Proofsheet

Cottage food label requirements in Kentucky

Home-based Processors (and Home-based Microprocessors), KRS 217.015 (definition), KRS 217.136 (as amended by 2026 SB 73, Acts ch. 52, eff. July 15, 2026); 902 KAR 45:090. Regulated by Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch. Checked against state sources on .

Not fully verified. We could not confirm every detail for Kentucky on a primary state source when we checked. Treat these items as unconfirmed and check them with Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch before you print: disclaimerText, annualCapUSD, permitType, onlineSales/shipping/wholesale, requiredElements.

The statement your label needs

This product is home-produced and processed

Type size and placement: Statement in ten (10) point type

What is different in Kentucky

  • Home-based microprocessors (separate category) must grow a predominant ingredient and can make acidified foods after UK training
  • 2026 SB 73 added pork lard or tallow-based cosmetic products to the home-based processor definition
  • Products lacking the required label are deemed misbranded
Permit
Registration required. Registration with the Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch (form DFS-250) with a $50 fee; expires March 31 each year, renewable with $50 annual fee. Inspection only upon complaint.
Sales cap
$60,000 a year. $60,000 annual gross income limit added by 2019 HB 468 (Acts ch. 181); not confirmed in current statute text.
Where you can sell
Directly to consumers within Kentucky, including from the home-based processor's home.
Online orders
Not addressed clearly by state sources
Ship in state
Not addressed clearly by state sources
Ship out of state
No
Sell to shops / cafés
Not addressed clearly by state sources
Allowed foods
Non-potentially hazardous foods such as bread, cakes, cookies, candy, nuts, dried herbs, and jams and jellies; low-acid, low-sugar and savory jams and jellies go through the UK Microprocessing program. Since July 15, 2026 also pork lard or tallow-based cosmetic products.

What a Kentucky cottage food label must show

  1. Name and address of the home-based processor
  2. Common name of the product
  3. Ingredients
  4. Net weight or volume
  5. Date of processing
  6. The required statement (above)
  7. Allergen information as specified by 21 U.S.C. 343(w)

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). Kentucky’s sources do not clearly address online orders — ask the agency before you set up a web shop. Shipping within the state is not clearly addressed, and products may not cross state lines.

Make a Kentucky label now

The Kentucky 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.

List by weight in the recipe, largest first, with sub-ingredients in parentheses. The workbench does this ordering for you from a recipe.
Contains (major food allergens)

Still missing: business name and address.

Print at 100% scale with no margins. Check the result against Kentucky’s rules above before selling.

Chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin), butter (cream), brown sugar, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt.
Contains: Milk, Egg, Wheat, Soy.
Net Wt 3 oz (85 g)
This product is home-produced and processed

True size. Kentucky statement at 10 pt minimum.

Kentucky cottage food questions

What statement has to be on a Kentucky cottage food label?

Kentucky requires: “This product is home-produced and processed” (Statement in ten (10) point type).

Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from home in Kentucky?

Registration required. Registration with the Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch (form DFS-250) with a $50 fee; expires March 31 each year, renewable with $50 annual fee. Inspection only upon complaint.

Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Kentucky?

Yes: $60,000 in gross sales a year. $60,000 annual gross income limit added by 2019 HB 468 (Acts ch. 181); not confirmed in current statute text.

Can I sell cottage food online or ship it in Kentucky?

Kentucky’s sources do not clearly address online orders — ask the agency before you set up a web shop. Shipping within the state is not clearly addressed, and products may not cross state lines.

Sources

  1. KRS 217.136 (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission) (statute)
  2. 902 KAR 45:090 Home-based processors and farmers market home-based microprocessors (regulation)
  3. 2026 SB 73 bill record (Acts ch. 52) (statute)
  4. KY CHFS Food Safety Branch: Home-based Processing (agency)

Checked October 18, 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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