Kansas Cottage Food Law: What You Can Sell From Home Without a License and Where It Stops
Kansas Cottage Food Law: What You Can Sell From Home Without a License and Where It Stops
If you want to sell food you make in your home kitchen, the first question is whether you need a license. For many small producers in Kansas the answer is no, but the reason matters. Kansas does not issue a Kansas cottage food license for this activity. Instead, state law exempts certain home producers from the food license requirement, and that exemption has clear edges. Cross one of them and you are operating a licensed food business, with the inspection and paperwork that comes with it, whether or not you planned to.
This guide explains how the exemption works, which products and sales channels fit inside it, and the points where it stops. It is written for people searching for the Kansas cottage food law, so the distinction between an exemption and a license comes first.
This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Food rules, agency procedures and fees change, and the rules that apply to your product and your town are the ones that count. Confirm your situation with the agencies named in this guide, and talk to a qualified attorney or CPA before you make decisions that affect your money or your liability.
The exemption, not a license
The governing provision is K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4). It exempts a person who produces food for distribution directly to the end consumer, provided the food does not require time and temperature control for safety (TCS) or specialized processing, as determined by the secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). Two features of that wording matter more than anything else in this guide.
First, the statute sets no sales cap. There is no dollar ceiling or annual revenue figure written into the exemption, so a growing home business does not lose the exemption by earning a certain amount. Second, the test is about the food and the sales channel, not about a permit you hold. You do not apply for a license under this exemption and you do not receive one. You either fit the exemption or you do not.
That is why the phrase Kansas cottage food license can be misleading. Searches for it usually mean one of two things: whether they need a license to start, or what they must file to get one. For a qualifying home producer, the answer to the first question is no, and there is nothing to file to get the second. For everyone else, the exemption is not available, and the real question becomes which KDA license applies.
What counts as direct to the consumer
The exemption covers food produced for distribution directly to the end consumer. That means the person who made the food is the person who hands it to the buyer who will eat it. A customer who orders from you, picks up from you, or buys from your own table at an event fits that model in principle.
Selling through stores, restaurants, or other middlemen is not direct to the consumer. A wholesale account with a grocery store, a consignment shelf at a coffee shop, a restaurant that serves your pastries, or a caterer who resells your product all fall outside the exemption. Those sales need a KDA license. The same is true when your product is sold by someone else under their own label.
Channels sit in gray areas, and this is where a short phone call saves real trouble. Market booths, local delivery, subscription pickup, and sales made through a website you operate are the kinds of details to describe to KDA before you start, rather than after a complaint. Ask KDA to confirm, in writing if you can get it, how your specific channel is treated.
Products that fit and products that do not
The exemption is built around food that does not need time and temperature control to stay safe. Product type decides most of the question. The table below is a starting point for your own product list, not a final answer, because KDA makes the call on specific foods.
| Product type | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Dry, shelf-stable baked goods and dry mixes sold direct to the consumer | The kind of product the exemption is written for. Confirm each product with KDA before you sell it. |
| Refrigerated or frozen foods that need time and temperature control (TCS) | Not safely within the exemption. Call KDA Food Safety before selling. |
| Canned acidified foods such as pickles and salsa | Require specialized processing and are not safely within the exemption. Call KDA Food Safety before selling. |
| Fermented items such as kombucha | Not safely within the exemption. Call KDA Food Safety before selling. |
| Any product sold through stores, restaurants, or other middlemen | Not direct to the consumer. Requires a KDA license. |
Products not named above, such as jams, jellies, granola, candy, or seasoned mixes, need the same question asked of KDA. Do not assume a product is fine because a similar one is. A recipe that is safe in a small batch can still need processing controls that the exemption does not cover, and the ingredients and the process both count.
Where the exemption stops
In practice the exemption has three edges. Hitting any one of them moves you out of the home exemption and into a licensing conversation with KDA.
- Time and temperature control. If the food needs refrigeration or another control to stay safe, it is outside the exemption. Refrigerated cheesecakes, cream-filled items, and cooked foods that must be held at temperature are common examples. Call KDA Food Safety at 785-564-6700 before you sell any product of this kind.
- Specialized processing. Canned acidified foods such as pickles and salsa, and fermented items such as kombucha, are not safely within the exemption. A recipe you have made for years in your own kitchen does not change that.
- Selling days and middlemen. A food business that sells on more than seven days a year, or that operates beyond the exemption in any other way, needs a KDA food establishment or processor license. Selling through a store or restaurant also requires a license, as covered above.
The seven-day line is counted in selling days, not in dollars. Because the statute sets no sales cap, the day count is the practical limit to watch. Start a log of selling days at the beginning of each year and record every day you sell, including market days and days you deliver. If the count approaches seven, stop and call KDA before the next sale rather than after it.
Inspections still apply
Exempt does not mean unseen. Under K.S.A. 65-689(e), the exemption does not stop inspection when a violation is observed or reported. If a customer, a neighbor, or an inspector raises a concern about your product or your kitchen, expect the state to look at it. Being exempt does not remove the duty to produce safe food.
