Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
North Dakota’s cottage food law is one of the most permissive in the country: you can make and sell cottage food products straight from your home kitchen with no license, no registration, no inspection, and no revenue cap (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(1)). The one thing the statute insists on is a specific disclaimer (as a sign at the point of sale or a label on the product) telling buyers the food came from an uninspected home kitchen. None of that touches federal nutrition labeling: a Nutrition Facts panel isn’t required unless your label makes a nutrient content or health claim, or your product moves into wholesale or retail.
| Quick facts | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | None |
| Permit or registration | None; no license, registration, or inspection |
| Sales channels | Direct to consumer, plus delivery; no retail |
| Online sales | Yes, if delivered directly to the consumer |
| Required label statement | “This product is made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the state or local health department.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim |
| Administered by | North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Lodging Program |
| Governing law | N.D.C.C. ch. 23-09.5 (Cottage Food Law) |
What North Dakota lets you sell from home
The statute’s baseline covers “baked goods, jams, jellies, and other food and drink products” made by a cottage food operator in a home kitchen (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-01). Administrative rule 33-33-10-02 fills in the edges: refrigerated or potentially hazardous items are excluded from the definition unless they fall into a short list of exceptions sold frozen: baked goods, dehydrated or freeze-dried fresh-cut produce, blanched and frozen fruits and vegetables, and uninspected raw poultry under the conditions below (ndlegis.gov/prod/acdata/pdf/33-33-10.pdf). Home-canned goods are allowed only if they’re high-acid or acidified, processed and canned in North Dakota, with the pH verified on a calibrated meter. Dairy is allowed only pasteurized and used as an ingredient, not sold on its own as a raw cottage food product. Wild-harvested mushrooms, alcoholic beverages, and anything not meant for human consumption are excluded outright.
Meat and fish generally can’t be sold uninspected (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(3)). Poultry is a narrow exception: you can sell uninspected poultry products only if you slaughtered no more than 1,000 birds you raised yourself that calendar year, don’t buy or resell others’ poultry, and the product isn’t adulterated or misbranded, and never in interstate commerce.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There isn’t one of either. North Dakota’s law, rooted in the 2017 “food freedom” act (HB 1433) and now codified at N.D.C.C. 23-09.5, expressly bars any state agency or political subdivision from requiring licensure, permitting, certification, or inspection of cottage food preparation or sale (23-09.5-02(1)). A 2019 attempt by the health department to narrow the law through administrative rulemaking (restricting canned goods and other products beyond what the statute itself said) was challenged and struck down in state court in 2020 for exceeding rulemaking authority (ndfoodfreedom.com/timeline); the current rule, Chapter 33-33-10, was adopted in January 2020 in that ruling’s wake. Most recently, SB 2386 (2025) reorganized the poultry provisions in 23-09.5-02(3) without changing the underlying 1,000-bird threshold (ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/bill-overview/bo2386.html). No dollar cap on gross sales has ever been part of the law.
Where you can sell
Sales must be directly between you and an “informed end consumer” (someone told the product isn’t licensed, regulated, or inspected) and can happen at a farm, ranch, farmers market, farm stand, home-based kitchen, or “any other venue not otherwise prohibited by law,” or through delivery (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(2)). That wording covers taking orders online or by phone and delivering directly to the buyer. What it doesn’t cover: routing product through a food establishment, food processing plant, or food store for someone else to sell. The statute blocks that outright, with an exception only for whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables (23-09.5-02(4)). Poultry products can’t be sold in interstate commerce under this exemption at all.
What has to be on the label
North Dakota’s statute is narrow here: it bars agencies from imposing their own packaging or labeling rules (23-09.5-02(1)), and then sets exactly two labeling requirements of its own:
- The required consumer disclaimer, below, as a sign at the point of sale or a label on the product
- For items that need refrigeration (cream-filled or custard-filled baked goods, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, cream cheese items), safe-handling instructions plus a disclosure that the product was transported and kept frozen
This product is made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the state or local health department.
(N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(8))
The statute sets no minimum type size or placement beyond “at the point of sale or on the product,” and unlike most states’ cottage food laws, it doesn’t separately mandate an ingredient list, allergen statement, net weight, or producer name and address. The statute still requires telling buyers the product isn’t certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated, or inspected (23-09.5-02(5)); listing ingredients, allergens, and your name is the practical way to do that and keep a buyer’s trust, even without a line item requiring it.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
North Dakota’s exemption doesn’t require a Nutrition Facts panel, and the state imposes no packaging rules of its own beyond the disclaimer. That exemption still runs into the same federal line every cottage food producer eventually hits: the moment a label, package, or even a social media caption makes a nutrient content claim (“high protein,” “low sugar”) or a health claim, FDA’s labeling rule under 21 CFR 101.9 applies regardless of how the product was made. The same is true the day your product moves from a farmers market table into wholesale or a retail shelf, that step exits the cottage food exemption and puts the product under standard federal labeling.
A panel you trust lets a co-packer or a retail buyer say yes to the product you already make. 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. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, the ingredient statement, the allergen declaration, and every FDA format your product qualifies for. Start your label whenever a claim, a co-packer, or a retailer’s shelf makes the panel necessary, or compare North Dakota with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Sources
North Dakota cottage food FAQ
Do I need a license to sell homemade food in North Dakota?
No. N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(1) bars any state agency or political subdivision from requiring licensure, permitting, certification, or inspection for cottage food sales (ndlegis.gov/cencode/t23c09-5.pdf).
Is there a sales limit for North Dakota cottage food producers?
No. North Dakota's statute sets no revenue cap, unlike most states' cottage food laws.
What has to be on a North Dakota cottage food label?
The statute requires one disclaimer, as a sign at the point of sale or a label on the product: "This product is made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the state or local health department" (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(8)). Refrigerated items add a safe-handling and frozen-transport disclosure.
Can I ship or deliver cottage food in North Dakota?
Yes. The statute allows transactions "through delivery" as long as the sale is still directly between the operator and the end consumer (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(2)); the product can't be routed through a store, food establishment, or processing plant.
Can I sell frozen items like cheesecake or cream pie under North Dakota's cottage food law?
Yes, but only frozen, with safe-handling instructions and a disclosure that the product was transported and kept frozen (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02(7); N.D. Admin. Code 33-33-10-02).
When does a North Dakota cottage food maker need a real Nutrition Facts label?
The exemption doesn't require one, but making a nutrient content claim (like "low sugar") or moving your product into wholesale or a retail store brings it under standard FDA labeling, 21 CFR 101.9.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana. See the full state-by-state table.