Ohio is about to change what you can cook for a living.
A new law will let everyday cooks sell full, hot, home-cooked meals, legally, from their own kitchen. Here is what is coming, what you can already do today, and how Next Door Kitchens gets you ready to sell more.
What is House Bill 134?
Right now, Ohio lets you sell cottage foods from home with no permit: baked goods, candies, jams, dry mixes. Great for a bake sale, but you cannot legally sell a hot dinner.
House Bill 134 changes that. It creates a new Microenterprise Home Kitchen registration that, for the first time in Ohio, would let everyday cooks make and sell real prepared meals, hot food, full plates, from a home kitchen, legally.
It passed the Ohio House with overwhelming bipartisan support and is now being considered by the Senate. It is not law yet, but the momentum is real, and the cooks who prepare now will be first to benefit.
What's changing, a first for Ohio
Only a couple of states in the entire country let people sell home-cooked meals. Ohio is about to join them.
Today
Cottage foods
- Baked goods, breads, cookies and candies
- Jams, granola and dry mixes
- No permit needed
- Sell anywhere in Ohio
- Shelf-stable only, no hot meals
When HB 134 passes
Home-cooked meals
- Full hot dinners and prepared meals
- Cultural and comfort food
- A simple registration plus one inspection
- Sell statewide
- Much bigger menu and income
Sell more, earn more
A bigger menu
Go from cookies to full dinners.
Higher tickets
A $15 home-cooked meal earns far more than a $4 cookie, and people buy dinner far more often.
A real business
Turn a weekend side hustle into steady, repeatable income from regulars.
Statewide and simple
No county-by-county red tape like other states, one registration covers all of Ohio.
Keep 100%
On Next Door Kitchens you keep your full price, we never take a cut of your food.
Be first
Cooks who build their storefront now will be selling meals the day the law passes.
As proposed in the House-passed bill: a $25/year registration, food-safety training, one annual home-kitchen inspection, a $150,000 annual cap, and no daily meal limit. Final details may change in the Senate.
How we help, whenever you're ready
Before the bill, today
What you can do right now
Start selling cottage foods
Baked goods and treats, no permit, anywhere in Ohio.
Build your following
Set up your storefront, collect reviews, and build regulars now.
Get business-ready
We help you form your LLC, get an EIN, and open a business account.
Join the hot-meal waitlist
Be first in line the day hot meals are legal in Ohio.
What we do when the bill passes
File your ODA registration with you
We fill the paperwork out together, line by line.
Prep you to pass inspection
A plain-English checklist plus scheduling help.
Get you insured
We connect you with affordable liability coverage.
Flip you to meals day one
Your storefront switches to hot meals immediately while others do paperwork.
Get in line for hot meals
Join the waitlist and start selling cottage foods in the meantime. The day the law passes, your storefront flips to hot meals while everyone else starts the paperwork.
No cost, no commitment.
Hot-meal waitlist
Be first when hot meals go live
We'll email you the day Ohio's home-kitchen registration opens, and walk you through it.
Questions, answered
Do I need a permit to sell right now?
No. Cottage foods are permit-free in Ohio, so you can start selling baked goods and treats today. Hot meals are what the new law unlocks.
What will I be able to sell when the law passes?
Full hot home-cooked meals and prepared dishes, made in your own kitchen.
Will I need an inspection?
As proposed, yes: one simple annual home-kitchen inspection, plus a low-cost registration and food-safety training. We help you pass it.
When will the law pass?
Unknown. It passed the Ohio House and is now in the Senate. Join the waitlist to be first when it happens.
Can you really help me start a business?
Yes. We guide you and connect you with trusted partners for formation, EIN, and insurance. Note that we are not a law or tax firm, and this is guidance, not legal advice.