Cottage food laws have really spread in the U.S., which means that people can make and sell certain food from their home kitchens without being licensed as long as they label things the right way. I’ve been working on some cottage food labels for all of the US states that have cottage food laws, since every state has a slightly different requirement for what has to go on the label.
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Labeling requirements for cottage food.
As I’m going through all of these state websites to get the information, I’m seeing some common requirements and a lot of things that are different as far as what each state says you have to have on your labels.
First of all, if you’re looking for the requirements for your own state, search for “(your state name here) cottage food labels,” and find the website that has a .gov ending. There are a lot of AI answers, and websites that say that they have the requirements, but they aren’t what are on the actual government website. Make sure that you have everything that you need before you make labels, because you want to make sure you have everything that you need on them.
I’ve been adding the specific language that the states require on the labels that I’m making, and you can find the ones that I’ve done on Zazzle here: Cottage Food Labels. I have them separated out by state, and they’re all compliant with the websites as of June 2025. You should make sure that you check with your state’s official website before buying labels, though, since things can change and you might need to edit them! The only one that I haven’t done yet is Tennessee, because the rules are changing in a month. I’ll update that one when that happens.
The common things that most states ask for on the labels are:
- Business name
- Product name
- Ingredients
- List of common allergens
- Net Weight in ounces and grams
- Your name and address
- Phone number and email
- License number if the state issues those
- Date the product was made
- Best-by date
- Disclosure for the product being baked in a home bakery.
There are also some random things like whether there are pets in the household, and refrigeration tips, but those are only in a few states.
Some states say that things should be on certain parts of the label, some require a few of those things, and some don’t require much at all. I’ve put the official language on the labels that I’m making, based on each state’s official website, but you might want to add some things in addition to the basic requirements.
Name and address on the labels.
One thing that I personally don’t really like is having to put your address on the labels, but most states seem to require that. A few say that you have to have your home address, not a PO box, so people probably tried to get away with doing that. Some states let you use an email address, and if the state requirs a license or registration, they let you put that number on instead of an address.
The reason for putting your address is that if there are food recalls, or if someone complains about your products, the health department will need to be able to find you! If the state requires a registration they’ll have your address on file, but if you’re just operating without a license or registration you need to put your address on your labels.
Something that you should definitely do if you have to put your address on your labels is also to put your email or website, and a message that says “By Appointment Only.” I used to have people show up at my front door at random times and ask if they could come in to taste cake! No, they couldn’t…So make sure that if people have your address they also know that you don’t have drop-in hours.
I’ve been putting the “by appointment” message on the labels I’m designing, but that’s not required by any state, it’s just something that I know from experience is important to have on there!
Ingredients and allergens.
An important thing that every state requires is the ingredients and some type of notice about what common allergens are on the labels. This is really important because so many people have food allergies these days.
The main common allergens are wheat, milk, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame. You probably won’t ever use fish on your baked goods, so you can just delete those off of the labels completely before ordering them if you want to. You could also just leave them all there and circle the ones that each recipe has and cross out the others. It’s easier if you only have the ones you bake with, though.
Sesame is required by some states and not others, but it doesn’t hurt to have it on there. If your recipe doesn’t have certain ingredients, though, you can just delete them when you customize the labels.
When you put the ingredients in, you should add them with the largest amount first, them going down to the least. That’s usually going to be flour and sugar first and baking powder and salt last if you bake from scratch. Some states let you use the ingredients list as the allergen list too, but most say that you have to have both. Also, if you have a cake mix as part of your recipe, you need to put all of those ingredients from the mix in, too.
Best-by date and random information.
There are also a few things that some states ask for and some don’t, like the production date of the baked goods and the “best by” date. I’ve added those to the labels as needed. Massachusetts also asks for storage instructions, which was unusual.
Some other states say that certain parts of the label have to be bigger than others, or in a certain order. If you’re looking that up to make your own labels, make sure you pay attention to that. I put “optional” on the phone and email if that wasn’t reauired, but there are reasons why you might want to leave that on the labels!
Phone number on labels or not?
I can see why you wouldn’t want to put your phone number on your labels, but some states require you to. If you’re in a state where it’s not required you might still want to put one on, since it will give people a way to contact you to place orders.
If you don’t like the idea of random people having your phone number, you can get a Google Voice number and forward it to your cell phone. People will be able to contact you without you having to give them your number. You can set up a voice message and receive messages, and you can tell people to email you instead of calling if you want to do that (I did!)
It’s important to have ways for people to contact you if you want to grow your business, and a business phone number makes you look legitimate to people. The more ways that you have to take orders, the better.
Some states let you put an email instead of a phone, so as long as you’re following the rules of your state, you might not have to give out a phone number, but consider whether you should even if you don’t have to.
Home bakery disclosures.
Something that pretty much every state does require, and most have very specific wording for it, is the disclosure about the products being baked in an unlicensed bakery. You usually have to put that in a prominent place on the label, and some of the disclosures sound pretty harsh. Some states just say that the product was baked in a home kitchen, but others make it very clear that the baker isn’t being inspected by the health department.
No matter how harsh the warnings sound, you have to have them on your packaging. It might be tempting to put them in really small letters, but most of the states that I’ve looked at so far require them to be legible and in a font size that people can read. Some people just don’t want to buy food from an unlicensed kitchen, so you have to let them know that you’re baking under cottage food laws to give them the information. Each label in my collection has the exact wording that the official state websites say is required for that state.
For things that aren’t delivered in packaging, like wedding cakes, you can usually put the information labels on paperwork like an invoice or cutting chart that you leave with the cake. Check with each state, since some of them specify how you’re supposed to handle situations like that.
What else cottage bakers need.
Baking under the cottage food laws is a good way to earn some extra money, but you need to make sure that you’re following all of the laws about what you have to do and what labeling you need on your products. Some states require registration, some offer it as an option, and some don’t require it at all. Make sure to search the official websites to get the most current information, don’t rely on AI answers or random websites!
You’ll notice that I’m not handing out any specifics about what each state says you have to do…That’s because I don’t want to be responsible for giving people the wrong information! You need to verify for yourself with your own state what your legal requirements are.
Another thing to look into that EVERY home bakery should have is liability insurance. If anything goes wrong, you want to make sure that you’re covered. Check with your insurance agent to see if you can get insurance for a home-based business, and if you can’t, I would reconsider even running a bakery from home. The risk is too big, and you can get in a lot of trouble if you’re not covered.
Another thing to remember is that because you’ll be working from home, people won’t take you as seriously. You need to be as professional as you can as a home-based business, because people tend to assume that you’re just playing around if you’re working from home. I worked from home with a licensed and inpected home bakery for over 20 years, and I know that overcoming people’s perceptions of home-based businesses is a real problem.
My advice would be to get a website, because people take you more seriously when you have one. Also, get the highest-quality paper products like packaging and business cards that you can afford, because if your marketing materials are cheap, people think your business is low-quality, too.
I’ve designed business cards and other marketing materials for home bakers because I know how hard it can be to present your home-based business professionally. Check them out on Zazzle, and click “Categories” to see all of the options available.
