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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Maine’s Home Food Processor license, issued by DACF under Title 22 §2167 and Rule Chapter 345, costs $20 a year and requires a kitchen inspection before you can sell, plus an annual coliform-and-nitrate water test if the kitchen runs on a private well. There’s no revenue cap, and unlike many states’ cottage food exemptions, a Maine license covers retail and wholesale sales, not just direct-to-consumer. The label needs the product name, ingredients by weight, net weight, and your name and address. Chapter 345 doesn’t prescribe a “made at home” disclaimer, so there’s no fixed sentence to quote. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once you make a nutrient or health claim, or your sales cross the federal small-business thresholds that otherwise exempt cottage-scale producers.

Quick facts	Maine
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	License + kitchen inspection, $20/yr
Sales channels	Direct, retail & wholesale statewide
Online sales	With permit
Required label statement	None required. Chapter 345 does not prescribe a home-processed disclosure statement, only the standard identity elements.
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim, sell wholesale/retail past the small-business threshold, or ship out of state
Administered by	Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Quality Assurance & Regulations
Governing law	Maine Rule Ch. 345 (Home Food Processor License)

What Maine lets you sell from home

Chapter 345 limits home food manufacturing to foods that aren’t “potentially hazardous,” defined as anything that can support rapid microbial growth, naming cream fillings, custards, meringue toppings, and buttercream-type fillings specifically (regulations.justia.com, Section 1). DACF’s guidance lists shelf-stable baked goods (bread, cookies, brownies, muffins, biscotti, granola), jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, and candies as licensable, while cheesecake, cream pies, custard pies, cream-filled pastries, and anything with cream cheese or whipped cream stay out (maine.gov, Farm Stand FAQ). Home-canned foods needing pressure canning (low-acid vegetables, meats, most soups) can’t be sold under this license; only foods safely processed without a pressure canner qualify (regulations.justia.com, Section 6). Anything genuinely perishable, including dairy, meat, poultry, and fish, needs a licensed commercial facility.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

DACF requires an annual license application, and Chapter 345 requires the department to inspect the kitchen before issuing or renewing it: a two-bay sink capable of sanitizing at 170°F (or a 50 ppm chlorine solution), non-absorbent corrosion-resistant counters, a 45°F refrigerator and 0°F freezer if used, screened windows and doors, and hot water of at least 120°F (regulations.justia.com, Section 8; maine.gov, Home Food License 101). A kitchen on a private well also needs an annual coliform-and-nitrate water test as part of that inspection. The fee is $20 a year under the Chapter 330 fee schedule, with 2- and 3-year licenses at proportional multiples: $40 and $60 (regulations.justia.com, Chapter 330 §2). Neither §2167 nor Chapter 345 sets a gross-sales cap. The constraint is the approved-food list and the kitchen inspection, not a dollar ceiling.

Where you can sell

Maine’s home food license is broader on sales channels than a typical cottage food exemption. Chapter 345’s labeling section directly addresses products “sold to stores, distributed wholesale, or marketed publicly,” confirming that, with the license, you can sell at farmers’ markets, farm stands, retail stores, and by wholesale distribution statewide, alongside direct sales from home (regulations.justia.com, Section 7). A farmers’-market or fair booth may separately need a mobile vendor license. Neither the statute nor Chapter 345 addresses shipping or online sales specifically; a product crossing state lines falls under the same federal food-safety and labeling law as a shipment leaving any other state.

Separately, the Maine Food Sovereignty Act (7 M.R.S. §§ 281–286, enacted 2017, amended by PL 2021, c. 625) lets a municipality adopt a local ordinance recognizing “direct producer-to-consumer transactions” (sales directly between producer and consumer at a farmers’ market, roadside stand, or buying club), with the state agreeing not to enforce conflicting food-licensing law where an ordinance covers it (§284; legislature.maine.gov, Title 7 Chapter 8-F). It’s a town-by-town opt-in, not a statewide substitute for the DACF license: direct sales only, inside an adopting municipality, with no exemption for wholesale, retail, or meat and poultry (§285).

What has to be on the label

Chapter 345 requires a label whenever a product is sold to a store, distributed wholesale, or marketed publicly. A direct sale from the home itself doesn’t. When a label is required, it needs:

The common or usual name of the product
Ingredients listed in order of predominance (descending order by weight)
Net weight or numerical count
The name, address, and zip code of the producer, manufacturer, or distributor

(regulations.justia.com, Chapter 345, Section 7)

Chapter 345 doesn’t prescribe a “made in a home kitchen” statement or any other home-processed disclosure, and it doesn’t itself list allergen disclosure as a state-rule requirement, so there’s no verbatim disclaimer to quote.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

The home food license is a kitchen-safety and identity-labeling framework, not FDA nutrition labeling. The two run on separate tracks. If you sell plain baked goods, jams, or pickles with no nutrient or health claim, your label generally doesn’t need a Nutrition Facts panel, retail and wholesale sales included, because 21 CFR 101.9(j) exempts food from businesses below the federal small-business sales thresholds. That exemption ends the moment a claim shows up anywhere a customer can see it (“low sugar” on a jar, “high protein” on a farmers’-market sign, even in an Instagram caption), which then needs real numbers in a compliant 21 CFR 101.9 format. Crossing the federal volume thresholds has the same effect, regardless of what the Maine license allows.

That’s where NutriLabels fits once either happens, and since your Maine license already reaches store shelves, a ready panel keeps a “low sugar” jar from being pulled back. Enter your recipe, then see your label: your calories, 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 compare Maine with other states’ cottage food laws.

Maine cottage food FAQ

How much does a Maine home food processor license cost?

$20 a year, per the Chapter 330 license-fee schedule (regulations.justia.com), plus an initial kitchen inspection before DACF issues the license.

Does Maine require a kitchen inspection for home food processors?

Yes. Chapter 345 requires DACF to inspect the premises before it issues or renews a license, checking things like a two-bay sanitizing sink, a 45°F refrigerator, and screened windows (regulations.justia.com, Section 8; maine.gov, Home Food License 101).

Is there a revenue cap for Maine home food processors?

No. Neither Title 22 §2167 nor Chapter 345 sets a sales-dollar limit; the license restricts what foods you can make, not how much you can sell.

Can a Maine home food processor sell wholesale or in stores?

Yes. Chapter 345's labeling section explicitly covers products \"sold to stores, distributed wholesale, or marketed publicly,\" so with the license you can sell at retail and wholesale, not just direct to consumers.

What is Maine's Food Sovereignty Act and does it replace the state license?

The Maine Food Sovereignty Act (7 M.R.S. §§ 281–286) lets a municipality adopt a local ordinance exempting direct producer-to-consumer sales inside that town from most state food licensing. It's a town-by-town opt-in, not a statewide substitute for the DACF license, and it doesn't cover selling outside that municipality.

When does a Maine home food processor need a real Nutrition Facts panel?

The home food license covers kitchen safety and labeling basics, not FDA nutrition labeling. A nutrient content or health claim, or growing past the federal small-business exemption thresholds in 21 CFR 101.9(j), brings the standard panel into play regardless of what the state license allows.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: New Hampshire. See the full state-by-state table.

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