Colorado's Cottage Foods Act Expansion: Registration, Safety Course, and the New $150K Cap
Colorado's "Tamale Act" (HB 26-1033) lets home cooks sell tamales, burritos, and other foods that need time and temperature control starting January 1, 2027, but only if the producer registers annually with the state, completes a food-safety course, and stays under a $150,000 revenue cap per food product — up from the previous $10,000 cap. Producers who mislabel a covered food or break the safety rules three times in a year lose the right to sell those foods, and inspectors can fine them up to $100 per violation plus recover inspection costs up to $1,000.
What this rule requires — at a glance
- Who must comply
- Home-based ("cottage") food producers in Colorado who sell foods requiring time and temperature control for safety — such as tamales, burritos, or tortas — directly to informed end consumers, earning up to $150,000 in gross revenue per food product per year
- What's required
- Register annually with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment before selling, complete an approved food-safety course covering time/temperature control, maintain proof of completion and good standing, and label products with the department-issued registration number
- Effective
- January 1, 2027
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Up to $100 fine per violation plus recovery of inspection costs up to $1,000; a producer with 3 misbranding or safety violations within 12 months loses the right to sell foods requiring time/temperature control
- Enforcing agency
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Need to be sure your business complies? Get matched with a professional →
What changed
Colorado's Cottage Foods Act previously let home cooks sell only "non-potentially hazardous" foods — things like baked goods, jams, and dehydrated produce that don't need refrigeration. HB 26-1033 opens the door to foods that require time and temperature control for safety, including tamales, burritos, and tortas, letting a producer sell one type of such product (with up to five variations). It also raises the revenue cap that limits who can operate under the cottage-foods exemption at all, from $10,000 to $150,000 in gross revenue per food product per year, inflation-adjusted annually going forward.
In exchange for the expanded scope, the law adds real guardrails. Anyone selling a time/temperature-control food must complete an approved food-safety course and keep proof of completion. Every producer selling under the act — not just those handling the new higher-risk foods — must now register annually with CDPHE before their first sale and display the state-issued registration number on their labels; the state also has to run a public, monthly-updated registry. Health inspectors can fine a producer up to $100 per violation for misbranding or safety failures, recover up to $1,000 in inspection costs, and permanently ban a producer from selling time/temperature-control foods after three violations in 12 months. The core provisions take effect January 1, 2027.
Who is affected
Colorado residents selling homemade food directly to consumers under the Cottage Foods Act are affected, especially anyone who wants to add tamales, burritos, tortas, or similar foods requiring refrigeration or careful temperature handling to their offerings — previously off-limits under the act. The law doesn't cover everything: raw milk, low-acid canned foods, fermented or acidified time/temperature-control foods, alcohol or cannabinoid-containing products, and foods preserved by smoking, reduced-oxygen processing, or curing all stay outside this section.
Every cottage-food producer, not just those selling the newly allowed items, now faces the annual registration requirement and the higher (but still capped) $150,000-per-product revenue ceiling. A producer already near the old $10,000 ceiling gets meaningfully more room to grow, but the law explicitly bars splitting a business across multiple entities or contracts just to dodge the cap. Producers unsure whether their product formulation counts as requiring time/temperature control — or how to satisfy the safety-course requirement — are the ones most likely to need a consultant or food-safety attorney before their January 1, 2027 launch.
How to comply, step by step
- Confirm your product qualifies: one type (with up to 5 variations) of a food requiring time/temperature control for safety, like tamales, burritos, or tortas — excluding raw milk, low-acid canned goods, and several other named categories.
- Register annually with CDPHE before your first sale and obtain your registration number.
- Complete a CDPHE-approved food-safety course covering time/temperature control, and keep proof of completion and good standing on file.
- Label every product with your name, registration number, county of preparation, contact information, full ingredient list, and the CDPHE consumer-reporting website address.
- Track your gross revenue per food product against the $150,000 annual cap (adjusted for inflation each year), and don't split your business across entities to get around it — that workaround is explicitly barred.
Frequently asked questions
When can Colorado home cooks start selling tamales and other refrigerated cottage foods?
January 1, 2027 — that's when the Cottage Foods Act's expanded provisions, allowing foods that require time and temperature control for safety, take effect under HB 26-1033.
Do I need a food-safety course to sell cottage foods in Colorado?
Only if you're selling a food that requires time and temperature control for safety, like tamales or burritos. You must complete an approved course covering food handling and time/temperature control and keep proof of completion. All cottage-food producers, regardless of product type, must separately register annually with CDPHE.
How much can I earn selling cottage foods before I need a full food license?
Up to $150,000 in gross revenue per food product per calendar year — up from the previous $10,000 cap — and the state adjusts that limit for inflation every year. Structuring your business across multiple entities to get around the cap is explicitly prohibited.
What happens if I mislabel my cottage food products?
A health inspector can fine you up to $100 per violation and recover inspection costs up to $1,000. If you rack up three misbranding or safety violations for a time/temperature-control food within 12 months, you lose the right to sell those foods under the Cottage Foods Act.
Sources
Related compliance alerts
Get help complying with this rule
Tell us about your business and we'll match you with a vetted professional for a free, no-obligation consultation about this requirement.