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Selling homemade food in Michigan means your label has to follow the Michigan Cottage Food Law (MCL 289.4102). 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:
At least 11-point type, in a color that clearly contrasts with the background.
Michigan is also a pure exemption (no license, no inspection, no registration) under the Cottage Food Law (PA 113 of 2010, MCL 289.4102), but with a much lower ceiling: $25,000 in gross sales per household per year before expenses. Exceed it and you must move production into a licensed kitchen. The signature Michigan requirement is a face-to-face sales rule: cottage foods must be sold directly to the end consumer in person — at farmers markets, farm stands, roadside stands, or from the home — and may NOT be sold online, by mail order, or through stores and restaurants. Only shelf-stable, non-refrigerated foods qualify.
Michigan requires the sale to be direct and in person. Taking internet or mail orders and shipping the product is not allowed under the cottage food exemption, even to a Michigan address. Sell face-to-face only, or license a kitchen.
The label must include, verbatim, 'Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,' in at least 11-point type, plus product name, your business name and full address, ingredients in descending order by weight, net weight/volume, and any of the major allergens present (milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, fish, tree nuts). The uninspected-kitchen line is frequently paraphrased or dropped.
The cap is per household per year in total sales before expenses — not per person and not net profit. Two sellers in one home share one $25,000 limit. Keep a production and sales log; going over requires a licensed commercial kitchen.
Pumpkin or custard pies, cream-based or cream-filled products, and oil-based mixes like garlic-in-olive-oil are prohibited. If it needs refrigeration or heat to stay safe, it is a potentially hazardous food and cannot be sold as cottage food.
Timeline: Same day. No application, permit, or inspection is required before selling. Realistic steps: (1) confirm your product needs no refrigeration and is on the allowed list; (2) build a compliant label with the exact uninspected-kitchen statement and allergen list; (3) sell directly to consumers in person. MSU Extension offers an optional online Cottage Food Law course (recommended, not mandatory).
Cost: $0 — no permit required. MDARD charges no fee and issues no license for a compliant cottage food operation. Out-of-pocket costs are limited to labels/packaging and the optional MSU Extension course.
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 Michigan's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my Michigan label →Michigan requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.” It must be set at a minimum of 11-point type.
No. Michigan 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 11-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: MCL 289.4102; MDARD and MSU Extension Cottage Food. Reconfirm on michigan.gov/mdard. Verified 2026-06-15. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.