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Selling homemade food in Wisconsin means your label has to follow the Wisconsin has no cottage food law. Home BAKED goods are legal through a court order — Kivirist v. DATCP, Lafayette County Circuit Court, final order 29 September 2017, which enjoined DATCP from enforcing the food processing plant and retail food establishment licensing laws against home bakers of shelf-stable, not-potentially-hazardous goods sold directly to consumers. No licence, no registration, no inspection, no fee, no cap. Home-CANNED high-acid foods are legal through a statutory exemption, the « Pickle Bill » at Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2: equilibrium pH 4.6 or lower, sold at a community or social event or a Wisconsin farmers' market, under $5,000 a year. Anything else made at home — fudge, chocolates, candies, dried mixes, roasted coffee — still requires a commercial licence. Here is exactly what that label must show in 2026 — the required fields, the allergen rule, and why no “home kitchen” disclaimer applies — sourced to the statute and dated.
No. No minimum type size anywhere, so no point value is claimed. The sentence shown is verbatim law, but of ONE door only: Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2.e prints it for home-canned high-acid foods, which must also carry the canner's name and address, the date canned and an ingredient list in descending order of prominence, and be sold under a displayed sign reading « These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection. » For home-BAKED goods Wisconsin prescribes no statement at all — the injunction imposed no labelling duty — but Wis. Stat. § 97.03 still makes a food misbranded if it is misbranded within the meaning of 21 USC 343, which is where the common name, maker's name and address, ingredients, net quantity and allergens come from. Heads-up, and it is the expensive one: the December 2022 order that legalised unbaked homemade foods was reversed by the Court of Appeals on 19 November 2024 (2024 WI App 69) and review was denied on 10 April 2025. There is no permit number through either door.
Wisconsin is the rare state where the right to sell home-baked goods comes from COURT LITIGATION, not a statute - so there is no permit, no registration number, no application, and (uniquely) no state-mandated label wording or font size for baked goods. The flip side: no statutory safe-harbor disclaimer phrase exists for baked goods, and the Nov. 19, 2024 Court of Appeals ruling re-narrowed the exemption to BAKED goods only, pushing candies, dried mixes, roasted nuts and the like back under licensing, while canned high-acid goods sit under a completely separate law (the Pickle Bill).
The broader order that had extended license-free status to all non-hazardous homemade foods was reversed by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Nov. 19, 2024. Today only NON-potentially-hazardous BAKED goods (dry heat above 140F, finished product out of the danger zone) sold direct-to-consumer are license-free. Candies, dried mixes, roasted coffee, dehydrated items, etc. are NOT covered and require a food license. Jams/jellies/pickles fall under the separate Pickle Bill, not the baking exemption.
Because the baking exemption is judge-made, Wisconsin prescribes NO disclaimer text and no font size for baked goods; DATCP's guidance lists no required home-kitchen statement. Marketing a fixed phrase as 'the Wisconsin-required statement' overstates the law. For Pickle Bill canned goods the statute does require a made-in-a-home-not-inspected statement plus name/address and canning date, but the exact words could not be confirmed here - verify with DATCP before printing a fixed string.
The one hard size rule people miss, confirmed verbatim in DATCP's Retail Food Labeling guidance: the product/common name must be at least HALF the type size of the most prominent printed matter on the label, and in bold. A large decorative brand logo with a tiny product name underneath is a common violation.
The baked-goods exemption evaporates the moment you wholesale, sell to a retailer for resale, or ship out of state - that triggers ATCP 70/75 licensing. Keep sales face-to-face (farmers markets, home, community events). Pickle Bill canned goods are likewise limited to farmers markets and community/social/educational events.
Timeline: Home-baked track: no application and no waiting period - once your product is non-hazardous, baked, and properly labeled you may sell direct-to-consumer immediately. Pickle Bill canned goods: likewise no license, but historically limited to about $5,000/yr in gross sales and to farmers markets / community, social, or educational events (confirm the current cap and venue list with DATCP, as the statute text could not be verified in this review).
Cost: $0 - no permit required. Neither track charges a state fee or issues a permit/registration number for the exempt activity.
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Make my Wisconsin label →Wisconsin does not require a “made in a home kitchen” disclaimer. Your label still has to meet the standard federal FDA labeling rules (product name, ingredients by weight, allergens, net weight, and your name and address).
No. Wisconsin 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 date the food was made.
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: Wis. Stat. §§ 97.29(2)(a) and (2)(b)2 and 97.03 (Wisconsin Legislature). Kivirist v. DATCP, No. 16-CV-06, Final Order and Judgment, 29 September 2017. Scope of the order: DATCP, « Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods ». The reversal on unbaked foods: Wisconsin Cottage Food Association v. DATCP, 2024 WI App 69. Both doors summarised by Wisconsin Legislative Council, Issue Brief, 18 June 2025. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.