Free tool · Cottage food label rules

New York cottage food label rules

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

Another state Confirmed in official sources

Your label must include

Product name (common or usual name)
Ingredients in descending order by weight
Net quantity of contents
Processor name
Full address
Allergens (eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, sesame)
Home-made statement (below)

Required statement

“Made in a Home Kitchen”

Accepted alternatives: "Made at Home by XYZ" or "Made in the Home Kitchen of XYZ" (XYZ = processor name), or "Made in a Home Kitchen". The phrase must be at least 1/16 inch tall.

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), brown sugar, toffee bits (sugar, butter, almonds, soy lecithin), eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, sea salt.

Net wt. 4 oz (113 g) · 2 cookies

Sunny Crumb Co. · 123 Palm Ave, Your City, NY 00000

Contains: wheat, milk, eggs, tree nuts (almond), soy.

Made in a Home Kitchen

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 New York

Permit: Home Processor registration (exemption): free, no expiration, tied to the home location. Includes a water test if on a private well; review can take up to 16 weeks.
Training: none
Sales cap: none
Where you can sell: Retail and wholesale allowed within NY: farms, farm stands, farmers markets, green markets, craft fairs, flea markets, home delivery, and sales to local restaurants, cafes and grocery stores.
Online & shipping: Internet and phone sales and in-state shipping are allowed within New York only. Shipping out of state is not permitted.
Law: Home Processor Exemption, Agriculture & Markets regulation 1 NYCRR 276.4 (exemption from Article 20-C food processing license)

What we could not confirm (3)

A5836A (‘Homegrown Foods Act’, $12,500 cap) was still in Assembly committee as of May 2026, not law
Whether NYC farmers markets impose additional DOHMH requirements
Date of the last update to the Ag & Markets guidance

Check with: NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection

Last change to the law:

Sources

Made by BakersKeep

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

BakersKeep builds your New York 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.

Join the founders list See how it works

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and counties can add their own. Confirm with NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

New York cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

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

Other states