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Ohio cottage food label rules

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

Another state Confirmed in official sources

Your label must include

Product name (statement of identity)
Net quantity (U.S. customary and metric)
Ingredients in descending order by weight (with sub-ingredients)
Allergens (by common name in ingredients or a ‘Contains:‘ statement)
Business name and address (street, city, state, ZIP)
Required statement (below)

Required statement

“This Product is Home Produced.”

The statement must be in 10-point type (ORC 3715.023). Labels must also follow 21 CFR Part 101. A Nutrition Facts panel is needed only if nutrient or health claims are made. ODA’s fact sheet capitalizes it ‘This Product is Home Produced’; the statute text reads ‘This product is home produced.’

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Net wt. 4 oz (113 g) · 2 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.

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

This Product is Home Produced.

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 Ohio

Permit: none (exempt from ODA licensing and inspection; local business rules may apply). Only items on the approved product list in OAC 901:3-20-04 are allowed (cookies are included).
Training: none
Sales cap: none
Where you can sell: Direct to consumers from home, at farmers markets, registered farm markets and government-organized festivals (up to 7 days). Also allowed: sales to licensed grocery stores and restaurants. Ohio only.
Online & shipping: In-state mail order and delivery are allowed per secondary sources. Sales outside Ohio are prohibited (OAC 901:3-20).
Law: Cottage food production operation, ORC 3715.01(A) and 3715.023; OAC 901:3-20 (rules reviewed with no change 11/27/2023)

What we could not confirm (2)

Online and mail-order rules within Ohio confirmed only by secondary sources
Whether the street address may be omitted if the business is listed in a phone directory (forrager says so; not verified in official text)

Check with: Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety

Last change to the law: Rules last substantively amended January 22, 2016; reviewed with no change November 27, 2023

Sources

Made by BakersKeep

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

BakersKeep builds your Ohio 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 Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Ohio cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

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

Other states