Rules checked against official Colorado sources as of September 23, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. Colorado's law changes on January 1, 2027. Confirm with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) before you sell.
The short version: Colorado lets you sell shelf-stable homemade foods, including baked goods, directly to informed buyers inside Colorado. You need a food safety course first, and every label has to carry a specific disclaimer. Today there is no registration, and the cap is $10,000 in net revenue per product. From January 1, 2027, the cap becomes $150,000 gross in total, some refrigerated foods (like tamales) are allowed, and you must register with the state every year.
The law
The Colorado Cottage Foods Act is C.R.S. § 25-4-1614 [1]. HB26-1033, the "Tamale Act", was signed on June 4, 2026 [2]. The parts that affect sellers take effect January 1, 2027 [3][4]. CDPHE's page says the same: "It begins January 1, 2027" [5].
(Some summaries give the date as August 2026. The signed act says January 1, 2027 [3].)
Who can sell: a Colorado resident, or a Colorado LLC with no more than two members who are all Colorado residents. You can cook in your primary residence's kitchen or in a commercial, private or public kitchen [1]. The state's retail food licensing rules don't apply to cottage producers. County and district health agencies can still sample and inspect [1].
What you can sell
Shelf-stable foods — Now (through Dec 31, 2026): Foods that are "nonpotentially hazardous and do not require refrigeration". The statute lists baked goods "including candies, fruit empanadas, and tortillas", jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, honey, pickled fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds and flour [1]; From Jan 1, 2027: Same list [4]
Refrigerated ("TCS") foods — Now (through Dec 31, 2026): Not allowed; From Jan 1, 2027: "packaged foods that require time and temperature control for safety, including tamales, burritos, and tortas". It's limited to one type of food with up to five variations, and comes with rules on cooking, holding, a single trip of two hours at most, and no bare-hand contact [4]
Meat — Now (through Dec 31, 2026): Not allowed, even as an ingredient [5]; From Jan 1, 2027: Only inside a TCS food, and only meat that is federally inspected and carries the mark, or falls under a recognized exemption [4]
CDPHE's current guidance [5] adds detail on today's rules:
Allowed: roasted coffee beans, freeze-dried produce, fudge, cotton candy, and buttercream made with ghee or vegetable oil. Pickles must reach pH 4.6 or below.
Not allowed: cream, custard or meringue fillings and toppings; buttercream made with butter; pumpkin, sweet potato and cream pies; sauces, condiments and beverages; cut fruit and vegetables; pepper jams made from fresh peppers; and CBD/THC products.
What you can't sell (from 2027, in the statute)
HB26-1033 adds an explicit exclusion list: raw milk, low-acid canned foods, fermented or acidified TCS foods, alcohol, cannabinoid products, and foods preserved by smoking, reduced-oxygen packaging or curing [4]. A producer caught three times in 12 months misbranding TCS food, or breaking the TCS rules, loses the right to sell TCS foods [4].
Sales cap
Now: "net revenues of ten thousand dollars or less per calendar year from the sale of each eligible food product" [1]. That's $10,000 net per product. CDPHE's example is $10,000 each for blueberry, banana and chocolate-chip muffins [5].
From January 1, 2027: $150,000 in gross revenue per year, in total across everything you sell under the Act. CDPHE adjusts it each year using the Denver-area consumer price index. You can't split into several businesses to get around it [4][6].
Where and how you can sell
The statute (unchanged in 2027) says food must "be delivered directly from a producer to an informed end consumer", "be sold only in Colorado", and "not involve interstate commerce" [1]. Buyers can't resell what they buy [1].
CDPHE's interpretation [5]:
Online sales are allowed. The delivery method "can be determined between the producer and the informed end consumer as long as it does not involve interstate commerce."
Out of state: not allowed.
Restaurants, grocery stores and other retail food businesses: not allowed.
Catered events: not allowed.
Selling at several locations or events at once: allowed.
Consignment: only if the store's staff act as your designated representative.
Mailing inside Colorado: CDPHE's answer suggests it's fine, but the statute's "delivered directly" wording is less clear. From 2027, TCS foods can make only one trip of two hours or less, which rules out shipping them [4].
Labels
Required today [1]:
Identification of the product
Your name, "the address at which the food was prepared", and your current phone number or email
The date the food was produced
A complete list of ingredients
This disclaimer, word for word: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale."
