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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Iowa runs two separate home-food tracks. The cottage food exemption (Iowa Code § 137F.20) needs no license or fee and has no revenue cap, but it only covers non-TCS food sold directly by you to the consumer. Step up to a home food processing establishment (HFPE) license ($50 a year, kitchen inspection included) and you can sell more food types, including some TCS items, through retail and wholesale channels, up to $50,000 in gross annual sales. Each tier has its own required disclaimer sentence, word for word. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once a claim, a wholesale deal, or an interstate sale takes your product outside both tiers.

Quick facts	Iowa
Revenue cap	None for cottage food; $50,000/yr for a licensed HFPE
Permit or registration	None for cottage food; $50/yr license + kitchen inspection for HFPE
Sales channels	Direct to consumer only (cottage food); direct, retail, and wholesale (HFPE)
Online sales	With permit
Required label statement	“"This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection." (cottage food) / "This product was produced at a home food processing establishment." (licensed HFPE)”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim, go interstate/wholesale, or sell beyond either tier
Administered by	Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), Food and Consumer Safety Bureau
Governing law	Iowa Code ch. 137D (Home Food Processing Establishment)

What Iowa lets you sell from home

Cottage food, defined in Iowa Code § 137F.1, is “the production and sale of food produced at a private residence other than time/temperature control for safety food,” plus home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits at a finished pH of 4.6 or lower or water activity of 0.85 or lower, each batch checked with a meter and dated. It excludes milk products (regulated under chapters 192/194) and most meat and poultry (chapter 189A) (legis.iowa.gov).

A licensed HFPE covers more ground. Iowa Code § 137D.1(4) defines a “homemade food item” as food that isn’t TCS, plus made-to-order items served for immediate consumption and, per Iowa Administrative Code 481-34, TCS foods generally, if properly refrigerated and dated. Both tiers exclude unpasteurized juice, raw sprout seeds, game/fish/shellfish, alcohol, bottled water, packaged ice, hemp products, and low-acid canning, acidification, curing, or smoking for preservation. Iowa is unusual in letting either tier include some home-raised or inspected-exempt meat and poultry sold direct to consumers, within limits set by rule.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

Cottage food needs no license, registration, or fee: Iowa Code § 137F.20 exempts it from “all licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging, and labeling laws of the state” as long as sales go straight from you to the consumer. An HFPE license costs $50, is good for one year, and is renewable (Iowa Code § 137D.2); the person in charge must complete an approved food safety training course first (481 IAC 34), and DIAL inspects the home kitchen. Gross annual sales for an HFPE must stay under $50,000 (§ 137D.1(4)).

That $50,000 figure is new: HF 2431 (2022), effective July 1, 2022, raised the prior home-food cap from $35,000 and split Iowa’s old home bakery law into the current two-tier system: the uncapped cottage food exemption and the $50,000-cap licensed HFPE (legis.iowa.gov). DIAL is also moving licensing onto a new online system, SAFHER, launching in October 2026. This is a process change, not a rule change, as of September 2026 (dial.iowa.gov).

Where you can sell

Cottage food sales must go “directly to the consumer, or delivered by mail or an agent of the producer such as an employee” (§ 137F.20(1)). A farmers-market table you staff yourself or an in-state mail order both qualify, but selling through a store, restaurant, or wholesaler does not. A licensed HFPE has more room: DIAL’s HFPE page describes selling “directly to consumers or through other businesses,” and 481 IAC 34 covers sales at farmers markets, mobile units, and temporary events, plus TCS items shipped to other businesses for resale as long as they’re kept at 41°F or below in transit. Neither tier’s statute spells out an out-of-state sales channel, so treat interstate sales as outside both exemptions.

What has to be on the label

Every cottage food label (Iowa Code § 137F.20(2)) needs:

Name, address, phone number, or email of the person who prepared the food
Common name of the food
Ingredients in descending order of predominance
The required disclaimer (below)
Allergen statement naming each major allergen present, if any
For home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits: the date processed and canned

“This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.”

(Iowa Code § 137F.20(2))

A licensed HFPE’s label (Iowa Code § 137D.2) instead needs the establishment’s name, the food’s common name, ingredients in descending order, net quantity, an expiration date for refrigerated TCS items, an allergen statement, and:

“This product was produced at a home food processing establishment.”

(Iowa Code § 137D.2)

Neither section prescribes a minimum type size for its disclaimer.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Neither Iowa tier calls for a Nutrition Facts panel on its own. Both sit outside FDA nutrition labeling until something changes that. A nutrient content or health claim is the fastest trigger: the moment a label, a farmers-market sign, or a social post says “low sugar” or “high protein,” 21 CFR 101.9 applies regardless of which Iowa exemption your product otherwise fits. Moving into wholesale, interstate commerce, or any channel neither § 137F.20 nor an HFPE license covers has the same effect. § 137F.20(3) also flags that meeting Iowa’s cottage food exemption “does not represent compliance with federal law.” The two are separate questions.

That’s where NutriLabels fits once a claim or a bigger channel is in play, and having the panel ready means stepping up to an HFPE store account doesn’t stall on paperwork. Enter your recipe, then see your label: its shape and calorie count, the claims you qualify for and your allergen line are free, no card required, and every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. A one-time $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, plus the ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print. Start your label, or see how Iowa’s two tiers compare with other states’ cottage food laws.

Iowa cottage food FAQ

Do I need a license to sell homemade food in Iowa?

Not if you stay inside the cottage food exemption: non-TCS food sold and delivered by the producer directly to the consumer needs no license (Iowa Code § 137F.20). Selling through a store, restaurant, or online marketplace instead requires a $50-a-year home food processing establishment (HFPE) license.

Is there a sales cap for Iowa cottage food?

No. Iowa Code § 137F.20 exempts cottage food from all state licensing, permitting, and inspection laws with no gross-sales limit. The separate HFPE license caps gross annual sales at $50,000 (Iowa Code § 137D.1(4)).

What did HF 2431 change in 2022?

HF 2431 raised the prior home-food revenue cap from $35,000 to $50,000 for what's now the home food processing establishment license, and created the separate, uncapped cottage food exemption for direct-to-consumer, non-TCS sales (legis.iowa.gov).

What exact label wording does Iowa require?

Cottage food needs the sentence \"This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.\" A licensed home food processing establishment instead uses \"This product was produced at a home food processing establishment.\" (Iowa Code §§ 137F.20(2), 137D.2).

Can I sell perishable or refrigerated food from home in Iowa?

Only under an HFPE license, not the cottage food exemption. Licensed TCS items need an expiration date on the label (generally within 7 days of preparation for ready-to-eat refrigerated items) under Iowa Administrative Code 481-34 (legis.iowa.gov).

Can I sell my Iowa home food business to stores or wholesale?

Only with an HFPE license. DIAL's HFPE page says a licensed operation can sell directly to consumers or through other businesses, while the unlicensed cottage food exemption is direct-to-consumer only (dial.iowa.gov).

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota. See the full state-by-state table.

← All cottage food laws by state