New York Cottage Food Labeling Requirements (2026)
New York's cottage food program operates under the Home Processor Exemption, found in the New York Agriculture and Markets Law. The exemption allows home-based food producers to sell certain shelf-stable products directly to consumers without a food manufacturing license. New York's program is one of the more structured in the Northeast, with an annual revenue cap, specific permitted product categories, and label requirements that must be followed precisely.
For New York cottage food producers, labeling compliance is especially important because the state's Agriculture and Markets Department actively enforces food labeling standards. New York City adds an additional layer of complexity with its own local health code requirements that apply alongside state law. Producers who sell in the five boroughs need to understand both frameworks.
Quickly Cottage supports New York cottage food producers by generating labels that meet state requirements — including the correct disclosure language, properly ordered ingredient lists with full sub-ingredient disclosure, and complete allergen declarations. This guide explains what New York requires in 2026 and how to build a labeling system that protects your business.
Last updated: July 2026
New York's Home Processor Exemption Explained
The New York Home Processor Exemption allows individuals to produce and sell certain non-potentially-hazardous foods from their home kitchen without obtaining a food processing license from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The exemption is codified in Agriculture and Markets Law Section 3-17 and accompanying regulations. To qualify, producers must meet the revenue limit, sell only permitted products, and sell exclusively through direct-to-consumer channels.
New York requires home food processors to register with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets before beginning to sell. This registration process is relatively simple — you submit an application, provide your home address as the production location, and list the types of products you intend to produce. Registration confirms that you are operating within the exemption framework and creates an official record of your operation.
The registration is renewed annually, and your registration certificate must be available at your point of sale — at a farmers market booth, for example, you should have your registration documentation accessible if asked by an inspector or market manager. Failing to register before selling, or allowing your registration to lapse while continuing to sell, takes you outside the protection of the exemption.
New York's Agriculture and Markets Department publishes current guidance on the Home Processor Exemption through its website. Given that food law in New York has been subject to periodic amendment, checking the current guidance before expanding your product line or sales channels is a worthwhile step that protects your operation.
Required Label Elements for New York Home Processors
Every home-processed food product sold in New York must include a label with the product name, a complete ingredient list in descending order by weight, the net weight or net volume, and the name and address of the home food processor — your home address. These baseline requirements mirror the federal FDA labeling standard that New York adopts by reference for cottage food operations.
The ingredient list must fully disclose all ingredients, including the sub-ingredients of any packaged product used in production. If your banana bread recipe uses a packaged flour blend, the individual ingredients of that flour blend must appear in your ingredient list in the correct order. If your cookies use a commercial chocolate chip brand, those sub-ingredients must be disclosed. New York Agriculture and Markets inspectors are trained to recognize labels that list a packaged product by brand name alone without disclosing sub-ingredients, and doing so is a labeling violation.
Allergen labeling must identify all nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. New York follows the federal allergen labeling requirements and expects cottage food labels to comply with the same allergen declaration standards that apply to commercial food manufacturers. The sesame addition that took effect nationally in 2023 applies to New York cottage food labels.
New York also requires that the label include your registration number from the Department of Agriculture and Markets. This distinguishes New York from states that do not require registration — your registration number is a label element, not just a document you keep on file. If your registration number changes or is renewed with a new number, your labels need to be updated accordingly.
The Required New York Home Processor Disclosure Statement
New York law requires a disclosure statement on every home-processed food product. The statement must inform the consumer that the product was made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected or licensed by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The required language reflects the state's standard framework for cottage food disclosures, which is similar in intent to the statements required in other states.
The disclosure must be conspicuous — clearly visible on the label without requiring the consumer to search for it. New York Agriculture and Markets guidance indicates that the statement should not be obscured by design elements, placed in a font size disproportionately smaller than other label text, or located on a surface of the package that is not reasonably accessible to the consumer at the point of sale.
New York's disclosure language should accurately reflect that the product was made in a registered home food processing facility, which distinguishes it from unregistered or illegal production. Producers who have completed their Agriculture and Markets registration can use language that reflects their registered status, which is more accurate than suggesting the operation is completely outside any oversight framework.
Quickly Cottage generates the correct New York disclosure language automatically when you select New York as your state, and the platform is updated when regulatory language changes. This means you always have the current required statement on your labels without having to monitor regulatory updates manually.
