# Cottage food label requirements in California

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with your county environmental health department before printing labels. Last checked 2026-08-05.

## What goes on the label

1. The product name, in words a customer would use.
2. Every ingredient, heaviest first.
3. The major allergens, called out separately from the ingredient list.
4. Who made it: your name or your business name.
5. How to reach you.
6. The date it was made.

## The required statement

As published for California:

> Made in a Home Kitchen

Published as fixed text: reproduce it exactly.
Minimum type size: 12 point.

## Other requirements

- Repackaged in a Home Kitchen - use this instead of "Made in a Home Kitchen" where applicable, together with a description of any purchased whole ready-to-eat product not used as an ingredient
- Advertising, including online and social media, must state the county of approval, the permit or registration number, and "Made in a Home Kitchen" or "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" as applicable

## Enforcement

Set centrally, enforced locally, so your own office's answer is the one that counts.
Find yours: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DRSEM/CDPH%20Document%20Library/EMB/REHS/EH_Dept_Contact_List_050925.pdf

## Detail

12-point type applies specifically to the "Made in a Home Kitchen" / "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" statement, and it must sit on the product's PRIMARY DISPLAY PANEL - not the back, not the ingredient panel. This is the strictest placement-plus-size rule of the five states here and the easiest one to get wrong in a label template. The rest of the label: the common or usual (or adequately descriptive) name of the product; the name of the cottage food operation; the registration or permit number WITH THE NAME OF THE COUNTY of the issuing agency; and ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight if there are two or more. Labels must also comply with the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which pulls in federal allergen declaration. California is state law (Health and Safety Code 114365.2, the 2012 Homemade Food Act) enforced entirely at county level - Class A is a self-certification registration, Class B allows indirect sales and requires an inspection.

## Sources

- Authority: Your county environmental health department (the local enforcement agency that issues the Class A registration or Class B permit). CDPH writes the rule but does not register operators.
- Rule: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=114365.2