At the point of sale, you must display a placard, sign or card that says: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale." [1]
Changes from January 1, 2027 [4]:
Item 2 becomes your name, your CDPHE registration number, the county where the food was prepared (instead of the street address), and your phone or email.
A new item: a website address provided by CDPHE, where buyers can report illness or check that a registration is active.
The disclaimer and the placard wording do not change.
The statute sets no font-size rule. CDPHE says labels can't claim a food is "allergen free" [5]. Buyers must be "informed" that the product isn't licensed, regulated or inspected [1], so show the disclaimer on online listings too.
Permits, registration and training
Food safety course: required now. The course must be "comparable to, or is a course given by," Colorado State University Extension or a public health agency, and you must stay "in good standing" [1]. CDPHE accepts any one of these [5]:
CSU Extension's cottage food course (a certificate good for 3 years)
a State Food Safety food handler card
a course from a local public health agency
CSU's course runs about 3.5 hours and has been revised for the 2027 changes. If you took CSU's course before September 2026, there's a short update class [7].
Registration: none today [1]. From January 1, 2027: "A producer shall annually register with the department before selling any food" [4]. As of this writing, CDPHE hasn't opened registration. Its page says "check back here soon" [5].
Fee: the act sets none, and its fiscal note expects no state revenue from registration [6]. We haven't confirmed that CDPHE will charge nothing.
Extra training for TCS foods from 2027 [4].
Insurance is encouraged but not required [1]. CDPHE notes that some localities require business licenses or taxes, and that you owe sales and income tax [5].
Eggs, meat and dairy
Eggs: you can sell up to 250 dozen whole eggs a month under the Act [1], following Colorado's egg law, which the Department of Agriculture runs [8]. The exemption covers sales on the farm where the eggs were laid, at a farmers market, or through a CSA. The carton needs the address the eggs came from, the packing date and, for eggs not treated for salmonella, a safe-handling statement [8].
Meat: not allowed today. From 2027 it's allowed only inside a TCS food, using inspected or exempt meat [4][5].
Dairy: raw milk is excluded from 2027 [4]. Today, cream and custard fillings and butter-based buttercream aren't allowed [5].
What we couldn't confirm from an official source
Registration's start and cost. The law requires registration before any sale from January 1, 2027, but no system exists yet, and nothing official says what happens if it isn't ready.
Mailing within Colorado. CDPHE allows it by interpretation, and the statute is less clear.
The cost of CSU's full course.
Online listing rules or font sizes. None are in the statute.
The current statute text comes from the legislature's 2024 printout, marked "Uncertified Printout". The certified version is hosted by LexisNexis. The 2026 act's struck text matches the 2024 printout word for word.
Selling on Coop
Coop is a marketplace for homemade and homegrown goods from sellers near you. Here is how its tools line up with Colorado's rules.
Local buyers, no shipping. Coop orders are picked up, or delivered by you, so a sale stays between you and an in-state buyer. Coop has no shipping option. Delivery needs card payments turned on. Lesson: Pickup, delivery, cash and trades.
The disclaimer where buyers read it. In the listing wizard, turn on "Cottage food" and "Ingredients & allergens". Coop shows Colorado's shorter point-of-sale wording on your listing. Lesson: Ingredients, allergens and meat details.
A storefront. Lesson: Open your storefront.
Labels. With Coop+ or Coop Pro, the Label maker prints labels from a saved recipe, including the product name, ingredients, allergens, net weight, your shop and Colorado's long disclaimer. Colorado also asks for your phone or email and the production date. Check that both are on your label before you print a batch. Lesson: Print labels with the Label maker.
Pre-orders. A weekly pickup rhythm lets buyers reserve from your next bake. Made-to-order listings suit custom orders. Lessons: Set a weekly pickup rhythm · Made to order: when the card actually charges.
See what Colorado bakers are selling: Denver baked goods · Denver sourdough · Denver bread · Colorado Springs
Coop's tools don't make a seller compliant. You're responsible for following Colorado's rules and your local ones.
Not legal advice. This guide summarizes Colorado law as we read it on September 23, 2026, including changes that start January 1, 2027. For a decision that matters, confirm with CDPHE or an attorney.