Proofsheet

Cottage food label requirements in New Hampshire

Homestead Food Operations, RSA 143-A:12 (as amended by 2025 ch. 28 / HB 304, eff. July 13, 2025, and 2025 ch. 193 / HB 505, eff. Nov 12, 2025); He-P 2300. Regulated by New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Food Protection Section. Checked against state sources on .

Not fully verified. We could not confirm every detail for New Hampshire on a primary state source when we checked. Treat these items as unconfirmed and check them with New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Food Protection Section before you print: disclaimerText, disclaimerMinFont, permitNotes, shippingInState, annualCapUSD.

The statement your label needs

This product is exempt from New Hampshire licensing and inspection.

No type-size rule stated for the statement; keep it clearly legible.

What is different in New Hampshire

  • Licensed operations must instead state: "This product is made in a residential food production area licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services."
  • Internet and mail-order sales require a Homestead Food License
  • QR-code ingredient option (2025) only for sales from the home or own farm stand, with a physical ingredient sign
  • Exempt products may be sold at retail food stores
Permit
Depends on your county, town or tier. No license or inspection for non-potentially hazardous food sold from the home, own farm stand, farmers' markets or retail food stores. A Homestead Food License (RSA 143-A:4) is required for sales to restaurants, over the Internet, by mail order, or to wholesalers/distributors, and (since Nov 2025) for freeze-dried foods.
Sales cap
No annual sales cap found in state sources
Where you can sell
Exempt: from the homestead residence, own farm stand, farmers' markets, and retail food stores. Licensed: also restaurants, Internet, mail order, wholesalers.
Online orders
Yes
Ship in state
Yes
Ship out of state
Not addressed clearly by state sources
Sell to shops / cafés
Limited
Allowed foods
Exempt operations: non-potentially hazardous foods only. Freeze-dried fruits, vegetables and commercially prepared dairy products require a license (HB 505, 2025).

What a New Hampshire cottage food label must show

  1. Name, physical or e-mail address, and phone number of the homestead food operation
  2. Name of the homestead food product
  3. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight (home/farm-stand sales may instead use a QR code or website plus a physical ingredient sign at the display)
  4. Allergy information
  5. The required statement (above); licensed operations use the licensed statement instead

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). New Hampshire allows cottage food orders online or by phone. Shipping within the state is allowed, and shipping to other states is not addressed (selling across state lines also brings in federal rules).

Make a New Hampshire label now

The New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire’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 exempt from New Hampshire licensing and inspection.

True size. New Hampshire statement.

New Hampshire cottage food questions

What statement has to be on a New Hampshire cottage food label?

New Hampshire requires: “This product is exempt from New Hampshire licensing and inspection.”.

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

Depends on your county, town or tier. No license or inspection for non-potentially hazardous food sold from the home, own farm stand, farmers' markets or retail food stores. A Homestead Food License (RSA 143-A:4) is required for sales to restaurants, over the Internet, by mail order, or to wholesalers/distributors, and (since Nov 2025) for freeze-dried foods.

Is there a sales limit for cottage food in New Hampshire?

No annual cap appears in the state sources we checked. No sales cap in RSA 143-A:12.

Can I sell cottage food online or ship it in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire allows cottage food orders online or by phone. Shipping within the state is allowed, and shipping to other states is not addressed (selling across state lines also brings in federal rules).

Sources

  1. NH HB 304 (2025), Chapter 28, amending RSA 143-A:12 (statute)
  2. NH HB 505 (2025), Chapter 193, amending RSA 143-A:12 (statute)
  3. RSA 143-A:12 (NH General Court) (statute)
  4. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Food Protection Section (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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