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Cottage Food Labels

Montana cottage food label requirements

Montana imposes no sales cap. Producers selling direct and in-state under the Local Food Choice Act need no license or label but must tell the buyer the food is unlicensed and uninspected; registered Cottage Food Operations (MCA 50-50-116) carry the home-kitchen statement at 11 point or larger. Online ordering is allowed with an in-person, intrastate, direct-to-consumer handoff; wholesale and retail sales are prohibited.

Required home-kitchen disclosure

“Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.”

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

Montana has two tracks. The sentence above, at 11 point in a contrasting color on the principal label, is what a registered Cottage Food Operation must print (MCA 50-50-116(2)(b)(vii)). A producer selling under the Local Food Choice Act instead needs no label at all but must inform the buyer that the food has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected per any official regulations (MCA 50-49-203(3)), with no fixed wording or size; printing the sentence above covers both.

Official Montana source Read the statute
Annual sales cap
No cap / not specified
Permit / registration
Not required
Online sales
Allowed

Sales must be directly between the producer and the informed end consumer, only in Montana, for home consumption or a traditional community social event (MCA 50-49-203(2)); DPHHS guidance treats pre-arranged delivery as direct. Consignment, retail and wholesale are barred on both tracks.

Retail / wholesale
Direct only

Permits & training: Two tracks. Under the Local Food Choice Act (MCA 50-49-201 to -203) no agency may require a license, registration, label or inspection for direct, in-state sales to an informed end consumer. A Cottage Food Operation under MCA 50-50-116 instead registers with the county local health authority (fee set by DPHHS rule, MCA 50-50-117) and prints the 11-point statement. Food-safety training is not required on either track.

What goes on a Montana cottage label

  • Product name
  • Name, address, city, state and ZIP of the operation
  • Ingredients listed in descending order by weight
  • Net quantity, weight, count or volume
  • Allergen information
  • Nutrition labeling if a nutritional claim is made
  • Disclaimer statement in at least 11-point font (registered Cottage Food Operations)

Scaling past cottage food?

Selling into retail or wholesale, shipping across state lines, or making a claim like “sugar free” 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 Montana label for free

Prefilled for Montana. 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.

Montana home-kitchen disclosure

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

Montana has two tracks. The sentence above, at 11 point in a contrasting color on the principal label, is what a registered Cottage Food Operation must print (MCA 50-50-116(2)(b)(vii)). A producer selling under the Local Food Choice Act instead needs no label at all but must inform the buyer that the food has not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected per any official regulations (MCA 50-49-203(3)), with no fixed wording or size; printing the sentence above covers both.

Also required in Montana

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:

  • Nutrition labeling if a nutritional claim is made

Your county may add to this

Everything Panelry knows about Montana 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.
Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.
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 “sugar free” 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.

Montana cottage food label FAQ

What must a cottage food label include in Montana?
In Montana, a cottage food label typically includes: Product name; Name, address, city, state and ZIP of the operation; Ingredients listed in descending order by weight; Net quantity, weight, count or volume; Allergen information; Nutrition labeling if a nutritional claim is made; Disclaimer statement in at least 11-point font (registered Cottage Food Operations). It must also carry the required home-kitchen disclosure shown above.
What is the required home-kitchen disclosure in Montana?
“Made in a home kitchen that is not subject to retail food establishment regulations or inspections.” This wording is reproduced from the state's official rule.
Do I need a permit or registration to sell cottage food in Montana?
Montana does not require a general cottage-food permit or registration for most sellers. Two tracks. Under the Local Food Choice Act (MCA 50-49-201 to -203) no agency may require a license, registration, label or inspection for direct, in-state sales to an informed end consumer. A Cottage Food Operation under MCA 50-50-116 instead registers with the county local health authority (fee set by DPHHS rule, MCA 50-50-117) and prints the 11-point statement. Food-safety training is not required on either track. Always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above.
Can I sell cottage food online in Montana?
Yes. Montana 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 Montana?
Montana 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 Montana?
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 “sugar free,” 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 Montana'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 September 2026 against Montana's statute or rule (linked above) · Panelry