New York City Cottage Food Rules
Selling cottage food in New York City involves navigating both the state Home Processor Exemption and New York City's own health code. New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene enforces its own food regulations that apply within the five boroughs — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. In some respects, NYC's requirements are more stringent than state law, and producers who sell in the city need to understand both frameworks.
New York City has historically applied stricter standards to home-based food production than the rest of the state. The city's health code requires food establishments — including home food processing operations in some circumstances — to comply with additional requirements that go beyond the state Home Processor Exemption. Cottage food producers who sell primarily at NYC farmers markets should contact the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the specific market organization for current guidance on what is required to participate.
Farmers markets in New York City, including the Greenmarket network operated by GrowNYC, have their own vendor requirements that may exceed what either state or city law mandates. Market operators can require proof of insurance, copies of your state registration, a list of all products you sell, and in some cases a review of your label before you are approved to sell. Building a relationship with the market manager before applying for a vendor spot can help you understand what documentation you need to prepare.
Despite the additional complexity, New York City farmers markets represent some of the highest-revenue cottage food selling opportunities in the state. The customer base is large, food-curious, and willing to pay premium prices for artisan home-baked goods. Getting your labeling right and completing the required registration is the first step to accessing these markets.
Permitted Products and Revenue Limits in New York
The New York Home Processor Exemption covers non-potentially-hazardous foods — products that are shelf-stable and do not require refrigeration for safety. Permitted product categories include baked goods such as cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, and brownies that do not contain hazardous fillings.
Jams, jellies, and preserves made from fruits and sugar are permitted. Candy and confections, dried herbs, spice blends, and roasted nuts fall within the exemption.
Products that are excluded from the Home Processor Exemption include anything requiring refrigeration for food safety — fresh cream-filled pastries, cheesecakes, items with custard or dairy-based fillings, fresh meat products, and low-acid canned vegetables. These exclusions are based on the food safety principle that products requiring temperature control for safety present unacceptable risk when produced in an uninspected home kitchen.
The annual gross sales limit for the New York Home Processor Exemption is $50,000. This is one of the lower caps among states with cottage food programs, and it reflects New York's more conservative approach to the cottage food exemption compared to states like Texas (no cap) or Florida ($250,000). If your cottage food business approaches the $50,000 threshold, you need to plan your next steps — either limiting orders to stay within the cap or beginning the process of licensing as a food manufacturer.
Transitioning beyond the $50,000 cap in New York means obtaining a food processing license from the Department of Agriculture and Markets and operating from a licensed kitchen facility. Shared commercial kitchen spaces and co-packing arrangements are available in many parts of New York State and can provide a pathway to scale without building your own licensed facility. Planning for this transition before you hit the cap gives you more options and less urgency.
Common Questions
Yes. New York's Home Processor Exemption requires producers to register with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets before selling home-processed food products. The registration process involves submitting an application, listing your home address as the production facility, and identifying the types of products you intend to produce.
Your registration number must appear on your product labels, and your registration certificate should be available at your point of sale. The registration is renewed annually, so maintaining a current registration is an ongoing responsibility.
The annual gross sales limit under New York's Home Processor Exemption is $50,000. This is one of the lower caps among state cottage food programs. All revenue from sales of home-processed food products counts toward this limit.
If you reach $50,000 in gross sales, you must stop selling under the exemption for the remainder of the year or begin the process of transitioning to a licensed food manufacturing operation. Keeping accurate monthly sales records is important for monitoring your position relative to the cap.
Yes, but selling at New York City farmers markets involves navigating both the state Home Processor Exemption and New York City's health code requirements, as well as the specific requirements of the farmers market organization. The Greenmarket network and other NYC market operators have their own vendor application processes that may require proof of state registration, insurance documentation, and label review. Contact both the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the specific market you want to join for current requirements before assuming that state registration alone is sufficient to sell in the city.
Yes. New York's Home Processor Exemption requires that your registration number from the Department of Agriculture and Markets appear on your product labels. This distinguishes New York from states where registration is not required at all and adds an accountability element to the label.
When your registration is renewed and if your number changes, you need to update your labels to reflect the current number. Quickly Cottage can include your New York registration number as a field in your label template so that it appears automatically on every label you generate.
Generate Compliant New York Cottage Food Labels with Your Registration Number
Quickly Cottage includes your New York Agriculture and Markets registration number in your label template, generates the correct Home Processor disclosure statement, and creates a complete allergen declaration for every recipe you build. Start your free account and ensure your New York cottage food labels meet every state requirement.