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Selling homemade food in Washington means your label has to follow the Washington Cottage Food Operation. 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 law requires “at least the equivalent of eleven-point font size in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background.” Note: the EXACT statutory wording is “…has not been subject to standard inspection criteria,” not “…by the Washington State Department of Agriculture” (an outdated / other-state phrasing). The permit number IS required on the label.
A cottage food operation in Washington is defined by RCW 69.22.010 as 'a person who produces cottage food products only in the home kitchen of that person's primary domestic residence in Washington and only for sale directly to the consumer.' Three elements of that definition do the work. The residence must be the operator's primary domestic residence: a single-family dwelling, or a dwelling unit in a multifamily dwelling, that a person actually lives in — communal or institutional settings, outbuildings, sheds and barns are excluded, so a detached garage kitchen or a rented commercial space does not qualify. The kitchen must be a home kitchen designed for residential use, and ordinary residential ovens and stovetops are exactly what the law contemplates: WAC 16-149-080(2) states that commercial stainless surfaces, commercial-grade sinks, dishwashers or ovens, and a kitchen separate from the family kitchen are NOT required. And the products must be nonpotentially hazardous, meaning foods that do not require time or temperature control to limit pathogen growth or toxin formation; no ingredient containing THC at 0.3 percent or above may be used. Unlike states with a pure exemption, Washington runs a permit programme: under RCW 69.22.030 no one may operate without a permit issued by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the permit is granted only after WSDA reviews the recipes and labels and inspects the home kitchen, and everyone who will handle food must already hold a valid food worker card. WAC 16-149-030 adds two prerequisites before applying: compliance with county and municipal zoning, and a Washington master business licence. Operating without a permit is a misdemeanour under RCW 69.22.090, with a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation per day. In exchange, RCW 69.22.100 exempts a permitted cottage food operation from the food processing plant law (chapter 69.07 RCW) and from permitting and inspection by the local health jurisdiction.
Allowed:
Not allowed under the program:
$35,000 in gross sales per calendar year. RCW 69.22.050 sets the maximum annual gross sales of cottage food products at $35,000 and specifies that the figure is computed on the basis of gross sales within or at a particular domestic residence, not on a per-person basis, so two people sharing one home share one cap. WAC 16-149-040(1), as amended effective 11 January 2024, repeats the same $35,000 figure: if gross sales during a calendar year exceed it, the operator must cease operations for the remainder of that permit period, or meet all requirements and obtain a food processing plant licence, or cease operations for that calendar year. Fees already paid are not refunded. WSDA may request written documentation to verify the annual gross sales figure, and WAC 16-149-100(1)(f) requires the operation to keep documentation of gross sales and of any off-site sale locations. The cap is not frozen: RCW 69.22.050 directs the department to review it every four years and, by expedited rulemaking, to increase it using that year's average consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the Seattle, Washington area. Both primary sources read on 16 August 2026 still state $35,000.
Registration is handled by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), Food Safety and Consumer Services Division — Food Safety Program, PO Box 42560, Olympia WA 98504-2560, cottagefoods@agr.wa.gov, (360) 902-1876.
Fee: $355 for the two-year permit, per the WSDA Food Safety Program presentation 'What is the Cottage Foods Permit?' (2025). The figure is the sum of the statutory components: WAC 16-149-060(2), citing RCW 69.22.030(1) and RCW 69.22.040(3), sets the fees at $75 for the public health review, $125 for each annual inspection, and $30 for processing the application and permit — with the permit running two years and an inspection each year, $75 + ($125 x 2) + $30 = $355. WSDA states that in July 2023 the permit length changed from one year to two and the fee changed from $230 a year to $355 every two years, a saving of $105 over two years. Fees are not refunded once the application has been received. Additional labels submitted later in the permit term cost $105 ($30 application plus $75 public health review), while new products or product changes submitted together with a renewal carry no extra fee. A second inspection after a failed one costs $125. A check returned by the bank carries a $25 handling fee.
Renewal: Every two years. Permits must be obtained every two years and expire two years from the last day of the month of issuance (WAC 16-149-060(7)); RCW 69.22.030(1) likewise requires renewal every two years, with the review, inspection and processing fees due again on renewal. The renewal application and fees must reach WSDA before the current permit expires; if they do, the old permit stays in force until WSDA either issues the renewal or denies it. If the operator does not file in time, the permit lapses on its expiration date and all cottage food production must stop (WAC 16-149-050(6)).
