Free tool · Cottage food label rules

Louisiana cottage food label rules

What has to be on the label when you sell homemade baked goods in Louisiana, and the limits that matter at a market. Checked September 2026.

Another state Mostly confirmed. Check the open points below

Your label must include

Statement that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility

Required statement

No exact statement is set by law here.

No exact wording is prescribed. R.S. 40:4.9(D) requires ‘a label which clearly indicates that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility’ (raw unfiltered honey excepted). A safe phrasing that tracks the statute: ‘This food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility.’ No font size rule. The statute requires no other label items (product name, ingredients and allergens are still good practice).

Registration # ________

Sample label for illustration, made from the checklist above. Your own label has to match your recipe and your state’s exact rules.

Key limits in Louisiana

Permit: None from the health department; you must hold a current state and local sales tax certificate (registered to collect sales/use taxes).
Training: none
Sales cap: under $100,000 gross annual sales (raised from $30,000 effective Aug 1, 2026)
Where you can sell: Direct to the public (home, farmers markets, events); people baking breads, cakes, cookies or pies may NOT sell to any retail business or individual for resale, and the exemption does not cover bread/cake/cookie/pie bakers who employ assistants.
Online & shipping: Statute is silent; Institute for Justice reads it as allowing online orders and mail delivery within Louisiana; out-of-state shipping not addressed (assume not allowed).
Law: Low-risk foods prepared in the home for sale, La. R.S. 40:4.9 (as amended by Act 801 of 2026, HB 403)

What we could not confirm (5)

No official LDH cottage food guidance page found
Online/phone orders and in-state shipping not addressed in statute (only secondary source says yes)
Exact label wording not prescribed; no font rule
Many secondary sites still show the old $30,000 cap
HB 150 (2025, $150k cap and new labeling) died in the Senate; not law

Check with: Louisiana Department of Health (home low-risk food prep is exempt from the State Sanitary Code; no state program to register with)

Last change to the law: Act 801 of 2026 (HB 403), effective 2026-08-01 (cap $30,000 to $100,000); prior amendment Act 357 of 2022

Sources

Made by BakersKeep

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

BakersKeep builds your Louisiana label from each recipe: ingredients in order, allergens and the required statement. Change a recipe and every label updates. It also prices your cookies, takes pre-orders and writes the week’s posts.

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This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and counties can add their own. Confirm with Louisiana Department of Health (home low-risk food prep is exempt from the State Sanitary Code; no state program to register with) before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Louisiana cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

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