Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
New York’s Home Processor exemption, run by the Department of Agriculture and Markets under Agriculture & Markets Law Article 20-C, lets you register for free, skip a kitchen inspection, and sell an approved list of low-risk foods with no revenue cap. The label rule that matters most: there’s no single mandatory disclaimer sentence, but every label needs a phrase identifying the product as home-made, in type at least 1/16 inch tall, alongside the standard name, ingredients, net weight, and allergen information. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once you make a nutrient content or health claim, ship a product out of state, or otherwise cross into standard FDA labeling territory.
| Quick facts | New York |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | None |
| Permit or registration | Registration required, free |
| Sales channels | Direct, in-state online, retail & wholesale |
| Online sales | In-state only |
| Required label statement | “No single fixed sentence. Labels must add a phrase identifying the product as home-made, such as \"Made at Home by [name],\" \"Made in the Home Kitchen of [name],\" or \"Made in a Home Kitchen,\" in type at least 1/16 inch tall.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim or sell out of state |
| Administered by | New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection |
| Governing law | N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law § 251-z(4) (Home Processor Exemption) |
What New York lets you sell from home
The department’s Home Processor list covers shelf-stable baked and dry goods: breads, rolls, biscuits, bagels, muffins, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, scones, double-crust fruit pies, jams and jellies made from high-acid fruit, dry-good repacking (spices, herbs, dried vegetables, soup mixes, dried fruit), baking mixes, fudge, popcorn and caramel corn, granola, trail mix, waffle cones, toffee and caramel apples, and similar sugar confections, crackers, and pretzels (agriculture.ny.gov, Home Processing). Prohibited items include anything needing refrigeration, cream cheese or buttercream frostings, vegetable breads, alcohol-containing products, no-bake items, pickles, sauces and salsas, tempered chocolate coatings, raw nuts, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, and beverages. The dividing line is the usual one: does the product need refrigeration or a pathogen-kill step it doesn’t get. If so, it falls outside the exemption and needs a licensed commercial kitchen instead.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There’s no license fee. You submit the Home Processor Registration Request form (FSI-898c) to the Division of Food Safety and Inspection, listing up to 10 proposed products for approval and agreeing to follow the department’s exempt home-processing provisions (agriculture.ny.gov, registration form). If you’re on a private well, the request needs a water potability test, no more than three months old, showing negative results for total coliform and E. coli. The department currently advises allowing up to 16 weeks to process a request, and registration is tied to the specific kitchen location, so moving means reapplying. Neither the statute nor the department’s guidance sets a revenue cap; the constraint is the approved food list and sales channels, not dollars sold. The department expanded the program in April 2018, permitting retail and online sales alongside direct sales, and nearly doubling the approved product list with 19 additions such as dehydrated vegetables, trail mix, and toffee apples (agriculture.ny.gov, news release).
Where you can sell
New York’s Home Processor exemption is broader on sales channels than most states’ cottage food laws: products can move at wholesale and retail, including agricultural venues like farms, farm stands, farmers markets, green markets, craft fairs and flea markets, plus home delivery and the internet (agriculture.ny.gov, Home Processing). The one hard line is geography: every sale has to land inside New York State. Internet sales go only to New York buyers, and the department’s guidance says directly that shipping out of state isn’t permitted. Once registered, you can put your product on a local store’s shelf without a separate commercial license, but the moment an order crosses state lines, the exemption no longer covers it.
What has to be on the label
Per the department’s Home Processor guidance, every label needs:
- The common or usual name of the product
- Ingredients listed in descending order by weight
- Net quantity of contents
- Your name and full address (street address or PO box, city, state, ZIP)
- All allergens clearly identified in the ingredient statement. New York’s guidance names the same nine covered by federal law: eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and sesame
- A phrase identifying the product as home-made
There’s no single verbatim sentence the statute or the department’s guidance requires. Instead, the department gives example phrasing:
“Made at Home by [name],” or “Made in the Home Kitchen of [name],” or “Made in a Home Kitchen”
(New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Home Processing guidance, FSI-898D)
That phrase has to appear in type at least 1/16 inch tall, the one type-size rule the guidance specifies, and it applies to this phrase, not the whole label.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
The Home Processor exemption covers food-safety licensing, not FDA nutrition labeling. The two run on separate tracks. If you sell plain baked goods or jams with no nutrient or health claim, you generally don’t need a Nutrition Facts panel at all, in-state retail and wholesale included, which is part of what makes this exemption workable if you have a store account. What ends the exemption is a claim: the moment a label, a shelf sign, or even an Instagram caption says something like “low sugar” or “high protein,” that statement needs real numbers in a compliant 21 CFR 101.9 format. Shipping out of state, or growing past the federal small-business thresholds for the nutrition-labeling exemption, are the other events that bring standard labeling into play.
A panel in hand before a store account asks for one keeps your next shelf conversation about price and placement. 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, plus the ingredient statement and allergen declaration; or send us the recipe and we build it (done-for-you, $249, within 5 business days). Start your label, or compare New York’s channels with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
New York cottage food FAQ
Do I need a permit to sell homemade food in New York?
You need to register as a Home Processor with the Department of Agriculture and Markets, but registration is free and the agency's own materials describe no fee and no routine kitchen inspection tied to it (agriculture.ny.gov).
Is there a revenue cap for New York home processors?
No. Neither Agriculture & Markets Law Article 20-C nor the department's Home Processor guidance sets a sales-dollar or unit limit, as of September 2026.
What exact wording does my New York home processor label need?
There isn't one fixed sentence. The label needs the product name, ingredients by weight, net quantity, your name and address, allergens, and a phrase identifying it as home-made. The department suggests wording like \"Made in a Home Kitchen\" in type at least 1/16 inch tall (agriculture.ny.gov).
Can I sell my New York home processor products online or ship them out of state?
Online sales are allowed, but only to buyers in New York. The department's guidance is explicit that shipping out of state is not permitted under the Home Processor exemption.
Can I sell my New York home processor products to a store?
Yes. Unlike many states' cottage food laws, New York's Home Processor rules allow wholesale and retail sales, including through stores, farm stands, and farmers markets, alongside direct sales.
When does New York require a real Nutrition Facts panel?
The Home Processor exemption covers labeling, not FDA nutrition labeling. A nutrient content or health claim, a move into interstate commerce, or crossing the federal small-business thresholds all bring the standard 21 CFR 101.9 panel into play.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont. See the full state-by-state table.