Cottage food label requirements in Illinois
Cottage Food Operations (Home-to-Market Act), 410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act), as amended by P.A. 102-0633 (eff. Jan. 1, 2022). Regulated by Local (county/municipal) health departments; Illinois Department of Public Health sets guidance. Checked against state sources on .
Not fully verified. We could not confirm every detail for Illinois on a primary state source when we checked. Treat these items as unconfirmed and check them with Local (county/municipal) health departments; Illinois Department of Public Health sets guidance before you print: disclaimerText, statuteCitation.
The statement your label needs
This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department.
Type size and placement: Featured prominently / in prominent lettering on the main label; must be legible. Point-of-sale placard (min 8 x 10 in per IDPH guide) and online notice also required.
What is different in Illinois
- Register with the local health department, not the state; fee max $50, annual
- Certified Food Protection Manager certificate required (food handler card not enough)
- Only non-potentially hazardous food may be shipped, in-state only, with tamper-evident seal
- Placard at physical sales and notice on online sales interface required
- LHD may grant a labeling exemption (e.g. wedding cakes) with written notice instead
- Permit
- Registration required. Register annually with the local health department where you reside; fee capped at $50 by law. Operator and anyone preparing/packaging food must hold an ANSI-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager certificate. No routine inspection; LHD may inspect on cause. Submit a label per product category.
- Sales cap
- No annual sales cap found in state sources
- Where you can sell
- Direct to consumers within Illinois: farmers markets, delivery, fairs/festivals/events, online, pickup from home or farm, third-party private property with owner consent.
- Online orders
- Yes
- Ship in state
- Yes
- Ship out of state
- No
- Sell to shops / cafés
- No
- Allowed foods
- All food and drink except prohibited items (meat, poultry, fish, most dairy and egg uses, custard/cream/pumpkin pies and cheesecake, low-acid canned foods, sprouts, cut tomato/melon, wild mushrooms, alcohol, kombucha, etc.). Acidified/fermented foods and canned tomatoes need approved recipe or pH testing/food safety plan.
What a Illinois cottage food label must show
- Name of the cottage food operation and unit of local government where it is located
- Registration number from the local health department and the municipality or county where registration was filed
- Common or usual name of the food product
- All ingredients incl. color, artificial flavor and preservative, in descending order of predominance by weight
- Net weight
- The required statement (above), featured prominently
- Date the product was processed
- Allergen labeling as specified in federal labeling requirements
Federal rules still apply on top: ingredients in descending order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the nine major allergens declared by name (FALCPA and the FASTER Act), and net quantity in ounces and grams (21 CFR 101.7). Illinois allows cottage food orders online or by phone. Shipping within the state is allowed, and products may not cross state lines.
Make a Illinois label now
The Illinois statement is already on it. Type your ingredients, tick the allergens and print on Avery sheets or a thermal roll. To have the ingredient order and allergens worked out from a costed recipe, use the workbench.
Still missing: business name and address.
Print at 100% scale with no margins. Check the result against Illinois’s rules above before selling.
True size. Illinois statement.
Illinois cottage food questions
What statement has to be on a Illinois cottage food label?
Illinois requires: “This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department.” (Featured prominently / in prominent lettering on the main label; must be legible. Point-of-sale placard (min 8 x 10 in per IDPH guide) and online notice also required).
Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from home in Illinois?
Registration required. Register annually with the local health department where you reside; fee capped at $50 by law. Operator and anyone preparing/packaging food must hold an ANSI-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager certificate. No routine inspection; LHD may inspect on cause. Submit a label per product category.
Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Illinois?
No annual cap appears in the state sources we checked. No sales cap (earlier caps no longer apply).
Can I sell cottage food online or ship it in Illinois?
Illinois allows cottage food orders online or by phone. Shipping within the state is allowed, and products may not cross state lines.
Sources
- IDPH: Cottage Food (agency)
- IDPH/U of I Extension: 2024 Cottage Food Guide (agency)
- IDPH: Cottage Food Labeling checklist (12/26/2025) (agency)
Checked October 17, 2026. This is a checklist built from the sources above, not legal advice. Rules change; your county or the agency has the final word. Spotted something out of date? The about page explains how we check.
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