The practical response is to build good records before anyone asks for them. Keep a clean and dedicated work area, keep your recipes and process notes, and keep a record of the ingredients you use and the batches you make. If a question comes up later, those notes are what show you were producing food the way the exemption assumes.
Local rules: zoning, city or county, and sales tax
The state exemption does not override your town. Kansas has 105 counties and 624 cities, and every incorporated place is legally a city, so there is no separate town or village category to look for. Your city or county may regulate home businesses through zoning, may require a home occupation permit, and may require its own tax registration. Confirm the rules for home-based food sales with your city or county planning or clerk's office before your first sale.
Use the exact name of your municipality when you look up rules. Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri are different cities in different states, and the Kansas rules do not apply on the Missouri side. Only Kansas City, Missouri has a city earnings tax, so a Kansas home producer should not assume that tax applies here.
Sales tax is handled by the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR). Kansas has no general statewide business license, but you still register with KDOR for the taxes that apply to you. Registration is free. The Kansas state sales tax rate is 6.5%, and local sales taxes can be added on top, so check the combined rate for your location. Whether a particular product is taxable is a question to confirm with KDOR. Where sales tax is required, you must collect it.
Registration starts at the KDOR business registration page. Note that KDOR registration is a tax filing, not a food license. Registering with KDOR does not make a food sale exempt, and having a sales tax permit does not replace the KDA question.
Selling online and shipping out of state
Shipping changes the picture. An order placed on your website and delivered to a buyer in another state puts you under that state's food rules as well as Kansas's. The Kansas exemption tells you what Kansas allows. It does not clear you to sell into another state.
Before you ship, check the selling rules for the state where the buyer lives. Some states have their own home-food rules, and those rules differ from Kansas's. Confirm the Kansas side with KDA, and confirm the destination side with that state's food regulator. If you cannot confirm the destination rules, do not ship there.
Do you need an LLC?
The exemption does not require any business entity. Many home producers operate as sole proprietors and never file with the Kansas Secretary of State. Forming an LLC is a separate choice, usually made for liability separation or to keep business and personal finances apart, and whether it is worth doing is a question for an attorney or CPA.
If you do form an LLC, the formation document is Articles of Organization, Domestic (Kansas) Limited Liability Company (Form DL), filed with the Kansas Secretary of State for an $85 filing fee. The recurring filing is the biennial Information Report, which costs $90 online and is due every two years by April 15. Kansas calls the registered agent a resident agent, and the registered office must be a Kansas street address, not a PO box. Forming the LLC is a filing, not a license, and it does not make your food sales legal. The food rules still apply to you.
Step by step before your first sale
- Make a product list. Mark each product as dry and shelf-stable, or as refrigerated, acidified, fermented, or otherwise needing processing. Anything in the second group goes to KDA first.
- Call KDA Food Safety at 785-564-6700. Bring your product list and your sales channels. Ask whether each product and channel fits the exemption and what you should keep on record.
- Confirm zoning with your city or county. Ask whether home-based food sales need a permit or other registration, and whether there are limits on customers coming to your home.
- Register with KDOR if sales tax applies. Use the KDOR business registration page and confirm with KDOR which of your products are taxable.
- Start a selling-day log. Record every sale day for the year so you can see the seven-day line coming.
- Decide on an entity separately. If you want an LLC, file the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. Calendar the biennial Information Report from the start.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Kansas cottage food license?
Not in the sense of a permit you apply for and receive. The cottage food rule in Kansas is an exemption under K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4). If your product and your sales channel fit, you sell without a KDA license. If they do not, the exemption does not cover you, and you need to talk to KDA about which license fits your operation.
Is there a cap on how much I can sell?
The statute sets no sales cap. The limits that matter in practice are the direct-to-consumer requirement, the rule against TCS and specialized-processing foods, and the seven-day line on selling days. Revenue alone does not take you out of the exemption, but the other limits still apply as your sales grow.
Can I sell at farmers markets?
Market sales still have to meet the direct-to-consumer test and count toward your selling days. Ask KDA how your specific market and product fit, and confirm the local rules for that market with the city or county that runs it.
Does forming an LLC change my food rules?
No. Forming an LLC is a Secretary of State filing and does not change the food exemption, the zoning rules, or the sales tax rules that apply to you.
Where to get official information
- Kansas Department of Revenue, business registration: https://www.ksrevenue.gov/busregistration.html
- Kansas Secretary of State, business services: https://sos.ks.gov/business/business.html
- Kansas Small Business Development Center: https://www.kansassbdc.net/
- KDA Food Safety: 785-564-6700
The short version
Kansas lets many home producers sell food without a KDA license, but only under the exemption in K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4). The exemption covers food sold directly to the end consumer that does not need time and temperature control or specialized processing, and it has no sales cap. It ends when you sell through middlemen, when you sell on more than seven days a year, or when your product moves into refrigerated, acidified, or fermented territory. Inspection still applies at every stage. Before you sell, call KDA with your product list, confirm zoning with your city or county, and register with KDOR if sales tax applies. If your plans involve wholesale accounts, shipping, a growing product line, or an entity, speak with a qualified attorney or CPA before you commit.