Direct sales, online orders and third-party listings: check your state and route
An online order, a delivery driver and a marketplace sale are different things. Use the state matrix to check the route that fits your food business.
“Can I sell online?” leaves several questions unanswered. What are you selling, where is it prepared, who sells it to the customer, and how does it arrive? A cottage-food exemption and a permitted restaurant can have different answers in the same state.
Separate the sales channel from the delivery method
Direct sales mean the customer buys from your business. Your own ordering page can support that relationship. In Chyve’s product language, Chyve ordering is a direct-sales route; Uber Eats and Grubhub listings are third-party marketplace channels. The actual platform contract and transaction still matter when applying the law.
Online ordering is the way the order is placed. Delivery is the way it is fulfilled. A third-party courier delivering an order does not, by itself, mean a retailer bought and resold the food. Conversely, a marketplace’s ability to accept your listing does not establish that your production route permits its sales model.
Two state examples show why a single yes/no list fails
California’s cottage-food guidance distinguishes Class A direct consumer sales from Class B direct and indirect sales through permitted retailers. It expressly includes digital ordering and third-party delivery in the described routes. Those categories do not establish blanket eligibility for every app, product or operator; local registration or permitting and the approved-food rules still apply.
California Department of Public Health: cottage-food operations
New York’s current home-processing page allows internet sales within New York, requires eligible products to be prepackaged and properly labeled, and prohibits shipping them out of state. A website can therefore be a sales tool without allowing nationwide orders. Confirm the product and registration requirements for your business.
New York Agriculture and Markets: home processing
Use the state matrix for your exact avenue
Select your operating state, then the route: home-produced food, farm production, commercial food service or another relevant activity. Add the online-order, direct-pickup and delivery rows you need. Read their conditions and sources together with eligible products and maximum sales. The matrix is a research snapshot, not an operating approval or a live regulatory monitor.
Open the state-regulations matrix
Where a row is unreviewed or needs authority confirmation, it does not mean “no” and it does not mean “yes.” It means the evidence is not sufficient for that route. Do not substitute permission for a licensed commercial operator for a home-vendor exemption.
For third-party listings, ask a more precise question
Ask the authority: “Under this production route, may I advertise on this platform, accept payment through it and fulfill through this delivery arrangement?” Explain whether the platform acts as a retailer, marketplace or courier, and whether the customer receives the food within your state. Bring the actual arrangement rather than just an app name.
For a commercial kitchen, restaurant or food truck, use the rules attached to that permitted operation and its location. A home-food restriction is not automatically a restriction on all food businesses in that state. Alcohol, catering and culinary experiences also need their own route-specific review.
Turn the answer into ordering boundaries
Keep orders inside permitted geography, offer only eligible products and use the required labels and disclosures. Match pickup and delivery choices to what is actually allowed. Maintain records relevant to sales limits and tax obligations. A state’s permission to accept online orders does not remove local or federal responsibilities.
The current matrix does not independently verify Uber Eats or Grubhub eligibility for every state and every business route. We link its sourced route findings rather than publish a misleading nationwide app whitelist. Confirm unresolved channels with the named authority before enabling them.