Illinois Cottage Food

Generate Compliant Illinois Cottage Food Labels in Minutes

Illinois cottage food labels have specific disclosure requirements. We handle the required language automatically.

Here's What Your Label Will Look Like

Add the products you use, and Quickly Cottage builds the ingredient list, detects allergens, and adds Illinois's required disclosure automatically.

Product

Chocolate Cake Pops

Ingredients

Devil's Food Cake Mix Betty Crocker
Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers Ghirardelli
Rainbow Jimmies Sprinkles Wilton
Red Food Color McCormick

Chocolate Cake Pops

Produced: August 23, 2026

Sunflower Home Bakery

Permit #CF-10293

Springfield, IL, Franklin County

Ingredients:

Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Corn Starch, Salt, Soybean Oil; Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla; Sugar, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Confectioner's Glaze, Carnauba Wax, FD&C Colors; Water, Propylene Glycol, FD&C Red 40.

Contains:

Wheat Milk Soy

This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department.

What Every Illinois Label Needs

Every cottage food product sold in Illinois needs a label with the following.

  • All 9 FDA major allergens present
  • Complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight
  • Business name
  • Product name
  • City name
  • County name
  • Permit number
  • Date of production
  • "Not inspected" disclosure statement

Required Label Disclosure

This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department.

Quickly Cottage adds this to your label automatically, exactly as required.

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Ingredient lists, allergens, and the required disclosure — built in automatically.

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What You Can Sell in Illinois

The following product types are permitted under Illinois's cottage food law, and every label needs an ingredient list, allergens, and (where required) the state disclosure above.

Baked Goods

Permitted
  • Cakes and cupcakes
  • Cookies and brownies
  • Muffins and quick breads
  • Yeast breads and rolls
  • Fruit pies (cream and custard pies require refrigeration and are not permitted)
  • Cake pops and dipped treats
  • Donuts and pastries

Candies and Confections

Permitted
  • Chocolates and fudge
  • Hard candies and lollipops
  • Toffee and caramel (shelf-stable)
  • Cake truffles

Preserved and Dry Goods

Permitted
  • Jams, jellies, and preserves
  • Honey and honeycomb
  • Dried herbs and spices
  • Roasted nuts and trail mix
  • Granola and cereal
  • Popcorn and flavored popcorn
  • Dried pasta (no egg)

Beverages

Permitted
  • Coffee (roasted or ground, not brewed)
  • Dry tea blends

What You Can't Sell

These product types aren't covered by Illinois's cottage food law and require a commercial kitchen license.

  • Meat, poultry, and seafood products
  • Dairy products (milk, cheese, butter)
  • Items requiring refrigeration (cream pies, cheesecakes)
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Fruit and vegetable juices
  • Canned low-acid vegetables

Where You Can Sell

Illinois permits cottage food sales at the following venues.

Direct from your home

Farmers markets

Online sales

Retail

Annual Sales Cap

No cap

No annual revenue cap. Cap was removed in 2022.

Permit & Registration

No permit or registration required

No permit or license is required for cottage food operations in Illinois.

Notes

Cap removed in 2022.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Illinois cottage food label need to include?

Every Illinois cottage food label needs the product name, a complete ingredient list in descending order by weight, all 9 FDA major allergens, net weight, your business name, and your business address. Illinois also requires this disclosure: "This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department." Quickly Cottage adds all of this automatically.

What is the required disclosure statement for Illinois cottage food?

The required language is: "This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens. If you have safety concerns, contact your local health department." This must appear on every cottage food label sold under Illinois Cottage Food Act.

What is the annual sales cap for cottage food in Illinois?

Illinois's cottage food annual sales cap is: No cap gross revenue.

Where can I sell cottage food products made in Illinois?

In Illinois, cottage food producers can sell through: Direct from your home, Farmers markets, Online sales, and Retail.

Do I need to list sub-ingredients from a packaged mix on my Illinois cottage food label?

Yes. If you use a packaged ingredient like a Betty Crocker cake mix or Ghirardelli chocolate, you must list its sub-ingredients on your label, in the correct order. This is an FDA labeling rule that applies in Illinois and every other state. Quickly Cottage expands these automatically from our branded ingredient database.

Can I use Canva or Word to make my Illinois cottage food label?

You can design the visual layout in Canva or Word, but neither can auto-generate your ingredient list, detect allergens, or add Illinois's required disclosure statement. You'd need to compile all of that manually. Quickly Cottage handles it automatically for Illinois and all 50 states.

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