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Selling homemade food in Colorado means your label has to follow the Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. § 25-4-1614) — Home Kitchens / Cottage Food Production. 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 statute sets NO minimum type size — no point value is claimed. The label disclaimer is separate from the placard required at the point of sale. Reconfirm on the CDPHE Cottage Foods page.
Colorado is a true exemption state, not a permit state: the Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. 25-4-1614) lets you make and sell approved non-potentially-hazardous foods from a home kitchen with no state license, registration, or inspection. Its signature rule is a per-product revenue cap of $10,000 or less per calendar year for each eligible food product (counted separately by product, not lumped together), and a whole-egg allowance capped at 250 dozen per month. The one mandatory step is completing a food safety course (comparable to a Colorado State University Extension or public-health course) and keeping good standing. All sales must go directly from producer to an informed end consumer inside Colorado — no interstate shipping. Note: this changes on 2027-01-01 under the Tamale Act, which expands what home producers may sell.
The limit is $10,000 per eligible food product per calendar year. Sellers mistakenly think it's a single business-wide ceiling; tracking each product line separately is what keeps you compliant.
Colorado cottage foods must be delivered directly to an informed end consumer within Colorado. Listing on a marketplace and shipping to out-of-state buyers breaks the exemption.
Only non-potentially-hazardous foods qualify (pickled fruits/vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams/jellies/preserves, fruit butter, flour, baked goods, and whole eggs up to 250 dozen/month). Cheesecakes, most cream/custard items, canned low-acid vegetables, and salsas are common disallowed mistakes.
Producers must complete an approved food safety course and label with product name, producer name/address/contact, production date, full ingredients, and the required 'not subject to state licensure or inspection' disclaimer. Selling before taking the course, or omitting the disclaimer, are frequent errors.
Timeline: About 1-2 days and no permit at all. Step 1: complete an approved food safety course (e.g., Colorado State University Extension or a local public health agency course) and keep the certificate. Step 2: build compliant labels with the required disclaimer and ingredient list. Then you may sell immediately — there is no state registration, application, or inspection to wait on. (Rules expand under the Tamale Act effective 2027-01-01.)
Cost: $0 — no permit or registration required. Your only potential out-of-pocket cost is the approved food safety course; some Colorado public-health and Extension courses are low-cost or free — confirm the current price with the specific provider (Colorado State University Extension or your local public health agency).
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 Colorado's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my Colorado label →Colorado requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale.” The state sets no minimum point size for it.
No. Colorado 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 (see below); the date the food was made; a telephone number for the operation.
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: Colorado Cottage Foods Act, C.R.S. § 25-4-1614(3)(a) (label) and (3)(c) (point-of-sale placard). colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_25-4-1614. Verified 2026-08-09. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.