Alameda, CA Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

Under the California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) — Government Code §51035 and Health & Safety Code §113758 — a city, county, or city and county shall not prohibit a cottage food operation in a residential dwelling. Alameda must classify a cottage food operation as a permitted use of residential property for zoning purposes (or grant a nondiscretionary permit), subject only to reasonable local standards on spacing, traffic, parking, and noise. In Alameda that means a qualifying cottage food operation fits within the home-occupation framework (§30-2/§30-4.1b) and the city's Home Occupation Registration, so long as it stays incidental to the residence. The food-safety registration or permit itself is issued by Alameda County Environmental Health, not the city: a Class A operation (direct sales — at the home, farmers markets, and direct-to-consumer) self-certifies and registers, while a Class B operation (which may also sell indirectly through retail stores and restaurants) requires a permit and inspection. State law caps a cottage food operation's gross annual sales (with the statutory baseline figures of $75,000 for Class A and $150,000 for Class B, adjusted annually for inflation), and limits production to non-potentially-hazardous 'approved' foods. Operators should register with the county for food safety and complete the city's home occupation registration for zoning/business-license purposes.