I am located in Attleboro,Mass...does anyone have any info on what the regulations are ?? I would like to get my home kitchen licensed and insured,but I'm unable to come up on what the regulations are. When we went to the local department of health , they were rude and would not answer any questions about it. He simply said I needed a commercial kitchen and then went back to reading his newspaper. I have searched it over and over on the internet and can't seem to find any answers.It seems that in Mass each town makes it's own rules and regulations. We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and I would like to add/change what I need to while we are remodeling.
ANY info would be appreciated!!!!
Brenda
I don't really know, but is there anyone else in your area already doing the same thing? You could ask them. In my state we are regulated by the dept. of agriculture, not the health dept. Don't know about MA. Good luck.
In MA, wholesale home bakeries are regulated by the state, but if you want to sell directly to consumers you will need to work with Attleboro.
Towns in MA are supposed to follow state law and grant licenses for retail home bakeries unless they have a town ordinance or zoning restriction that says otherwise. The relevant state regulations are 105 CMR 590.000 and 105 CMR 520.000. You may want to read up on your town's zoning information to see if you are permitted to operate a commercial enterprise out of your home.
http://www.cityofattleboro.us/planning/
BTW, if the town staff is rude and won't answer your questions, I would try contacting a supervisor or your council member.
I am a licensed MA home baker. My city Health Dept was easy to work with. I had to take the ServeSafe course (offered at many community colleges), draw up my menu of bakery offerings and a kitchen plan. Then the health department came and inspected. The state comes each year and inspects as well. I'm limited to baked goods and can't sell things that are potentially hazardous (like SMBC using fresh eggs...so I use pasturized powdered ones). I am sure the rules vary by town and health department official...some of them are very picky. Good luck!
Thank you for the info...very helpful!
From what I can learn,the city of Attleboro states that I have to have a seperate commercial kitchen. It cannot be the same kitchen that my family uses.
I only bake for family and friends right now,but would like to change that and try to expand.
Had a feeling I was going to need to take the servsafe course. I have already started looking into it.
Thanks again!!
STILL checking into it. I started looking into renting a kitchen,and haven't had much luck with that either. Attleboro,Ma seems to be a bad town to be trying to do this in. NOBODY seems to want to give you information or to help out. For now I'm going to just keep making cakes for my family.
BUT,I'm not giving up 
Are you thinking about the same thing?? Where in Mass are you?? I wish I was closer to Boston, I think I could find a kitchen to rent in Boston. Too long a ride for me though!
I am in central MA as well. I tried looking into becoming legal about a year ago but had a really tough time finding any information. I decided to give up for now since my day job takes up so much of my time and cakes/cupcakes are really just a hobby and stress reliever. 
GL
Hey, if you check on Craigslist under "Office/Commercial" you can sometimes find commercial kitchens for rent on the South Shore. I rent about once a month in Pembroke, but I don't know if they have any other days open. I can give you the number if you're interested.
It is true that the residential kitchen law in MA is open to interpretation by each town/city. My town wasn't too bad, but I have heard of other towns that require you to have a whole separate kitchen just for your business.
I check on craigslist everyday. Haven't found anything yet. When you found a place to rent, what did you have to do in terms of getting licensed?
Do I need to get a serv safe cetification? Insurance?
Is there anything I should do BEFORE I find a place to rent?
Sorry for all the questions,but even though I spend hours searching for info on this, I am totally clueless. You only rent the place once a month? I would LOVE the phone number. You could send it to me through my email [email protected] or a PM here
Thanks!!
As jasoncraft suggested, all of the answers to any licencing laws are in the codes. I downloaded them, studied them like I would be taking a test, wrote down all of my questions, and then made an appointment with the health dept. I did not waste their time and they knew I meant business. I had my application filled out, my layout graphed, my list of approved equipment (with the help of our local equipment compant), and my menu submissions. We filled in the blanks and I got verbal approval that day, with the letter to follow in one week. They did the sanitation inspection that day. My state requires that I have every requirement of a commercial restaurant, so it wasn't easy. They told me that people call all the time about home kitchens and they just send the application. If you come in prepared and serious, I am sure any agency will talk to you. If your state has strict requirements, they probably aren't going to bother with anyone who hasn't done some legwork.
I'm in Mass too, and when I called the board of health, they recommended getting ServSafe certified then asking a church to use their kitchen (especially if its only once a month).. a church serving food will have to be already inspected, so as long as you're ServSafe certified, you can use their space.. i bet that would be a lot cheaper than renting a commercial space once or twice a month.. the church may only require a donation to the church for each use.. worth checking into though..
I'm in Mass too, and when I called the board of health, they recommended getting ServSafe certified then asking a church to use their kitchen (especially if its only once a month).. a church serving food will have to be already inspected, so as long as you're ServSafe certified, you can use their space.. i bet that would be a lot cheaper than renting a commercial space once or twice a month.. the church may only require a donation to the church for each use.. worth checking into though..
FYI, in most areas the health dept wants to inspect the baker in the facility, not just the facility, so a separate inspection (to make sure you are storing ingredients properly, following safe processes, etc.) might be required if you are using the church kitchen to bake commercially. The ServSafe certificate is typically just one of the components of a health inspection.
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