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Selling homemade food in Maryland means your label has to follow the Maryland Cottage Food Business — COMAR 10.15.03.27 (definition at 10.15.03.02B(17-1)); Maryland Department of Health, Office of Food Protection. No license, no registration and no fee for direct sales; annual cottage food revenue capped at $50,000. 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:
Printed in 10-point or larger type, in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background. All labels must be in English. Maryland issues no permit number: the address may be replaced by a unique identification number obtained from MDH, and then the business name and phone number must both appear. Products sold to a retail food store need three extra elements (phone, e-mail, date made) and prior written MDH approval.
Maryland is one of the few states that puts a hard typographic spec on the disclaimer — 10 point or larger, in a color with clear contrast to the label background — and it lets a home producer swap their home address for a Department-issued unique identification number, a real privacy win for people selling out of their house. There is no license or fee to operate; direct sales need nothing up front, though selling INTO retail stores requires prior Department approval of your label plus proof of a food-safety course.
It must read exactly 'Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland's food safety regulations.' — including the apostrophe in Maryland's. Generic phrases like 'Made in a Home Kitchen' (used in other states) do not meet COMAR 10.15.03.27 and will fail a health-department check.
The disclaimer must be 10 point or larger and printed in a color that clearly contrasts the label background. A faint or tiny disclaimer is a compliance failure even if the words are correct. The point-size rule is written for the disclaimer statement, not the rest of the label.
Selling through a retail store rather than directly to the consumer means the label must also carry the business phone number, email address, and the date the product was made — and under COMAR 10.15.03.27 you must first submit the label plus documentation of food-safety-course completion for Department approval before selling.
You may put your name and full address on the label, OR request a unique Department identification number to use in lieu of the address. The number is not automatically issued — you must request it from the Department before relying on it, so plan ahead if you want to keep your home address off packaging.
Timeline: Direct sales: immediate — Maryland requires no cottage food license, permit, or fee, so you can label and sell as soon as your product and label are compliant. Retail/indirect sales: allow time for the Department to approve your submitted label and food-safety-course documentation before selling. If you want a Department identification number to use in place of your address, allow processing time from the Office of Food Protection.
Cost: $0 — no permit, license, or fee is required to operate a cottage food business in Maryland (direct sales). Retail sales require prior Department approval of the label and proof of a food-safety course, but the regulation states no fee.
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 Maryland's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my Maryland label →Maryland requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland's food safety regulations.” It must be set at a minimum of 10-point type.
No. Maryland 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); 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: COMAR 10.15.03.27C(1)(c) (label) and C(6)-(7) (retail store approval); COMAR 10.15.03.02B(17-1). Maryland Department of Health — “Guidelines for Cottage Food Businesses”, last updated 11/2025. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.