Del Norte County, CA Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

Selling homemade non-potentially-hazardous foods (the kind allowed under California's approved cottage food list) from a home in unincorporated Del Norte County is controlled primarily by state law, which limits how much a local government can restrict the activity. Under California Health and Safety Code section 113758, a cottage food operation (CFO) operates in a registered or permitted home kitchen and must have no more than one full-time-equivalent employee who is not a family or household member. The statute defines a Class A CFO, which makes only direct sales (to the consumer in person, online with direct delivery, or at events) and registers with the local environmental health agency, and a Class B CFO, which also makes indirect (wholesale) sales through stores and restaurants and must obtain a permit and a home-kitchen inspection from the local environmental health agency. The Homemade Food Act constrains local zoning: a city or county must either classify a cottage food operation as a permitted use of residential property for zoning purposes or grant a nondiscretionary permit to use a residence for a CFO that complies with local ordinances prescribing reasonable standards, restrictions, and requirements concerning only spacing and concentration, traffic control, parking, and noise control. In Del Norte County, the registration or permit and the required food-safety training and kitchen inspection are handled by the Environmental Health Division (the county's local environmental health agency, reachable at (707) 465-0426), while any zoning questions go to the Planning Division. Because the activity is largely state-controlled, a prospective CFO should contact Environmental Health to register (Class A) or apply for a permit (Class B) and confirm any reasonable local zoning standards that apply.