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Selling homemade food in New York means your label has to follow the New York Home Processor exemption (Home Processor Registration). 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:
The wording is not a fixed phrase: the rule requires “a phrase such as” one of these — “Made at Home by [name]”, “Made in the Home Kitchen of [name]”, or “Made in a Home Kitchen.” The minimum size is given in inches: “1/16th inch or larger” (≈ 1.6 mm, ~4.5 pt). No registration number is required on the label.
New York has no statute called a 'cottage food law'. Instead it has a Home Processor exemption: an exemption from the Article 20-C food processing establishment licence, granted by regulation under Agriculture and Markets Law § 251-z-4, which lets the Commissioner exempt small food processing establishments from licensing where consumer protection is not impaired. The exemption itself sits at 1 NYCRR 276.4(b): 'Processors of home-processed foods who sell or offer for sale such foods shall be exempt from the licensing requirements of article 20-C' provided the finished-product containers are clean, sanitary and properly labelled, the foods are neither adulterated nor misbranded, and glass containers for jams, jellies, marmalades and similar products carry suitable rigid metal covers. What counts as 'home processed food' is fixed by the definition at 1 NYCRR 276.3: any food processed in a private home or residence using only the ordinary kitchen facilities of that home or residence which are also used to prepare food for the owner, family, nonpaying guests and resident household and farm employees, but excluding potentially hazardous foods, thermally processed low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers (Part 277), and acidified foods packed in closed containers such as pickles and relishes. Two things follow. First, the kitchen must be an ordinary domestic kitchen in a private home that is also the household's own kitchen — not a separate commercial build-out; a separate build-out or a shared/incubator kitchen puts the operation back under Article 20-C. Second, the boundary is the food, not the turnover: 'potentially hazardous food' is defined in 276.3 as any perishable food consisting in whole or in part of milk or milk products, eggs, poultry, fish, shellfish or other ingredients capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms, and anything of that kind is outside the exemption. The Department of Agriculture and Markets asks home processors to register before selling, using the Home Processor Registration Request Form, and it publishes a closed list of approved products that operationalises the 276.3/276.4 boundary. Anything not on that list, or any finished product that requires refrigeration, needs a full Article 20-C licence instead.
Allowed:
Not allowed under the program:
No cap. Neither Agriculture and Markets Law § 251-z-4, 1 NYCRR 276.3, 1 NYCRR 276.4(b), nor the Department of Agriculture and Markets Home Processing page states any annual sales, revenue or volume limit for a home processor. Section 251-z-4 does authorise the Commissioner to classify exempt establishments by 'the volume and types of food handled', but the regulation actually adopted, 276.4(b), draws its line on food type, labelling and container closure rather than on dollars. New York's real ceilings are the approved-product list and the rule that everything must be sold inside the state.
Registration is handled by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235 (518-457-7139), registrations at agr.sm.HPRegistrations@agriculture.ny.gov.
Fee: None. The Department states there is currently no fee associated with the Home Processor registration.
Renewal: None on a fixed cycle. The Department states the Home Processor Registration does not currently have an expiration date. Moving to a different home requires a new application, and 1 NYCRR 276.4 conditions every exemption on continued compliance, so the exemption lapses in substance if the conditions stop being met.
No food handler certificate, food safety course or examination is required to register as a home processor. Neither Agriculture and Markets Law § 251-z-4, nor 1 NYCRR 276.4(b), nor the Department's Home Processing page imposes a training requirement; the conditions attached to the exemption are about the food, the labelling, the containers and the water supply.
There is no pre-approval inspection of the home kitchen and no routine inspection schedule. The Department states that home processor kitchens are reviewed on a complaint basis only. That does not remove the Department's authority: 1 NYCRR 276.4 provides that the Commissioner may conduct inspections regardless of exempt status, and it makes every exemption conditional on continued compliance with the conditions attached to it. The substantive standards that survive the exemption are that the foods must be neither adulterated nor misbranded and that finished-product containers must be clean, sanitary and properly labelled — so a mislabelled or unsafe product is actionable even though nobody inspected the kitchen in advance. Where the water is from a private well, the potability test submitted with the application is the Department's check on the water supply.
The Home Processor exemption is granted by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and is a state-level exemption from a state licence; it does not by itself displace municipal law. Two layers commonly apply on top. Local zoning and any homeowner or landlord restrictions govern whether a home-based food business, and any customer traffic to the home, is allowed at that address at all. And the exemption only covers making and packaging shelf-stable food at home for sale elsewhere — it does not authorise operating a food service establishment, which is permitted by the local health department (or, in New York City, by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene). Venue operators add their own layer: farmers markets, craft fairs and green markets routinely ask to see the home processor registration letter before allocating a stall. The precise conditions any individual county health department or New York City imposes on home processors selling within their jurisdiction were not confirmed from a primary source for this entry.
