Can I sell hot sauce from my home kitchen in Washington?
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No. Washington's cottage food permit covers a short approved list, and acidified sauces are not on it. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) rule names canned pickled products, salsas, sauerkraut, and barbecue sauces, ketchups and mustards among prohibited cottage foods, and says the list is not complete [1]. Hot sauce is not named, but the statute allows only baked goods, candies, standardized jams and jellies, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods the director approves by rule [2], and the rule's allowed list includes no sauce [1]. To sell hot sauce in Washington, plan on a WSDA food processing plant license and a kitchen that meets it [3].
Washington works from an approved list
Some states write a cottage food law as a list of exclusions. Washington wrote its law the other way. A cottage food product is a nonpotentially hazardous baked good, a baked or stovetop candy, a jam, jelly, preserve or fruit butter meeting the federal standard in 21 CFR 150, or another nonpotentially hazardous food the WSDA director identifies by rule [2]. The rule's allowed list adds items such as rebottled vinegars from approved sources and repackaged dry herbs and seasonings [1]. Nothing on it is a sauce.
The prohibited list exists to make the boundary clear, and the entries closest to hot sauce are telling [1]:
- "Canned fruits, vegetables, vegetable butters, salsas, etc."
- "Canned pickled products such as corn relish, pickles, sauerkraut"
- "Barbeque sauces, ketchups, or mustards"
- "Garlic in oil mixtures"
A shelf-stable pepper sauce is a canned, acidified vegetable condiment, which puts it in the family those entries describe. A fermented sauce is in the same position, with sauerkraut named outright [1].
Selling hot sauce through a food processing plant license
WSDA's rule says that a cottage food operator who outgrows the permit's sales cap must stop for the rest of the permit period or obtain a food processing plant license [3]. That same license is the route for a product the cottage permit never covered. What it involves for a home-based maker (a separate kitchen, its fees and its inspection) was not confirmed for this page, because WSDA's food processor pages could not be read when this page was verified; ask WSDA's Food Safety Program.
The federal side comes with it. A commercial acidified sauce needs a scheduled process from a process authority, registration with FDA and a process filing; the licensing page puts the steps in order. Washington State University runs a process review program, and its terms and fees are on the process authority directory. Many first-time Washington makers rent a commissary kitchen or use a copacker rather than build their own; the kitchen or copacker page compares those choices.
What the cottage permit does cover, for your other products
If you also make jams or baked goods, the permit is worth knowing [2] [3]:
| Item | Washington's rule |
|---|---|
| Annual gross sales cap | $35,000, raised from $25,000 in 2023 |
| Permit term | Two years |
| Fees | $75 public health review, $30 processing, $125 inspection, $230 in all under the statute; WSDA's application form asks for $355 [5], so confirm the amount with WSDA |
| Where you sell | Directly to the consumer only |
| Internet and mail order | Not allowed under RCW 69.22.020(4); no retail sale outside the state. WSDA's form says "Internet sales MUST be picked up or delivered in person within Washington State" [5]; the statute controls, so ask WSDA in writing before taking orders online |
| Stores and restaurants | Not allowed to repackage, sell or use the product |
| Label statement | "Made in a home kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria." in at least 11-point type |
Pepper jelly made as a standardized jelly may look like a way to sell something hot from home. Whether a particular pepper jelly meets the 21 CFR 150 standard is a question for WSDA, not something this page can confirm.
Confirm with the WSDA Food Safety Program
WSDA administers both the cottage food permit and food processing plant licenses, and its cottage food page is the starting point [4]. Ask whether any sauce can be permitted as a cottage food, and what a food processing plant license requires of a small operation. This page was last verified in October 2026. Your next step is a process review: the process authority page explains what it produces and why every licensed acidified sauce needs one.
References
- Washington State Register, WSR 16-06-014, amending chapter 16-149 WAC (WAC 16-149-110, -120, -130), filed February 19, 2016, effective March 21, 2016. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Law/WSR/2016/06/16-06-014.htm
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 69.22, Cottage food operations (full chapter; RCW 69.22.050 last amended 2023), viewed October 2026. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.22&full=true
- Washington State Register, WSR 23-19-068, expedited rule amending chapter 16-149 WAC, filed September 18, 2023. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Law/WSRPDF/2023/19/23-19-068.pdf
- Washington State Department of Agriculture, Cottage Food Operation, not dated (viewed October 2026). https://agr.wa.gov/cottagefood
- Washington State Department of Agriculture, Application for Cottage Food Operation Permit, form AGR-2093 (R/8/23). https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/Forms/2093-ApplicationForCottageFoodOperationPermit.pdf
