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Selling homemade food in New Jersey means your label has to follow the New Jersey Cottage Food Operator Permit — N.J.A.C. 8:24-11, adopted at 53 N.J.R. 1711(a), effective 4 October 2021. New Jersey legalised home food sales last, and it did so with a permit rather than an exemption: $100.00 to apply, valid two years from the date of issuance, $100.00 to renew, with the renewal application due at least 45 days before expiry. The application requires a certificate showing you are a food protection manager in good standing from an accredited program, plus evidence of potable water — your most recent water bill on a municipal supply, or a microbiological analysis taken within 60 days if you are on a well. Production must happen in the private kitchen of your residence and nowhere else. Gross annual sales, before deductions of taxes and operating expenses, may not exceed $50,000. Sales are direct to the consumer only: your home (not for eating on site), the consumer’s home if it is in New Jersey, a New Jersey farmers’ market or farm stand, and New Jersey temporary retail food establishments. Wholesale, retail food establishments, delivery to anyone who is not the consumer, postal mail, common carrier and any sale outside New Jersey are prohibited — the internet may carry the order and the payment, never the food. Here is exactly what that label must show in 2026 — the required fields, the allergen rule, and the verbatim disclaimer and its font size — sourced to the statute and dated.
Print this statement on the label, word for word:
No minimum type size exists anywhere in the subchapter, so no point value is claimed; the only typographic requirement, « conspicuous and unobstructed display », governs the point-of-sale notice rather than the label. The sentence is verbatim: the rule prints it in quotation marks and it names the rule number, so a label that says « not inspected by the Department of Health » without the N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 citation is not the required statement. Two items catch people out far more often than the disclaimer does: the label must carry your Cottage Food Operator Permit NUMBER, and the MUNICIPALITY where you prepare the food followed by « New Jersey » or « NJ » — and that municipality must match the one the Department has on record as your residence. Second heads-up: New Jersey does not name net weight among its six items, unlike almost every other state. Print it anyway.
NJ was the last U.S. state to allow home-based food sales — its Cottage Food Operator Permit only exists because of a 2021 NJ Supreme Court ruling — and unlike pure-exemption states it REQUIRES a state-issued permit number ("CFO#") printed on every label. The mandated disclaimer literally cites the regulation ("prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11"), so the citation is part of the required wording, not optional boilerplate.
Unlike exemption states, NJ requires an actual Cottage Food Operator Permit (Form CFO-1) and the permit NUMBER ("CFO#") must appear on the label. You cannot sell legally, or print a compliant label, until the permit is issued — and review runs about 16 weeks, so start early.
The label must show the town/municipality where the food is prepared followed by "NJ" (e.g. "Bakersfield, NJ") — not a full street address. Printing a different town or a full street address is a mismatch that can invalidate the label.
People shorten it to "made in a home kitchen." NJ's required text specifically reads "...prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health." Dropping the citation or the "not been inspected" clause makes it non-compliant.
The rule fixes the exact words but not a minimum type size. Do not invent one; keep the disclaimer clearly legible and conspicuous. Remember the same disclaimer + permit info must also appear on signage at farmers'-market-style venues.
Timeline: Form CFO-1 is downloaded, completed with a product questionnaire, and emailed as PDFs to cfo@doh.nj.gov. Official review takes APPROXIMATELY 16 WEEKS (not a few weeks), and pauses if the Department requests more information. Once the Cottage Food Operator Permit number is issued you can finalize labels immediately. Permit is generally valid 24 months (biennial renewal).
Cost: $100 non-refundable application fee for the Cottage Food Operator Permit (covers processing and professional review by a state specialist); label printing is your only additional out-of-pocket. Confirm the current fee with NJ DOH.
Cottage food laws get revised, and a new disclaimer or font size can quietly make your label non-compliant. Leave your email and we'll write to you only when New Jersey's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my New Jersey label →New Jersey requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “this food is prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health.” The state sets no minimum point size for it.
Yes. In New Jersey the permit / registration number must appear on the label.
At minimum: product name — the common name of the food; your business / producer name; the address of the cottage food operation; a complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight (sub-ingredients included); an allergen declaration — the 9 major FDA allergens, in the ingredient list or a “Contains:” line; net weight, in US customary and metric units; the state's required disclaimer (see below); your permit / registration number; the municipality where you prepare the food, followed by the state — this is a separate item, not your street address.
No. CottageCompliance gives general information based on each state's published rules, dated to when we last verified them. Always confirm with your state or local agency before selling.
Source: N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 (Cottage Food Operator Permit), adopted by 53 N.J.R. 1711(a), effective 4 October 2021 — 11.1 application, 11.2 authorized activity, 11.3 prohibited activity and the $50,000 gross sales cap, 11.4 point-of-sale notice, packaging and labeling, 11.5 right of access, 11.6 fees and term. Cross-checked against the New Jersey Department of Health Cottage Food pages (rules summary and prohibited products). Reconfirm on nj.gov/health/cottagefood. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.