Yes — a food worker card is mandatory. WAC 16-149-030(1) requires an applicant to successfully complete a food safety training programme and hold a valid food worker card before a permit is issued, and RCW 69.22.030(1)(a) requires proof that every person involved in preparing cottage food products holds a food and beverage service worker's permit under chapter 69.06 RCW. The card is obtained from the local health department (the training and test are administered through the Washington State Department of Health food worker card system), and WSDA notes that a card is not valid until signed, so unsigned copies delay the application. A copy of the card of each person who will process food goes into the application packet under WAC 16-149-060(1)(h), copies must be kept on site under WAC 16-149-100(1)(a), and the inspector checks that every person preparing or packaging product holds a valid card under WAC 16-149-090(3)(i). Beyond the food worker card, no cottage-food-specific course, exam or continuing education is required by chapter 69.22 RCW or chapter 16-149 WAC.
Yes — the home kitchen is inspected. RCW 69.22.040(1) requires an inspection before the initial permit is issued and annually thereafter, and allows further inspections in response to a foodborne illness outbreak or other public health emergency; WAC 16-149-090 adds inspections whenever WSDA has reason to believe the operation is in violation, or in response to a consumer complaint, and WAC 16-149-050(4) states that inspections may be announced or unannounced. The inspection fee is $125 for the initial and each annual inspection, deposited in the food processing inspection account, with an additional fee for compliance follow-up visits. Under WAC 16-149-090(3) the inspector verifies at minimum that only the foods listed on the permit are produced; that nobody other than the permittee or someone under the permittee's direct supervision processes, prepares, packages or handles product or is even in the home kitchen while that work is going on; that no domestic activity such as family meal preparation, dishwashing, laundry, kitchen cleaning or entertaining guests happens at the same time; that no infants or children under six and no pets are in the kitchen during production; that only typical residential kitchen equipment is used; that food contact surfaces, equipment and utensils are washed, rinsed and sanitized before each use; that preparation and storage areas are free of rodents and insects; and that everyone involved holds a valid food worker card, stays out of the kitchen when ill, washes their hands before food preparation and packaging, and avoids bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food by using gloves, bakery papers, tongs or other utensils. WAC 16-149-080 sets the standing production conditions that the inspection measures against: smooth easily cleanable food contact surfaces; no carpet or rugs in the preparation area (cleanable impermeable floor mats are allowed); a sink used with one or two large tubs for wash-rinse-sanitize, or a domestic dishwasher instead; pump hand soap and disposable paper towels in the primary toilet room and the kitchen; active controls such as barriers or the permittee's presence when food is left uncovered; storage separate from domestic storage, including separate refrigerated storage; no pets in production and packaging areas and no litter box anywhere in the operation; no washing of pet cages or pans in the kitchen even when it is not in use for cottage food; and production following exactly the recipe approved by WSDA, with that recipe available on the premises. WSDA and its approved inspection agents may also take samples of products, ingredients and packaging materials, and inspect sales, storage, production, packaging and labelling records (RCW 69.22.060, WAC 16-149-050(3)). Records to be kept on site and produced on request, and retained for six months after the permit expires, are listed in WAC 16-149-100: food worker cards, the master business licence, all permitted recipes, water testing records, documentation that ingredients came from approved sources, and documentation of gross sales and off-site sale locations.
Washington's programme is state-run, and RCW 69.22.100 provides that a cottage food operation holding a valid permit under RCW 69.22.030 is not subject to chapter 69.07 RCW (the food processing plant law) or to permitting and inspection by a local health jurisdiction. That is the practical benefit of the WSDA permit: one inspector, not two. Local government has not disappeared, however. RCW 69.22.110 states that nothing in the chapter affects the application of any other state or federal law or any applicable ordinance enacted by a local unit of government, and WAC 16-149-030(3) makes compliance with all applicable county and municipal zoning laws a prerequisite to holding a permit — so a home occupation or zoning restriction on producing and selling food from a residence still binds, and must be resolved before applying. Local health departments keep two concrete roles: they issue the food worker cards that every processor must hold, and they set potable water testing requirements for operations on a private water system. Farmers markets, craft fairs and charitable events may impose their own vendor conditions on top of the state permit, and the permit itself must be displayed at each such location. What specific home-occupation limits a given city or county applies, and how each local health jurisdiction handles well-water testing, was not confirmed here from any local primary source.
