California Cottage Food Law: Labels, Limits & When You Need Nutrition Facts

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

California splits cottage food into two tiers under the Homemade Food Act (AB 1616, now Health & Safety Code §§ 113758 and 114365–114365.6): Class A for direct-to-consumer sales only, capped at $75,000 a year, and Class B for direct plus indirect sales through a retailer, capped at $150,000, both CPI-adjusted annually and administered by county environmental health departments under CDPH oversight. The label rule every product needs regardless of class: the primary display panel must say “Made in a Home Kitchen” in 12-point type. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once your product carries a nutrient content or health claim, moves into a channel the Act doesn’t cover, or crosses state lines.

Quick facts	California
Revenue cap	$75,000 (A) / $150,000 (B), CPI-adj.
Permit or registration	Class A: free self-cert; Class B: permit + inspection
Sales channels	Direct + online in-state; retail/wholesale (B only)
Online sales	In-state only
Required label statement	“Made in a Home Kitchen”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless a nutrient claim is made, or product goes wholesale/out of state
Administered by	California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch
Governing law	Cal. Health & Safety Code § 114365 (Homemade Food Act)

What California lets you sell from home

The Act covers “nonpotentially hazardous foods” (items that don’t need time and temperature control to stay safe) plus a specific list CDPH maintains in statute (HSC § 114365.5). Approved categories include baked goods without cream, custard, or meat fillings, candy, chocolate-covered nuts and dried fruit, dried pasta, dry baking mixes, fruit pies and tamales, granola, herb blends, honey, jams and jellies meeting federal standards, nut butters, popcorn, vinegar and mustard, roasted coffee and dried tea, and waffle cones. Foods that need refrigeration (meat, dairy, cut produce, cream fillings, most sauces and salsas, anything canned at low acid) fall outside the list and need a licensed commercial kitchen. Treat this as a summary; check the current statutory list before committing to a product.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

For Class A, you register with your county’s local enforcement agency by filing a self-certification checklist, with no routine inspection, only a complaint-driven one (HSC § 114365). Class B needs an actual permit from that agency, an initial inspection, and at least one more a year after. Both classes complete a state-approved food processor course within 3 months of starting, refreshed every 3 years (HSC § 114365.2(d)). Registrations and permits are nontransferable, tied to one location, renew annually, and a registration from any one county covers the whole state (HSC § 114365).

The revenue ceiling is the other axis: Class A tops out at $75,000 in verifiable gross annual sales, Class B at $150,000, both “annually adjusted for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index” (HSC § 113758). Those numbers took effect January 1, 2022, under AB 1144 (Stats. 2021, ch. 178), up from the flat $50,000 cap the original 2013 Homemade Food Act set (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, AB 1144 bill text). Because the cap moves with CPI every year, the operative figure for the current year runs above that 2022 base. CDPH publishes the adjusted figures each January; for 2026 they are $88,878 for Class A and $177,756 for Class B (CDPH adjusted sales limit table).

Where you can sell

Class A is direct sales only: the consumer buys straight from the cottage food operation, whether that’s your home, a farmers market, a certified event, or an online order picked up or shipped within California (HSC § 113758). Class B adds indirect sales: a consumer buying a Class B product from a third-party retailer that holds its own valid permit: a bakery counter, a specialty grocer, a farm stand run by someone else. Neither class covers sales outside California; internet orders can be taken by either class, but delivery stays limited to pickup or in-state shipping. Selling to a distributor, a restaurant, or across state lines falls outside the Act and needs standard commercial licensing instead.

What has to be on the label

Per HSC § 114365.2(e), every cottage food product label needs:

“Made in a Home Kitchen” or “Repackaged in a Home Kitchen,” as applicable, with a description of any purchased ready-to-eat item not used as an ingredient, in 12-point type on the primary display panel
The common or usual name of the food
The name of the cottage food operation
The registration or permit number, and the county that issued it
Ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight, for two or more ingredients
Net quantity and an allergen “Contains” statement, required of any packaged food under the federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and FALCPA, not extra state add-ons

“Made in a Home Kitchen”

(Health & Safety Code § 114365.2(e), verbatim; “Repackaged in a Home Kitchen” replaces it for a purchased, ready-to-eat item)

The 12-point size applies specifically to that home-kitchen statement on the primary display panel; the statute sets no separate minimum for the rest of the label beyond standard federal packaging rules for the package’s size. Public advertising (a website, a farmers-market sign, a social post) needs the same county, registration/permit number, and “Home Kitchen” disclosure as the package.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Cottage food sold under California’s Homemade Food Act is exempt from FDA nutrition labeling until one of two things happens. First, a nutrient content or health claim: the moment a label, a farmers-market sign, or a caption says something like “low sugar” or “high protein,” that claim needs the numbers behind it in a compliant 21 CFR 101.9 format. The exemption doesn’t travel with the claim, wherever it appears. Second, the sales channel: wholesale, a retail account outside the Class B indirect-sale structure, a distributor, or an out-of-state buyer all sit outside the Act and pull in standard nutrition labeling. California’s statute adds no further state-specific trigger.

A panel built from your own recipe means the first “low sugar” on your farmers-market sign has real numbers behind it. Enter your recipe, then see your label: the calorie count, the nutrient content claims you qualify for and your allergen line show free, no card required, while every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, the ingredient statement and the allergen declaration, ready to print, or send us the recipe and we build it (done-for-you, $249, within 5 business days). Start your label, or compare California with other states on the cottage food laws hub.

California cottage food FAQ

What's the difference between Class A and Class B cottage food in California?

Class A covers direct sales only (farmers markets, your home, events), capped at $75,000 in verifiable gross annual sales. Class B adds indirect sales through a third-party retailer, like a shop shelf, capped at $150,000; Class B also requires a permit and an annual inspection instead of self-certification (Health & Safety Code § 113758).

How much can I sell before I need something other than a cottage food registration?

The statutory caps are $75,000 a year for Class A and $150,000 for Class B, and both are adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index, so the current figure runs a bit above the base amount (HSC § 113758). For 2026, CDPH's published limits are $88,878 for Class A and $177,756 for Class B.

What exact words does my California cottage food label need?

The primary display panel must say, word for word, \"Made in a Home Kitchen\" (or \"Repackaged in a Home Kitchen\" for a purchased ready-to-eat item), in 12-point type, per HSC § 114365.2(e).

Can I sell my homemade food online or ship it out of state from California?

You can take orders online, but delivery is limited to pickup or shipping within California. The law doesn't cover interstate sales, and going out of state means leaving the cottage food exemption behind.

Do I need a permit to start a cottage food business in California?

Class A needs only registration with your county's local enforcement agency and a self-certification checklist, no state fee mandated by statute. Class B needs an actual permit and passes an initial inspection plus at least one a year; both need a food processor course within 3 months of starting (HSC § 114365.2(d)).

When does California require a real Nutrition Facts panel on a cottage food product?

Cottage food is exempt from FDA nutrition labeling until you make a nutrient content or health claim, sell wholesale/indirect at Class B scale into a channel that needs one, or ship out of state. At that point a standard 21 CFR 101.9 panel applies regardless of the county or class.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Oregon, Nevada, Arizona. See the full state-by-state table.

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