Elizabeth, NJ Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

§ 8:24-11.1 Requirement and procedure to obtain a Cottage Food Operator Permit (a) A person or entity that engages in the production, distribution, and/or sale of food to consumers shall: 1. Have a Cottage Food Operator Permit; or 2. Comply with applicable laws to retail food establishments. (b) A person seeking to obtain a Cottage Food Operator Permit shall submit to the Public Health and Food Protection Program: 1. A completed application in the form at N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 Appendix, incorporated herein by reference, which is available at https://www.nj.gov/health/forms and on request to the Public Health and Food Protection Program; 2. A copy of a certificate issued by an accredited program showing that the applicant is a food protection manager in good standing with the accredited program; 3. If the cottage food operator's kitchen: i. Uses private well water, a microbiological (total coliform) analysis of the private well water that is conducted using samples collected no earlier than 60 days prior to the filing date of the application, which is the postmark date, if the application is mailed, or the date of submission, if hand-delivered; and ii. Does not use private well water, a copy of most recent water bill for the location of the cottage food kitchen; and 4. The nonrefundable application fee established at N.J.A.C. 8:24-11.6, payable to the Treasurer, State of New Jersey. (c) The Department will conduct a completeness review of the application and notify the applicant in writing of any deficiency or incompleteness therein that the applicant must correct before the Department will process further the application. 1. If an applicant fails to correct a deficient or incomplete application within 30 days of the issuance of a notice pursuant to (b) above, the Department will deem the application abandoned. (d) Upon determining an application to be complete, the Department shall issue a cottage food operator permit to the applicant. (e) An applicant for a cottage food operator permit shall ascertain and comply with applicable local laws of the municipality in which the applicant seeks to operate a cottage food operation.