instead: yes: Feed License, one per feed facility and one per guarantor named on the label, applied for on Form LA 0198
Florida
no: a cottage food product is food sold by a cottage food operation, and food under the same chapter means articles used for food or drink for human consumption; FDACS guidance answers that pet treats are not cottage food
“Cottage food product” means food that is not time or temperature controlled for safety or a potentially hazardous food as defined by department rule which is sold by a cottage food operation in accordance with s. 500.80 .
Fla. Stat. 500.03(1)(j) (Definitions)
What applies instead: yes: Feed Master Registration, one per distributor, applied for on Form FDACS-13244; the FDACS web page calls the same instrument a feed distributor license
Ohio
no: the cottage food list in Ohio Admin. Code 901:3-20-04(A) is a closed list of twenty human food classes that does not include pet food or dog treats, and 901:3-20-05(E) bars a cottage food production operation from producing any item not expressly listed
(E) Produce food items not expressly
listed in paragraph (A) of rule 901:3-20-04 of the Administrative Code;
or
(F) Sell cottage food products outside
the state of Ohio.
Ohio Admin. Code 901:3-20-05(E) (Prohibitions), effective January 22, 2016
What applies instead: yes: Feed Registration under ORC 923.42, applied for on ODA form plnt_4203-011; ODA calls it an Animal Feed License on the program page and the form calls the charge a fee per permit
Illinois
no: a cottage food operation is defined as producing or packaging food or drink in a kitchen in the person primary domestic residence, and 410 ILCS 625 contains no occurrence of pet, pet food or animal feed; homemade dog treats fall under the Commercial Feed Act instead
"Cottage food operation" means an operation conducted by a person who produces or packages food or drink, other than foods and drinks listed as prohibited in paragraph (1.5) of subsection (b) of this Section, in a kitchen located in that person's primary domestic residence
410 ILCS 625/4(a) (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, Sec. 4 'Cottage food operation'), definition of "Cottage food operation"
What applies instead: yes: Illinois Commercial Feed License, a firm licence under 505 ILCS 30/4(a), applied for on form IL406-0039
Michigan
no: the Michigan cottage food exemption runs on cottage food product, and MDARD answers that the cottage food exemptions apply only to human food, listing pet food or treats among the categories not allowed as cottage food
No. The Cottage Food exemptions only apply to human food.
MDARD Pet Food and Treats page, answer to 'Are pet treats included under the Cottage Food exemptions to Michigan Food Law?'
What applies instead: yes: Michigan Commercial Feed License, one per physical manufacturing location, and one for a non-manufacturer distributor or guarantor; there is no separate pet-treat instrument
Iowa
no: the Iowa cottage food exemption covers cottage food, which the same chapter defines by reference to food, and food in that chapter means an edible substance intended for human consumption
“Food” means a raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, a beverage, an ingredient used or intended for use or sale in whole or in part for human consumption, or chewing gum.
Iowa Code § 137F.1(8) (Definitions), the chapter containing the cottage food exemption at § 137F.20
What applies instead: yes: commercial feed licence, one per facility, applied for on the IDALS Commercial Feed License Application
Missouri
no: the Missouri home-based kitchen food production law reaches food for human consumption, and the state guidance answers that pet foods and treats do not fall under it and are regulated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture
No. Pet foods and treats are regulated by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Individuals interested in marketing pet foods and/or treats will need to contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture and follow their policies and procedures.
Missouri Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance (Aug 2023), FAQ 'Do pet foods and pet treats fall under the Missouri Cottage Law?'
What applies instead: yes: Missouri Commercial Feed License, one per facility, applied for on form MO 350-1186
Indiana
no: both Indiana home-production chapters are limited to human food, IC 16-42-5.4 defining a meat product as a product capable of use as human food and produce as what is grown for human consumption, and the Indiana Department of Health states that the home based vendor rule is limited to human foods with all pet treats and food regulated by the Office of Indiana State Chemist
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "meat product"
means a product capable of use as human food that is made wholly or
in part from meat or other parts of the carcass of any of the following:
IC 16-42-5.4-2 ("Meat product"), Chapter 5.4 Regulation of Community Producers, 2026 Indiana Code Title 16
What applies instead: yes: commercial feed licence issued by the state chemist, applied for on Form F-1, one per Indiana manufacturing location
California
no: processed pet food is not on the approved food products list for cottage food operations, and CDPH states that animal food products are not covered under the California Cottage Food Law
Animal food products are not covered under
California’s Cottage Food Law.
CDPH, Frequently Asked Questions for Pet Food Processor Registration, Q5
What applies instead: yes: Pet Food Processor License for an in-state manufacturer or warehouse, and a registration certificate for an out-of-state manufacturer, one per processing facility, applied for on CDPH 8676
Georgia
no: GDA states that cottage foods are intended for human consumption and that pet food and pet treats require a feed licence from Agriculture Inputs
Cottage foods are intended for human consumption. Pet food and pet treats require a feed license from Agricultural Inputs.
GDA Cottage Food page, "About this Program"
What applies instead: yes: commercial feed licence issued by the Commissioner, one per firm
Verified states on this site
This guide prints only what the verified state records support. More states are added a block at a time as they clear verification.
Do I need a cottage food license to sell dog treats?
In every state verified so far, no, because the cottage food route does not reach pet food. The instrument that applies is the state commercial feed license or registration, run by the state agriculture department or its feed control office. Holding a cottage food registration on top changes nothing for the treats.
Why do people think dog treats are cottage food?
Because home baking and a home kitchen sound like the same thing in both regimes, and because the cottage food page is the page a search engine offers first. One state also titles its pet food guidance as a guide for the cottage industry. The statutes are separate and the agencies are separate.
Is there any state where dog treats are cottage food?
Not among the states verified so far. We publish a state only after two independent readers and a verifier have gone through the primary text, so this page grows a block at a time. Where a state turns out to run a genuine home-scale exemption for pet treats, it will be printed here with the exemption terms quoted.
DogTreatLicense is an informational reference about state commercial feed laws as they apply to people who make and sell pet treats in the United States. It reprints instrument names, fees, thresholds, label items and citations from state statutes, rules, fee schedules and agency forms, together with the date each state was last verified. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and fees and rules change. Confirm with the state feed control office before you register or sell.
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