Cottage Food vs Craft Food in Nevada: Which Registration Do You Need?

Two Separate Legal Paths for Home Food Production

Nevada has two distinct categories for selling food from your home kitchen, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes new food entrepreneurs make. They are governed by different statutes, managed by different agencies, and have completely different requirements.

Cottage Food Operations (NRS 446.866) cover shelf-stable, non-perishable foods prepared using dry heat — think baked goods, candies, jams, and dried goods. You register with your local health district.

Craft Food Operations (NRS 584) cover acidified and pickled foods — pickles, salsas, hot sauces, canned fruits and vegetables — that achieve a shelf-stable pH of 4.6 or lower. You register with the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA).

If you want to sell both cookies and pickles from your home kitchen, you need both registrations.

Side-by-Side Comparison

The Craft Food Registration Process

Craft food registration is significantly more demanding than cottage food. Here is what it involves:

The NDA Food Safety Exam. You must pass a food safety exam demonstrating your knowledge of safe canning and acidification processes. This exam must be taken in person at an NDA field office in Sparks, Elko, or Las Vegas. The exam fee is $30 and the application fee is $50.

Process Authority Recipe Review. Every recipe you plan to sell must be reviewed and approved by a recognized Process Authority before any products can be sold. A Process Authority is a food scientist or organization qualified to evaluate whether your canning process achieves the correct pH and thermal processing to prevent botulism and other safety risks. This step can take weeks and may involve reformulating recipes that do not meet safety thresholds.

Batch pH Testing and Record Keeping. Once approved, you must perform a pH test on every single batch of food you produce. The results must be recorded in a detailed production log that includes the date, batch number, recipe used, pH reading, and quantity produced. These records must be maintained for at least five years.

How to Decide Which Path You Need

The deciding factor is your product, not your business model:

Go with Cottage Food if your products are shelf-stable without any acidification process — breads, cookies, cakes (with shelf-stable frosting), candies, standard fruit jams and jellies made with standardized recipes, dried herbs, granola, trail mix, and strained vinegars.

Go with Craft Food if your products rely on acidification to achieve shelf stability — pickled vegetables, canned salsas, hot sauces, acidified sauces, canned fruits, and any home-canned product that requires a pH below 4.6.

Common products that surprise people:

• Pickles: Craft Food, not Cottage Food. Even though they are sold in jars like jams, pickles are acidified foods that require pH testing and NDA oversight.
• Standard fruit jams: Cottage Food. Jams made from high-acid fruits using standardized recipes (conforming to 21 CFR Part 150) qualify as cottage food.
• Fruit butters: Neither — fruit butters and low-sugar jams are specifically prohibited under the cottage food exemption and would need a commercial kitchen.
• Salsa: Craft Food. Salsa is an acidified product requiring pH validation.
• Sourdough bread: Complicated — prohibited in Washoe County, gray area in others. Check with your specific health district.

What AB 352 Changes for Craft Food

Assembly Bill 352, taking effect July 1, 2027, makes several changes to the craft food path:

• Craft food operations will move under the same NDA umbrella that manages the new unified cottage food system
• The bill eliminates the previous requirement to maintain batch logs of canning dates and use only pre-approved state-published recipes
• Craft food operators will be authorized to accept remote orders via phone and internet, though fulfillment must still occur face-to-face
• The $100,000 revenue cap applies to craft food operations as well

Until July 2027, the current NDA craft food rules remain fully in effect.

The Bottom Line

Most home bakers and candy makers will only need a cottage food registration — simpler, cheaper, and faster to set up. If acidified foods are part of your product line, you are looking at the craft food path with its exam, recipe validation, and batch testing requirements. And if your product does not fit either category (perishable items, meat, dairy-heavy products), you need a licensed commercial kitchen.

The Nevada Cottage Food & Home Food Business Guide includes a product eligibility decision matrix that classifies any recipe into the correct path, plus step-by-step registration instructions for both cottage food and craft food operations.

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