Program sources: RCW 69.22.010, Definitions (Washington State Legislature) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.010 · RCW 69.22.020, Requirements — Authority of director (labeling, direct sales only, storage) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.020 · RCW 69.22.030, Permits, permit renewals (two-year renewal, $75 public health review fee, $30 processing fee, food worker permit proof, right of entry) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.030 · RCW 69.22.040, Basic hygiene inspections (inspection before permitting and annually, $125 inspection fee) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.040 · RCW 69.22.050, Annual gross sales ($35,000 cap, per-residence computation, four-yearly Seattle CPI review by expedited rulemaking) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.050 · RCW 69.22.090, Penalties (misdemeanor; civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation per day) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.090 · RCW 69.22.100, Exemption from chapter 69.07 RCW and from local health jurisdiction permitting and inspection — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.100 · RCW 69.22.110, Other laws and local ordinances not affected — https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.22.110 · WAC 16-149-030, Prerequisites (food safety training and food worker card, zoning, master business licence, water testing, consent to inspection) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-030 · WAC 16-149-040, Limitations ($35,000 cap, permitted and prohibited sales channels, permit display, 50-recipe limit) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-040 · WAC 16-149-050, Applications (renewal timing, inspection authority, grounds for denial) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-050 · WAC 16-149-060, Application requirements (contents of the packet, fee components, six weeks lead time, two-year permit term, failed-inspection procedure) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-060 · WAC 16-149-070, Amendment requirements to permit ($75 + $30, plus $125 if reinspection needed) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-070 · WAC 16-149-080, Production requirements (sanitation, separate storage, pets and children, no commercial equipment required, exact recipe) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-080 · WAC 16-149-090, Inspections (minimum inspection checklist) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-090 · WAC 16-149-100, Recordkeeping requirements (six-month retention after permit expiry) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-100 · WAC 16-149-110, Labeling (required elements and the 11-point 'Made in a Home Kitchen...' statement) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-110 · WAC 16-149-120, Allowable cottage food products — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-120 · WAC 16-149-130, Prohibited products — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=16-149-130 · WSDA Food Safety Program, 'What is the Cottage Foods Permit?' (2025 presentation; source of the $355 two-year fee, the July 2023 change from a one-year $230 permit, freeze-dried candy and small-batch roasted coffee, and the prohibition on third-party delivery) — https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/FSCS/Food%20Safety/WSDA-What-is-the-Cottage-Foods-Permit-2025.pdf · WSDA Cottage Food Operation Permit Application Packet, AGR publication 603-509 / form AGR-2093 (revision 1/20; attachments, owner's statement, food worker card and water testing instructions; states a $230 fee predating the 2023 change) — https://cms.agr.wa.gov/WSDAKentico/Documents/Pubs/509-CottageFoodApplicationPacket-Fillable.pdf
Washington runs a true PERMIT program (not a simple exemption): you must be licensed by WSDA under RCW 69.22.030 before selling, and each home kitchen is physically inspected. Sales are unusually restricted — cottage food may be sold ONLY directly to the consumer. Internet sales, mail order, and any retail or wholesale sale outside the state are all prohibited by statute, so no shipping and no selling through stores. A gross annual sales cap applies (WSDA has set this at $35,000 — confirm the current figure with WSDA). Products must be produced and stored only in the primary domestic residence, and they cannot be repackaged, resold, or used as an ingredient by a food processing plant or food service establishment.
RCW 69.22.020 bans internet and mail-order sales outright. A WA cottage food operation may sell only face-to-face, direct to the consumer (home, farmers market, roadside/community event). Do not build a checkout that ships product, and do not sell out of state.
Sales must be direct to the end consumer. Placing product in a grocery store, cafe, or on consignment, or letting a food service establishment use it as an ingredient, violates the statute even inside Washington.
The label must carry the exact statement 'Made in a home kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria' in at least 11-point type with clear contrast. Paraphrasing it or using smaller type fails inspection.
Every package must show the business name AND the WSDA permit number, product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, net weight/volume, and allergen labeling. Missing the permit number or ingredient order is a common rejection.
