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Cottage Food Labels

Iowa cottage food label requirements

Iowa cottage food labels must carry the preparer's contact information and the verbatim statement that the product was produced at a residential property exempt from state licensing and inspection, plus an allergen statement when applicable. No license, inspection, or sales cap applies, but only direct-to-consumer sales (including online) are permitted.

Required home-kitchen disclosure

“This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.”

This is the statement your state requires, reproduced from its official rule.

Official Iowa source
Annual sales cap
No cap / not specified
Permit / registration
Not required
Online sales
Allowed
Retail / wholesale
Direct only

Permits & training: A cottage food operation needs no state license, permit, or inspection, and local governments are prohibited from adding such requirements. (Selling perishable/TCS foods or into retail instead requires a separate Home Food Processing Establishment license.)

What goes on a Iowa cottage label

  • Name and address, phone number, or email of the person who prepared the food
  • The residential-exemption disclosure statement
  • Allergen statement identifying each major allergen by common name (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, sesame), if applicable
  • Common name of the food (recommended)
  • Date processed/canned (required for home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits)

Scaling past cottage food?

Selling into retail or wholesale, shipping across state lines, or making a claim like “low sugar” usually means your product needs a full FDA Nutrition Facts panel, not just a cottage label. Panelry builds one from your recipe with exact FDA rounding for $9, no subscription.

Build an FDA nutrition label →

Make your Iowa label for free

Prefilled for Iowa. Add your product and ingredients, and export a compliant label in minutes.

This is your statement of identity, so use the common name of the food (“Strawberry Rhubarb Jam”). A brand name alone only works when it is obvious what the food is (21 CFR 101.3(b)).

Auto-ordered by weight

Using a packaged product? Tap on its row to pull the sub-ingredients off the label automatically. Or type them yourself in parentheses, like “Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter)”.

Auto-detected from your ingredients. Tap to add or remove. Always double-check.

This reads your ingredient list only. It cannot know what else your kitchen handles — a shared mixer, flour in the air, one fryer for two products. If an allergen you do not use could still reach this food, that is a “may contain” decision only you can make; it is voluntary, and it never substitutes for declaring an allergen you actually use.

Optional, but it sets how large the net weight has to print. 21 CFR 101.1 measures the principal display panel differently for each shape.

Iowa home-kitchen disclosure

This is the statement your state requires on the label. Official source ↗

Also required in Iowa

Panelry puts the product name, business name and address, ingredients, allergens, net weight and the disclosure on your label. Your state asks for these too, and you will need to add them yourself:

  • Name and address, phone number, or email of the person who prepared the food
  • Date processed/canned (required for home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits)

Your county may add to this

Everything Panelry knows about Iowa is state law. In many states the body that actually registers you, inspects your kitchen and answers complaints is your county or city health department, and some add requirements of their own — where you may sell, what you must display on a stall, sometimes the label itself. They are also the people to ask when a rule here does not match what you have been told locally.

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Your Product Name
INGREDIENTS: List your ingredients to auto-order them by weight.
This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.
Label made with Panelry · getpanelry.com/label

Add product name, business name, business address, at least one ingredient, net weight to export a complete label.

Need a Nutrition Facts panel too?

Most home makers are exempt from nutrition labeling under the FDA's small-seller exemption, but it holds only while the label, the listing and your ads carry no nutrition claim or nutrition information at all. One “low sugar” or “high protein” anywhere, including an online listing, and the food needs a full panel (21 CFR 101.9(j)(1)). Panelry builds one from this same recipe: your ingredients and weights carry over, and you match each to a USDA food.

Build your Nutrition Facts panel

Where this goes on the package

The name of the food and the net weight belong on the principal display panel — the face a shopper sees (21 CFR 101.3(a), 101.7(a)). The net weight goes in the bottom 30 percent of that face, unless the face is 5 square inches or smaller (21 CFR 101.7(f)).The ingredient list, allergen statement, your name and address and any nutrition panel may go on that same face or on the information panel — the part of the label immediately to the right of it as the buyer faces the package. If that part is unusable, such as a folded flap or a can end, use the next panel to the right; if the lid is the face, any adjacent panel works (21 CFR 101.2(a), (b)).Wherever they go, they have to appear in one place with nothing in between — no artwork, marketing copy or barcode running between the ingredient list and the address (21 CFR 101.2(e)).

Verify before selling

Cottage-food rules vary by state and change often. Confirm your label against your state's current requirements. Panelry is not legal advice.

Iowa cottage food label FAQ

What must a cottage food label include in Iowa?
In Iowa, a cottage food label typically includes: Name and address, phone number, or email of the person who prepared the food; The residential-exemption disclosure statement; Allergen statement identifying each major allergen by common name (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, sesame), if applicable; Common name of the food (recommended); Date processed/canned (required for home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits). It must also carry the required home-kitchen disclosure shown above.
What is the required home-kitchen disclosure in Iowa?
“This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.” This wording is reproduced from the state's official rule.
Do I need a permit or registration to sell cottage food in Iowa?
Iowa does not require a general cottage-food permit or registration for most sellers. A cottage food operation needs no state license, permit, or inspection, and local governments are prohibited from adding such requirements. (Selling perishable/TCS foods or into retail instead requires a separate Home Food Processing Establishment license.) Always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above.
Can I sell cottage food online in Iowa?
Yes. Iowa allows cottage food to be sold online. Check the official source for current rules on delivery and shipping.
Is there a sales cap for cottage food in Iowa?
Iowa does not specify a general annual sales cap for cottage food. Confirm with the official source.
Do I need a Nutrition Facts panel for cottage food in Iowa?
Usually not for direct cottage-food sales. Most sellers only need the ingredient, allergen, net-weight, and disclosure label this page's free tool makes — 21 CFR 101.9(j)(1) exempts direct-to-consumer sellers with up to $50,000 in food sales. You do need a panel once you make a nutrient claim like “low sugar,” which voids the exemption, or once you outgrow it. Retail and wholesale buyers generally require one either way.

Cottage food labels in other states

Verify before selling

Cottage-food rules change often. Confirm Iowa's current requirements with the official source above before printing or selling. Panelry is not affiliated with any government agency and does not provide legal advice. See our disclaimer.

Last verified July 2026 against Iowa's official cottage-food guidance (linked above) · Panelry