The Direct Consumer Sale Question
Most cottage food laws require "direct to the consumer" sales. The question is whether personal delivery qualifies. In most states, the answer is yes — as long as the producer personally delivers to the consumer and the transaction happens at the moment of delivery.
Generally Permitted: Personal Delivery
You take an order (by phone, text, or social media), you produce the product, and you personally drive it to the customer's home or an agreed-upon meeting location. Payment happens at delivery. This is functionally a direct consumer sale in most states — the producer is the delivery mechanism.
Generally NOT Permitted: Third-Party Delivery
Using DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, or any third-party delivery service to deliver cottage food is not permitted under most state cottage food laws. The seller is no longer directly selling to the consumer — there is an intermediary.
State-Specific Rules
A few states have addressed delivery directly in their cottage food statutes. In states that explicitly permit online sales (Arizona, Florida, Indiana, North Dakota, Vermont), online ordering with home delivery is clearly permitted. In most other states, personal delivery is treated as an extension of direct consumer sales — but you should confirm with your state agriculture department.