Proofsheet

Cottage food label requirements in Montana

Cottage Food Operations (alternative: Montana Local Food Choice Act), MCA 50-50-116; ARM 37.110.504; Local Food Choice Act MCA 50-49-201 et seq.. Regulated by Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (registration through local environmental health offices). Checked against state sources on .

The statement your label needs

Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.

Type size and placement: printed in at least the equivalent of 11-point font size, in a color that clearly contrasts with the background, conspicuously placed on the principal label

What is different in Montana

  • Alternative path: Local Food Choice Act (2021, updated 2023) exempts homemade food sold to an 'informed end consumer' in Montana from licensing and labeling
  • Under the Local Food Choice Act the producer must inform buyers the food is not licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled or inspected
  • Cottage food registration is a one-time $40 fee
  • Unpackaged cakes: label info goes on the invoice delivered with the cake
  • No consignment or sales to retail food establishments
Permit
Registration required. Register with the local environmental health office; one-time $40 fee, paid again if you move or add recipes/labels. Proposed label submitted with application; private wells need coliform and nitrate test. No inspection unless complaint or illness investigation. Not needed if only selling farmers' market exempt items at farmers' markets.
Sales cap
No annual sales cap found in state sources
Where you can sell
Face-to-face directly to the consumer: from home, farmers' markets, bazaars, small venues; within Montana only. Local ordinances may restrict home sales.
Online orders
Orders online or by phone, delivered in person
Ship in state
No
Ship out of state
No
Sell to shops / cafés
No
Allowed foods
Only department-approved non-potentially hazardous foods listed in the registration, such as baked goods, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters and dry spice blends. No fermented foods, freezer jams, cream or pumpkin pies, cheesecake, dairy, eggs or pet treats.

What a Montana cottage food label must show

  1. Name and address of the cottage food operation
  2. Name of the product
  3. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
  4. Net quantity
  5. Allergen labeling per federal and state requirements
  6. Nutrition labeling if a nutritional claim is made
  7. The required statement (above)

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). Montana lets you take orders online or by phone, but the food must be handed over in person (pickup or your own delivery). Mailing or shipping is not allowed, and products may not cross state lines.

Make a Montana label now

The Montana 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 Montana’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)
Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.

True size. Montana statement at 11 pt minimum.

Montana cottage food questions

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

Montana requires: “Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.” (printed in at least the equivalent of 11-point font size, in a color that clearly contrasts with the background, conspicuously placed on the principal label).

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

Registration required. Register with the local environmental health office; one-time $40 fee, paid again if you move or add recipes/labels. Proposed label submitted with application; private wells need coliform and nitrate test. No inspection unless complaint or illness investigation. Not needed if only selling farmers' market exempt items at farmers' markets.

Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Montana?

No annual cap appears in the state sources we checked. No sales cap in MCA 50-50-116.

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

Montana lets you take orders online or by phone, but the food must be handed over in person (pickup or your own delivery). Mailing or shipping is not allowed, and products may not cross state lines.

Sources

  1. MCA 50-50-116 Cottage food operations (statute)
  2. MT DPHHS: Cottage Food FAQ (agency)
  3. MT DPHHS: Montana Local Food Choice Act Guidance (Oct 2023) (agency)
  4. Permit or registration page (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.

Tell us what to build next

Everything in Proofsheet is free during the beta. Leave your email and pick the feature you would pay for; we will write when it ships.

We only use your email for updates about this tool. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy.