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Selling homemade food in Minnesota means your label has to follow the Minnesota Cottage Food Exemption — Minn. Stat. 28A.152; annual registration with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), no food license. Two tiers: Tier 1 up to $7,665 of gross receipts (free, free online course and exam every year), Tier 2 from $7,666 to the $78,000 cap ($50 a year, approved food-handling course every 3 years). 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 for the label — no point value is claimed (“clearly legible” qualifies the point-of-sale sign, not the label). The same sentence must also appear on a sign or placard at the point of sale and on your website if you sell online. The label needs the registration number OR the declared address — one of the two, your choice. Heads-up: the Revisor's “current statutes” page shows the 2025 amendments ($30 flat fee, one tier, shipping allowed), which do NOT take effect until 1 August 2027; the wording of the statement is the same in both versions.
Minnesota is unusual on two fronts confirmed against the statute: (1) the disclaimer is fixed verbatim — “These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.” — and the SAME wording must ALSO be posted as a sign/placard at the point of sale, not just on the label; (2) the label must carry the exact PREPARATION DATE, an element many states omit. A useful subtlety a label generator should surface: the preparer identifier can be a registration number OR the physical address, so a number is not mandatory on the label even though MN issues one.
Putting the disclaimer only on the product label is not enough. Minn. Stat. § 28A.152 requires the identical statement to also be displayed as a clearly legible sign or placard wherever the food is sold (market stall, event table). Generate a matching placard alongside every label.
The label must state the date the food was actually prepared (and, for canned goods, when canned). This changes with every batch, so a static pre-printed label can go out of compliance — the date field must be filled in per batch, not left generic.
Do not force a registration number onto the label. The statute accepts a registration number OR the preparer's physical address. A producer may lawfully label with their address alone, so the generator should offer both paths rather than requiring a number.
A compliant label assumes the seller is registered with the MDA (statute text gives a $30 annual fee, deemed accepted 30 days after a complete application) and has completed approved safe-food-handling training (max 8 hours) before initial registration and every 3 years. MN historically has a tiered structure with a reduced/no-cost tier for very small annual sales, so confirm the exact current fee and any sales-volume tier directly with the MDA before quoting a dollar figure.
Timeline: Registration is deemed accepted 30 days after a complete application is submitted to the MDA commissioner; the label itself can be produced immediately once the registration number (or address) and batch preparation date are known.
Cost: $30 annual MDA registration fee per the statute (a reduced/no-cost tier may apply at very low sales volumes — verify with MDA), plus approved safe-food-handling training (max 8 hrs) before initial registration and every 3 years; the label generation itself is $0.
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 Minnesota's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my Minnesota label →Minnesota requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.” The state sets no minimum point size for it.
No. Minnesota 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.
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: Minn. Stat. 28A.152 subd. 1(a)(1)(i)-(ii), subd. 2, 3, 4 and 5 — version in force (Laws 2021, ch. 28, §§7-10), revisor.mn.gov. Tiers, fees and training: MDA “Cottage Food Law Guidance” FAQ, mda.state.mn.us. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.