California was the first state to pass a modern cottage food law (AB 1616, 2013). Its official labeling guidance — the Department of Public Health's "Labeling Requirements for Cottage Food Products" — requires a specific disclosure phrase in a specific minimum type size, on top of the ingredient, weight, and allergen information nearly every state requires.
The exact phrase CDPH requires
Every California cottage food label must carry, on the principal display panel, in type at least 12 points in size:
"Made in a Home Kitchen"
If the product was repackaged rather than made from scratch in your kitchen, CDPH's guidance calls for "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" instead. Either phrase satisfies the requirement — use whichever matches how the product was actually produced.
What else CDPH's labeling guidance requires
The common or descriptive name of your product has to appear on the principal display panel — the side of the package a shopper sees first on the shelf. Net weight or volume must be declared in both U.S. customary units (ounces or pounds) and metric units (grams) — a detail several other states don't require in dual form. If your product contains any of the major food allergens, a plain-language allergen declaration is required. And if your label is computer-generated rather than handwritten, CDPH's guidance specifically calls out that all of the required information still has to be sized and laid out so an average consumer can actually read it — a generic "as long as it's technically present" reading of the rule isn't enough.
Class A and Class B — two permit tiers, two different sales caps
California splits cottage food operators into two permit tiers, each with its own gross annual sales ceiling. A Class A registration covers direct-to-consumer sales only — you selling at a farmers market, from your home, or shipping orders you personally hand off — capped at $75,000 in gross sales per year. A Class B permit adds indirect sales, meaning a retail shop, café, or grocer can carry your product, capped at $150,000 per year, and requires an actual kitchen inspection by your county's environmental health department. Both figures are CDPH's 2025 CPI-adjusted amounts and are recalculated annually, so confirm the current-year number on CDPH's site before you plan around a specific ceiling.
Enforcement sits with your county
Beyond the statewide label and cap rules above, California's cottage food program is enforced by county environmental health departments, and some counties layer their own local label expectations on top of CDPH's baseline. If your county health department hands you additional wording or formatting requirements, that instruction controls in addition to the statewide rules described here.
Using the free generator for a California label
Select California in the generator on this site's homepage and it will build a label with your product's common name, ingredients listed in descending order by weight, net weight shown in both ounces/pounds and grams automatically, an allergen line if you flag any of the major allergens, your business name, and the required "Made in a Home Kitchen" disclosure sized to satisfy the 12-point minimum. Print it directly or save it as a PDF sized to a standard label sheet.
Required label elements at a glance
- Common or descriptive name of the product, on the principal display panel
- The words "Made in a Home Kitchen" (or "Repackaged in a Home Kitchen" for repackaged items), ≥12-point type, on the principal display panel
- Net weight or volume, declared in both U.S. (ounces/pounds) and metric (grams) units
- A plain-language allergen declaration for any major allergen present
- Business name (and, per your county, an address or registration reference)
- If computer-generated, all required text sized so an average consumer can read it on the panel
Minimum type size
At least 12-point type, on the principal display panel.
Sales cap
$75,000/year gross sales for a Class A registration; $150,000/year gross sales for a Class B permit. Both figures are CDPH's 2025 CPI-adjusted amounts and are recalculated annually — confirm the current-year figure on CDPH's site.
Permit / registration
Class A permits cover direct-to-consumer sales only (farmers markets, your home, online orders you hand-deliver) and are typically a low- or no-cost registration with your county environmental health department. Class B permits add indirect sales through a third party, like a shop or grocer, and require a county health inspection of your kitchen.