Do I need a licence?
Maybe. Street trading is local, so ask your council about your exact shed, driveway, porch or collection setup.
Licence answerAll resources
Cake shed laws UK 2026
Cake sheds are not dead.
If customers choose and pay at the shed, the shed starts to look like the shop. Move the sale online. Let the shed be the collection point.
TL;DR
Move the sale online.
- Cake sheds are not dead. The risky bit is making the shed behave like a shop.
- The cleaner model is: order and pay online before anyone enters your home or cake shed.
- Membber adds the menu, payment, collection window, order record and repeat-customer pass in one flow.
Answers owners search for
What should I do?
Start with the council question. Then fix the operating model so every customer orders and pays before arriving at your home or cake shed.
What changes the risk?
Walk-up browsing and payment at the shed looks more like trading. Paid collection is easier to explain.
Compare modelsWhat should I do now?
Register/check the food business, ask licensing and planning, then make customers order and pay before arrival.
Start checklistWhere does Membber fit?
It gives you the online menu, payments, collection slots, records and customer pass for the next bake drop.
See setupA good cake shed works because it feels local. Someone sees a drop, buys a box, and comes back next week. The charm is the closeness.
The trouble starts when the shed becomes a public shop in miniature: browsing at the door, payment at the door, queues at the door. That is when the question changes from "is this a home bakery?" to "is this street trading?"
The better answer is not a loophole. It is a cleaner operating model. Put the decision, the payment and the record online. Let the visit be only the collection.
Order & pay onlinebefore anyone enters your home or cake shed.
Cost comparison
Compare the cost.
Council rules vary, and Membber is not a substitute for checking them. The point is practical: a licence fee does not create a better customer experience. A cleaner order flow does.
Membber Club
£39/moOnline menu, payments, collection windows, customer records and Wallet passes. This is your selling flow, not a legal permission.
Maidstone example
£385 feePublished street-trading application fee. The page says processing can take 90 days and lists further consent fees.
Kingston example
£695 / yearFor a designated pitch. Private land within 7m of the highway is listed separately at £250.
What Membber changes
A calmer way to sell.
- Customers order and pay before they arrive.
- You know what to bake before collection.
- Collection windows reduce random footfall.
- Order records make the model easier to explain.
- A saved pass brings buyers back for the next drop.
Cake shed FAQ
Do cake sheds need a street trading licence?
There is no single UK answer. GOV.UK says to contact the council for the area where you want to trade, so ask licensing about your exact shed, driveway, porch or collection setup and keep the reply.
Can click and collect avoid a cake shed licence?
No. Click and collect is not a legal bypass. It can make the sale flow cleaner because the customer orders and pays online before arrival, then collects an order that already exists.
What should a cake shed owner do first?
Check food business registration, licensing, planning, tax and insurance before sending traffic to the shed. Then move orders, payments and collection windows online so the visit is only the handover.
How does Membber help cake sheds?
Membber gives cake shed owners an online menu, online payment, planned collection slots, order records and a Wallet pass that helps customers come back for the next drop.
Is Membber cheaper than a council licence?
Membber is not a replacement for council permission. It is the operating system for selling online and collecting cleanly. Membber Club is £39/month, while published street-trading fees from some councils can run into hundreds of pounds.
Sources and checks
Start the cleaner version
Keep the shed. Move the sale online.
Launch a paid collection flow with a menu, collection times, order records and a pass that brings buyers back for the next bake drop.