Coconino County, AZ Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration authority
- Arizona Dept. of Health Services online registry
- Renewal
- every three years
- Home kitchen size cap
- 1,000 square feet
- Training required
- accredited food handler course
- County enforcement
- not required, DHS enforces
- Zoning/building codes
- unaffected, still apply separately
Summary
Coconino County has no separate cottage food ordinance: Arizona Revised Statutes Section 36-136(I)(13) puts home food producers under a single statewide registry run by the Department of Health Services. Producers register online, renew every three years, and must complete food handler training before selling foods made in a home kitchen anywhere in the county, incorporated or not.
I. The director, by rule, shall: ...
13. Establish an online registry of food preparers that are authorized to prepare cottage food products for commercial purposes pursuant to paragraph 4 of this subsection and chapter 8, article 2 of this title. A registered food preparer shall renew the registration every three years and shall provide to the department updated registration information within thirty days after any change.
36-933. Applicability of article; rules; enforcement
A. This article: ...
4. Does not affect any county or municipal building code, zoning code or ordinance or other land use regulation. ...
D. A county may not be required to enforce this article.
Full Breakdown
' Section 36-931 defines a 'cottage food product' as food prepared in a home kitchen of up to 1,000 square feet by a registered preparer, and excludes alcohol, unpasteurized milk, and most meat, poultry, and fish unless a specific federal exemption applies. ' Section 36-933 is what actually determines Coconino County's role: the article 'does not affect any county or municipal building code, zoning code or ordinance or other land use regulation,' and 'a county may not be required to enforce this article,' so a cottage food producer in unincorporated Coconino County still needs any zoning or building permit the county's own code would otherwise require for a home-based use, layered on top of the state registration.
Violations & Fines
The Department of Health Services, not Coconino County, enforces the cottage food statute: Section 36-933(C) gives DHS enforcement authority, and Section 36-933(D) confirms the county is never required to police it. DHS may suspend or revoke a preparer's registration for noncompliance or for impeding a foodborne-illness investigation under Section 36-933(B)(1). Selling without registration or without the required allergen label leaves a preparer with the same exposure as any unlicensed food operation under Title 36's food-safety rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Coconino County require a permit for a home-based food business?
What foods can I legally sell as a cottage food producer?
What has to be on my cottage food label?
Does Coconino County inspect or enforce cottage food rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Coconino County
Compare Coconino County to another location·View the Arizona home business overview
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