Timeline: Roughly 4-8 weeks. Steps: (1) obtain a Washington food worker card if handling food; (2) complete the WSDA Cottage Food Operation permit application with your recipes, label drafts, and kitchen/water details; (3) submit and pay fees; (4) pass the required in-home kitchen inspection by WSDA; (5) receive your permit number and begin selling. The inspection scheduling is the main variable in the timeline. Permits are renewed annually.
Cost: Permit application plus a required kitchen inspection. The inspection fee is $125 per RCW 69.22.040; the full permit application fee varies — confirm the current total with WSDA. Add a Washington food worker card (typically about $10) if required, plus label printing.
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Make my Washington label →Washington requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “Made in a home kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria.” It must be set at a minimum of 11-point type.
Yes. In Washington 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 at a minimum of 11-point type (see below); your permit / registration number.
Registration in Washington goes through Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), Food Safety and Consumer Services Division — Food Safety Program, PO Box 42560, Olympia WA 98504-2560, cottagefoods@agr.wa.gov, (360) 902-1876. Confirm the products are on the allowable list in WAC 16-149-120 and are not prohibited by WAC 16-149-130, and that they will be made in the home kitchen of your primary domestic residence in Washington. Before applying, satisfy the prerequisites in WAC 16-149-030: complete a food safety training programme and hold a valid food worker card (obtained through your local health department, issued under chapter 69.06 RCW), comply with all applicable county and municipal zoning laws, and obtain a Washington master business licence through the Department of Revenue business licensing service. If the home is on a private water supply such as a well, have the water tested for bacteria within 60 days before applying and keep testing it at least annually; on a public system, supply a recent water bill showing the address instead. Complete the WSDA Cottage Food Operation Permit application packet (AGR form 2093 / publication 603-509) and assemble the attachments required by WAC 16-149-060(1): a labelled diagram of the premises showing preparation equipment, food contact work surfaces, wash-rinse-sanitize sinks or tubs and dishwasher, the primary toilet room, handwashing areas and storage areas; all recipes with processing and packaging steps; an example of every product label; the proposed dates of processing for the year; a description of the types of sales or list of proposed sale locations; the water documentation; a copy of the food worker card of every person who will process food; a pet control plan if pets are present; and a child control plan if children under six are present.
Allowed: Loaf breads, rolls, biscuits, quick breads and muffins (WAC 16-149-120(1)(a)); Cakes, including celebration cakes such as birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes; Pastries and scones; Cookies and bars; Crackers; Cereals, trail mixes and granola; Pies, except custard-style pies, pies with unbaked fresh fruit, and pies that require refrigeration after baking; Nuts and nut mixes; Snack mixes; Donuts, tortillas, pizzelles, krumkake and similar products; Nonpotentially hazardous candies cooked on a stovetop or in a microwave with temperature controlled by a candy thermometer: molded candies and chocolates, products dipped or coated with candy or chocolate coatings, fudge and fudge-like candies, caramels, nut brittles, taffy and marshmallow-like candies (WAC 16-149-120(2)); Standardized jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters meeting the FDA standards of identity in 21 C.F.R. Part 150, with a cook step such as a hot fill or hot water bath, sealed in containers sterilized before filling (no wax paraffin, no freezer or refrigerator style products).
$35,000 in gross sales per calendar year. RCW 69.22.050 sets the maximum annual gross sales of cottage food products at $35,000 and specifies that the figure is computed on the basis of gross sales within or at a particular domestic residence, not on a per-person basis, so two people sharing one home share one cap. WAC 16-149-040(1), as amended effective 11 January 2024, repeats the same $35,000 figure: if gross sales during a calendar year exceed it, the operator must cease operations for the remainder of that permit period, or meet all requirements and obtain a food processing plant licence, or cease operations for that calendar year. Fees already paid are not refunded. WSDA may request written documentation to verify the annual gross sales figure, and WAC 16-149-100(1)(f) requires the operation to keep documentation of gross sales and of any off-site sale locations. The cap is not frozen: RCW 69.22.050 directs the department to review it every four years and, by expedited rulemaking, to increase it using that year's average consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the Seattle, Washington area. Both primary sources read on 16 August 2026 still state $35,000.
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: RCW 69.22.020(3) (statement at (3)(g), permit number at (3)(a)); Chapter 69.22 RCW; WSDA. Verified 2026-06-15. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.