Illinois lets a cottage food operation make food or drink in the kitchen of the operator's primary home, or in another properly designed and equipped kitchen on a farm, for direct sale by the owner, a family member or an employee. Any homemade food or drink is allowed except the foods the law prohibits. Illinois also has a smaller home kitchen operation category for non-potentially hazardous baked goods sold by the owner or a family member, with gross sales of no more than $1,000 a month, but it applies only where the local government has passed an ordinance allowing it.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(a), 625/4(b)(1.5); 410 ILCS 625/3.6(a), 625/3.6(c); IDPH: Cottage Food

License or permit

A cottage food operation must register every year with the local health department where it is located, and once registered it may sell outside that area. The health department issues a certificate with a registration number and may charge a fee of no more than $50. Anyone preparing or packaging the food must be a Department-approved certified food protection manager, and IDPH's guide says a food handler card does not qualify. The state or local health department may inspect the kitchen after a consumer complaint, a foodborne illness outbreak or a sign that a product is misbranded, adulterated or out of compliance.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(b)(1.3), 625/4(b)(6), 625/4(c), 625/4(d); 2026 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH and University of Illinois Extension)

Sales cap

Illinois' cottage food law sets no sales cap, and IDPH's 2026 Cottage Food Guide says earlier sales limits no longer apply. The separate home kitchen operation category is limited to $1,000 in gross sales a month.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4; 2026 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH and University of Illinois Extension); 410 ILCS 625/3.6(a)(1)

What you can sell

A cottage food operation may sell homemade food and drink that is not on the prohibited list, including baked goods, candy, jams and frostings such as buttercream. Fermented or acidified foods, such as pickles, kimchi and hot sauce, need a tested recipe or a written food safety plan with a pH test, and canned tomato products need a tested recipe or a lab test. A local health department may ask for a lab test before it allows a baked good with cheese.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(b)(1.5)(B)-(C), 625/4(b)(1.6), 625/4(b)(2)-(4); 2026 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH and University of Illinois Extension)

What you cannot sell

A cottage food operation may not sell meat, poultry, fish, seafood or shellfish; dairy, except as an ingredient in a baked good or candy that is not a time/temperature control for safety food or in a frosting such as buttercream; eggs, except as an ingredient in a food that is not a time/temperature control for safety food or in a baked good frosting if the eggs are not raw; pumpkin pies, sweet potato pies, cheesecakes, custard pies, creme pies and pastries with fillings or toppings that need time or temperature control; garlic in oil unless it is acidified; low-acid canned foods; sprouts; most cut leafy greens; cut or pureed fresh tomato or melon; dehydrated tomato or melon; frozen cut melon; wild-harvested mushrooms; alcoholic beverages; or kombucha.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(b)(1.5)(A)-(N)

How you can sell

Cottage food must be sold directly to consumers for their own use, not for resale. Sales may happen at farmers markets and mobile farmers markets; at fairs, festivals and public events; online; by pickup from the operator's home or farm, if local law allows it; by delivery; and by pickup from another private property with the owner's consent. In Chicago, home pickup must follow the city's rules for all home-based businesses. Only food that is not a time/temperature control for safety food may be shipped, shipped food must be sealed so tampering shows, and no cottage food may be shipped out of state.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(b)(11)(A)-(F), 625/4(b)(12); 2026 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH and University of Illinois Extension)

Labels

Cottage food must be prepackaged with a prominent label that shows the operation's name and the unit of local government where it is located; the registration number and the municipality or county where it registered; the common name of the food; all ingredients in descending order by weight; the date it was processed; allergen labeling under federal rules; and this statement in prominent lettering: "This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department." IDPH's labeling checklist also lists the net weight. The first sentence of that statement must also be posted at the point of sale, on a placard at a physical display or on the online sales page. The local health department where the food is sold may allow unpackaged sales with other written notice.

Sources: 410 ILCS 625/4(b)(7)(A)-(G), 625/4(b)(9)-(10); IDPH cottage food labeling checklist (Dec. 26, 2025)

Read the full Illinois cottage food law guide and FAQs

Illinois cottage food makers

Counties with listings

Chicago and the Collar Counties (242 listings)

Cook County

DuPage County

Kane County

Lake County

McHenry County

Will County

Northwest Illinois (75 listings)

Boone County

Carroll County

Henry County

Jo Daviess County

Lee County

Ogle County

Rock Island County

Stephenson County

Whiteside County

Winnebago County

North Central Illinois (54 listings)

Bureau County

DeKalb County

Ford County

Grundy County

Iroquois County

Kankakee County

Kendall County

LaSalle County

Livingston County

Peoria and West Central Illinois (45 listings)

Fulton County

Knox County

Marshall County

McDonough County

Mercer County

Peoria County

Tazewell County

Warren County

Woodford County

East Central Illinois (53 listings)

Champaign County

De Witt County

Douglas County

Edgar County

McLean County

Piatt County

Vermilion County

Springfield and Western Illinois (63 listings)

Adams County

Cass County

Christian County

Hancock County

Logan County

Macoupin County

Mason County

Menard County

Montgomery County

Morgan County

Sangamon County

Decatur and Southeastern Illinois (35 listings)

Coles County

Crawford County

Edwards County

Effingham County

Fayette County

Jasper County

Lawrence County

Macon County

Richland County

Shelby County

Wabash County

Wayne County

Metro East and Southwestern Illinois (53 listings)

Bond County

Clinton County

Jersey County

Madison County

Marion County

Monroe County