State rules, and why there is no cottage exemption

Makers arriving from food expect a cottage exemption that lets them start at home. Cosmetics does not work that way, and the difference is worth understanding early.

Cosmetics are not food

Cottage food laws are state food laws, and they cover food. A cosmetic is not food, so a cottage food registration does not authorize you to make skincare and a state food exemption says nothing about it.

Cosmetics are regulated federally, principally through labeling requirements, the safety substantiation obligation, and under MoCRA facility registration and product listing with small-business exemptions.

The counterintuitive result is that skincare is in some respects more lightly administered at small scale than food, and in one respect much heavier: safety substantiation has no exemption at all.

What the states do regulate

Business licensing, sales tax, and in some cases manufacturing or establishment licenses that apply to cosmetics specifically. Some states require a manufacturer registration that the federal exemptions do not remove.

California is the most consequential outlier, with its own ingredient reporting and Proposition 65 warning requirements, which apply if you sell there and most online brands do.

Where a state rule can still catch you

Home occupancy rules and zoning, which govern whether manufacturing may happen where you live regardless of what the product is. Insurance, which is frequently conditioned on where you operate. And any state that treats the sale of cosmetics as requiring a specific license.

None of these are about safety. All of them can stop you trading.

What to check

Ask your state specifically: is a cosmetic manufacturer registration required, may it be done at a residential address, and is there ingredient reporting.

Then check California separately if you sell online, because you almost certainly will and its requirements are the ones most likely to apply without you noticing.

References