Selling homemade dog treats in Massachusetts: license, registration and fees (2026)

No published rule found on selling pet treats made in a home kitchen; ask the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (feed program). Product registration: $100/yr. License: none. Tonnage report: no.

Calculate your Massachusetts fees Massachusetts pet food registration

Can you make dog treats in a home kitchen in Massachusetts?

No published rule No published rule found on selling pet treats made in a home kitchen; ask the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (feed program). Agency page.Source: mass.gov · We read the agency's pet food and feed pages, its law and rules, and the state's cottage food rules, and found no statement either way on making pet treats in a home kitchen.

Checked October 3, 2026 against Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources's published pages and Massachusetts's law. We don't judge whether any particular product or kitchen qualifies; that's for the agency, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Massachusetts registration and license for dog treats

Product registration: $100/yr. License: none.

What's registered	Per product: every commercial feed and pet food product distributed in Massachusetts is registered each year. No firm license.Source: mass.gov · M.G.L. c.128 s.52 and 330 CMR 13.02.
Product registration fee	$100 per product per yearSource: mass.gov · 801 CMR 4.02, the state fee schedule (Mass. Register #1548, 5/23/2025): “Commercial Feed Registration (including Pet Food) 100”. MDAR's page also lists “Annual Registration Fee $100 per product”. M.G.L. c.128 §52 still says “The registration fee shall be twenty-five dollars.” That figure is older than the fee schedule: M.G.L. c.7 §3B has the Secretary of Administration and Finance set, by a promulgated schedule, the amount charged for any state “registration, regulation, license, fee, permit”, and 801 CMR 4.00 cites c.7 §3B as its authority. MDAR charges the schedule's $100.
Package-size rule	No package-size rule. One registration covers all package sizes of a product.Source: mass.gov
License / firm fee	None (Massachusetts has no firm license for feed or pet food)Source: mass.gov · MDAR's fee table lists only the per-product registration fee.
Registration period	Calendar year; all registrations expire December 31Source: malegislature.gov
Renewal due	Renew in EEA ePLACE between October 5 and December 31Source: mass.gov
Form or portal	https://eplace.eea.mass.gov/citizenaccess/Default.aspxSource: mass.gov · Online only through the EEA ePLACE portal since November 2025; paper applications are no longer accepted. Step-by-step guides are linked from the MDAR page.
License / firm form	None. No firm license for pet food in Massachusetts.Source: mass.gov · No firm license for pet food in Massachusetts.
What to send	An online application in EEA ePLACE with one label file per product (front and back in one file). MDAR reviews it and emails an invoice for the approved products; your list of approved products, sent after payment, is your registration certificate.Source: mass.gov

Tonnage report

Tonnage report required?	No. MDAR does not require tonnage reporting.Source: mass.gov
How often	Not applicableSource: mass.gov
Due	Not applicableSource: mass.gov

We show who files and when, not the fee: tonnage fees depend on how much you sell. What a tonnage report is, state by state.

Due dates

December 31: Massachusetts product registrations expire; renew in EEA ePLACE ($100 per product; renewal window opens October 5) (if you register products)Source: mass.gov

Steps

Ask about home kitchens first. We found no published rule on pet treats made in a home kitchen in Massachusetts. Ask the agency, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, before you start.Source: mass.gov · We read the agency's pet food and feed pages, its law and rules, and the state's cottage food rules, and found no statement either way on making pet treats in a home kitchen.
Register each product. $100 per product per year. Registration form or portal.Source: mass.gov · 801 CMR 4.02, the state fee schedule (Mass. Register #1548, 5/23/2025): “Commercial Feed Registration (including Pet Food) 100”. MDAR's page also lists “Annual Registration Fee $100 per product”. M.G.L. c.128 §52 still says “The registration fee shall be twenty-five dollars.” That figure is older than the fee schedule: M.G.L. c.7 §3B has the Secretary of Administration and Finance set, by a promulgated schedule, the amount charged for any state “registration, regulation, license, fee, permit”, and 801 CMR 4.00 cites c.7 §3B as its authority. MDAR charges the schedule's $100.
What to send. An online application in EEA ePLACE with one label file per product (front and back in one file). MDAR reviews it and emails an invoice for the approved products; your list of approved products, sent after payment, is your registration certificate.Source: mass.gov
Labels. Moving to AAFCO's new label format? The Pet Nutrition Facts box generator formats the box from your own numbers. We don't review labels.
Renew. Renew in EEA ePLACE between October 5 and December 31Source: mass.gov
Shipping to other states? Each state you sell into has its own rules. Selling dog treats online · fee calculator.

Every Massachusetts fact, with sources: Massachusetts pet food & treat registration. Selling in several states? The free calculator adds up the fees, and the $49 Registration Pack turns them into a checklist and renewal calendar.

Other states

Nearby: Selling dog treats in Rhode Island · Selling dog treats in Connecticut · Selling dog treats in New York · Selling dog treats in Vermont · Selling dog treats in New Hampshire

Home kitchen, registration and license rules in all 50 states and DC