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Selling homemade food in Georgia means your label has to follow the Georgia 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:
Statement in UPPERCASE, set in Times New Roman or Arial, at least 10-point, in a color contrasting with the background. Handwritten labels are allowed if legible, in permanent ink, at an equivalent size. Since HB 398 (July 1, 2025) no state registration or license is required; an optional state ID number may replace the address. ANAB-accredited food-handler training is still required.
Georgia is now a true no-license state. HB 398 (effective July 1, 2025) eliminated the former Cottage Food License that the Department of Agriculture used to require, so a Georgia Cottage Food Operation no longer registers with or pays the state to start. There is no annual sales cap and no unit limit. The tradeoff: allowed foods are strictly non-potentially-hazardous shelf-stable items (baked goods, jams/jellies, hard candies, dry mixes, honey), and sales must be direct to the end consumer inside Georgia only — no wholesale, consignment, restaurants, or retail resale, and production must happen in the kitchen of your primary residence.
Georgia's exemption covers direct-to-consumer sales and online orders fulfilled within Georgia; it does not authorize interstate shipping. Selling into another state pulls you under that state's rules and potentially FDA registration. Keep sales in-state under the cottage exemption.
Salsas, tomato sauces, cooked/canned vegetables, fruit butters, apple cider and other beverages, dairy, and eggs are prohibited as potentially hazardous. Sellers routinely try to add salsa or a low-sugar jam that isn't shelf-stable — these fall outside the exemption entirely.
Every package must carry, in a contrasting color at 10-point minimum (Times New Roman or Arial): 'MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO STATE FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS,' plus name and physical address (no P.O. box), product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, net weight, and federal allergen labeling.
'No state license' is not 'no rules.' You still must clear city/county zoning for a home food business, may need a DBA, and individual farmers markets can require their own Food Sales Establishment License before letting you sell.
Timeline: Fast — potentially same-week. There is no state application or waiting period since HB 398 removed the license. Realistic steps: (1) confirm your product is on the allowed list, (2) confirm local zoning permits a home cottage food business and file any DBA, (3) build a compliant label, (4) confirm requirements of any farmers market you'll attend. Most operators can be selling within days.
Cost: $0 — no state permit or license required as of HB 398 (July 1, 2025). Budget only for label printing and any optional local DBA filing (varies by county — confirm with your city/county clerk).
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 Georgia's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
Enter your recipe and get a print-ready label with the exact Georgia wording, ingredients ordered by weight and allergens auto-declared. Free watermarked preview; clean PDF for $12.
Make my Georgia label →Georgia requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO STATE FOOD SAFETY INSPECTIONS.” It must be set at a minimum of 10-point type.
No. Georgia 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 10-point type (see below).
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: Georgia Comp. R. & Regs. r. 40-7-19-.09 (Product Labels); HB 398 (eff. 2025-07-01). Verified 2026-06-15. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.