Program sources: New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection, 'Home Processing' — approved and prohibited product lists, labelling, well water test, registration and FAQ — https://agriculture.ny.gov/food-safety/home-processing · N.Y. Agriculture and Markets Law § 251-z-4, Exemptions (authority for the Commissioner to exempt small food processing establishments from Article 20-C licensing) — https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/AGM/251-Z-4 · 1 NYCRR 276.3, Definitions ('home processed food', 'potentially hazardous food'), Cornell LII reproduction — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/1-NYCRR-276.3 · 1 NYCRR 276.4(b), Exemptions — processors of home-processed foods exempt from Article 20-C licensing, with labelling, adulteration and rigid metal cover conditions, Cornell LII reproduction — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/1-NYCRR-276.4 · 1 NYCRR Chapter VI, Subchapter F, Part 276, Food Processing Establishments (part index) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/title-1/chapter-VI/subchapter-F/part-276 · New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, 'Registration for 20-C Exempt Food Processing Establishment' form and Guidance for Shared Use Kitchens (FSI 1/11/2023) — read for the Article 20-C licensing boundary around shared and incubator kitchens; it is NOT the home processor form — https://agriculture.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/02/article20cexemptionform.pdf
New York runs a "Home Processing" exemption from the Article 20-C food-processing license (1 NYCRR Part 276; Article 17 Ag & Markets Law). You submit a Home Processor Registration Request to qualify, but it is an exemption, not a paid permit, and there is currently no fee and no annual sales cap. The defining NY restriction is geographic: internet/mail sales are allowed within New York State only — shipping product out of state is not permitted. Allowed foods are narrow shelf-stable items (baked goods, high-acid jams/jellies, certain candies, granola, repackaged commercial dry goods); notably NY prohibits pickles, sauces, cheese, meat, beverages, cream-filled pastry, melted-chocolate coatings, and raw nuts. No food-handler or manager card is required.
NY's exemption permits online orders only within New York State. Filling an out-of-state order — even one — falls outside the exemption. Sellers who list on national marketplaces routinely break this rule without realizing it.
The label must carry "Made at Home by [name]" (or similar) in a font 1/16 inch or larger, plus product name, ingredients in descending weight order, net quantity, your full address, and allergen declaration. Under-size or omitted home-kitchen wording is a common rejection.
NY bans anything needing refrigeration, plus pickles, sauces, vegetable breads, cheese, meat, beverages, cream-filled pastries, chocolate-coated items using melted chocolate, and raw (non-commercial) nuts. Zucchini bread, hot sauce, and refrigerated frostings are frequent mistakes.
The exemption becomes null and void if you also operate a licensed food business, and private-well users must submit a water test with the registration. Sellers who scale into a commercial license lose home-processing coverage for their kitchen output.
Timeline: Often just a few weeks — much faster than permit states because there is no mandatory pre-sale inspection. Steps: (1) confirm your product is on NY's allowed list; (2) if on a private well, obtain a water test; (3) design a compliant label with the 1/16-inch "Made at Home by" wording and allergen statement; (4) submit the Home Processor Registration Request form by email or mail to NY Ag & Markets; (5) once accepted you may sell within New York State.
Cost: $0 — no permit required. NY's official page states there is currently no fee for Home Processor registration. Only real out-of-pocket costs are label printing and, for private-well homes, a water test.
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Make my New York label →New York requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “Made in a Home Kitchen.” It must be set at a minimum of 45-point type.
No. New York does not require a permit or registration number printed 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 at a minimum of 45-point type (see below).
Registration in New York goes through New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235 (518-457-7139), registrations at agr.sm.HPRegistrations@agriculture.ny.gov. Check the product against the Department's approved home processed foods list and against the 1 NYCRR 276.3 definition; anything potentially hazardous, refrigerated, acidified or off-list needs an Article 20-C licence instead. Complete the Home Processor Registration Request Form published on the Department's Home Processing page. If the home is on a private well, obtain a potability test from a certified laboratory for Total Coliform and E. coli and attach a copy of the results showing negative or absent results; the Department states a water analysis for total coliforms from a certified laboratory must accompany the application before registration can be issued. Submit the form, with the water test results where applicable, by email to agr.sm.HPRegistrations@agriculture.ny.gov or by post to Food Safety and Inspection, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235.
Allowed: Breads, rolls and cinnamon rolls (high acid fruits and commercially dried fruits or herbs allowed; vegetables prohibited); Biscuits, bagels, muffins and scones (high acid fruits and dried fruits or herbs allowed; no vegetables); Doughnuts, with no cream fillings; Cookies, brownies, baklava and biscotti (no chocolate or candy melts used as a topping); Cakes, cupcakes and cake pops, with no homemade buttercream or cream cheese frostings; Double-crust fruit pies; Fruit jams, jellies and marmalades made with high acid, low pH fruits (glass jars must have suitable rigid metal covers under 1 NYCRR 276.4(b)); Repacking or blending of commercially dried spices and herbs; repackaging of dried or dehydrated vegetables, dried soup mixes and dried fruit; Repackaging and blending of dry ingredients for baking mixes; seasoning salt; Fudge, sugar confections such as toffees, caramels and hard candies, and toffee or caramel apples (chocolate and candy melts prohibited); Popcorn and caramel corn, and Rice Krispies treats (no chocolate or candy melt topping); Peanut brittle, granola, granola bars and trail mix, all using commercially roasted nuts.
No cap. Neither Agriculture and Markets Law § 251-z-4, 1 NYCRR 276.3, 1 NYCRR 276.4(b), nor the Department of Agriculture and Markets Home Processing page states any annual sales, revenue or volume limit for a home processor. Section 251-z-4 does authorise the Commissioner to classify exempt establishments by 'the volume and types of food handled', but the regulation actually adopted, 276.4(b), draws its line on food type, labelling and container closure rather than on dollars. New York's real ceilings are the approved-product list and the rule that everything must be sold inside the state.
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: 1 NYCRR Part 276 (1 CRR-NY 276.4), Article 17 N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law; NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets — Home Processor (FSI-898d). Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.