Guide
Cottage food in Texas: the checklist
What cottage food covers in Texas, whether sales are capped, and why a ticketed micro hospitality dinner needs a different route. Checked Sep 2026.
Tenseats · Updated September 25, 2026
Not legal advice. This is a starting checklist, checked 2026-09-25. Rules change and differ by county and city. Talk to a lawyer and confirm with DSHS before you sell a ticket or open your space.
At a glance
- Covers: any food except meat, poultry, seafood, ice and frozen desserts, low-acid canned goods, CBD/THC and raw milk. DSHS
- Sales cap: $150,000 a year gross, inflation-adjusted. The 2026 figure isn't published (unverified). SB 541
- Registration and fee: only for perishable food or a DSHS ID on labels. DSHS It appears to be free (unverified). DSHS guide
- Doesn't cover: your brisket plate. Cottage food excludes meat and must be sold packaged and labeled, so plated dinners are out. DSHS
- Home-kitchen meal law: none in our research (unverified). Cottage food can't ship, and online orders need in-person delivery. SB 541
Quick answers
What does Texas cottage food law cover? Any food except meat, poultry, seafood, ice and frozen desserts, low-acid canned goods, CBD/THC and raw milk. DSHS
What is the cottage food sales cap in Texas? $150,000 a year gross, inflation-adjusted. The 2026 figure isn't published (unverified). SB 541
Does Texas cottage food cover a ticketed dinner? No. Cottage food must be packaged and labeled; plated service is out. DSHS Use a permitted venue or a city temporary permit (Austin $62, Houston $52, Dallas $121 plus $13 daily; unverified: usually tied to a community event; call first). Austin Houston Dallas
What this means for a dinner
- Start with a free dinner for friends at home. In Austin and Houston it's going public (ads, public ticket sales, open to anyone) that brings in the permit, not the price tag. Austin Houston FAQ
- Food served to eat is a food establishment "regardless if there is a charge," so a donation jar changes nothing. TX food rules
- Selling tickets to a micro hospitality night? You need a permitted venue or a city temporary permit (unverified: usually tied to a community event; call first): Austin $62, Houston $52, Dallas $121 plus $13 a day. Austin Houston Dallas
- None of those permits allow home prep. Cook in a licensed kitchen or on site. Austin Houston Dallas
Your city
- Austin: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
- Dallas: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
- Houston: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
Learn more
Not legal advice. Confirm with a lawyer and DSHS before you act.
Guides by city in Texas
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