Free tool · Cottage food label rules

Maryland cottage food label rules

What has to be on the label when you sell homemade baked goods in Maryland, and the limits that matter at a market. Checked September 2026.

Another state Confirmed in official sources

Your label must include

Business name and address (or MDH-issued unique ID number)
Product name
Ingredients in descending order by weight
Net weight, count or volume
Allergens (major food allergens per federal law)
Nutrition facts only if a nutrient or health claim is made
For retail store sales: also phone number, email address and production date

Required statement

“Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland’s food safety regulations”

Statement must be in 10-point or larger type, in a color that clearly contrasts with the background. Products must be prepackaged and labeled. No P.O. boxes for the address.

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Sunny Crumb Co. · 123 Palm Ave, Your City, MD 00000

Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), brown sugar, toffee bits (sugar, butter, almonds, soy lecithin), eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, sea salt.

Net wt. 4 oz (113 g) · 2 cookies

Contains: wheat, milk, eggs, tree nuts (almond), soy.

Sunny Crumb Co. · 123 Palm Ave, Your City, MD 00000 · (305) 555-0188

Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland’s food safety regulations

Sample label for illustration, made from the checklist above. Your own label has to match your recipe and your state’s exact rules.

Key limits in Maryland

Permit: No state license or fee. Optional: MDH will issue a unique ID number to use on labels instead of your address. To sell to retail stores you must first submit MDH’s ID and Retail Sales Request form (no fee).
Training: none for direct sales; for retail store sales, an approved (ANSI-accredited) food safety course completed within the past 3 years
Sales cap: $50,000 per year
Where you can sell: Direct to consumers in Maryland at farmers markets, public events, from home, by personal delivery or mail; also allowed in Maryland retail food stores after MDH review. No out-of-state sales.
Online & shipping: Online/phone orders OK in-state; personal delivery and mail delivery within Maryland allowed; no interstate sales or shipping.
Law: Cottage Food Business, Md. Code Health-Gen. §21-330.1; COMAR 10.15.03

What we could not confirm (3)

UMD Extension page still says $25,000 (outdated; MDH 2025 guidelines and 2022 law say $50,000)
SB 838 (2026, home bakeries) did not pass — no change
Counties/municipalities and individual farmers markets may impose their own permits or rules

Check with: Maryland Department of Health (MDH), Office of Food Protection

Last change to the law: HB 178 (2022), effective 2022-10-01 (cap $25,000 to $50,000); MDH guidelines updated Nov 2025

Sources

Made by BakersKeep

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

BakersKeep builds your Maryland label from each recipe: ingredients in order, allergens and the required statement. Change a recipe and every label updates. It also prices your cookies, takes pre-orders and writes the week’s posts.

Join the founders list See how it works

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and counties can add their own. Confirm with Maryland Department of Health (MDH), Office of Food Protection before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Maryland cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

Other states