Maine cottage food law
Sell cottage food in Maine
Maine cottage food law, label rules, and a free storefront. Maine's cottage food law lets home bakers sell directly to consumers with no statewide sales cap — provided you sell directly to consumers, label every product correctly, and follow Maine's rules. CottageOps configures the Maine label disclosure for you, tracks your sales against the cap, and gives you a free storefront to take orders.
What Maine's cottage food law says
- Sales cap
- No statewide sales cap — Maine doesn't set an annual revenue ceiling on cottage food sales.
- Refrigerated (TCS) foods
- Maine's cottage food path is limited to shelf-stable goods — refrigerated (TCS) items aren't allowed under the exemption.
- Where you can sell
- Direct to Maine consumers — pickup, in-state delivery, farmers markets, and online sales to in-state customers.
Required label disclosure in Maine
Maine doesn't mandate one fixed statewide disclosure sentence on cottage food labels. Your label still needs the product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, the net weight, a “Contains” allergen statement for any FDA major allergens, and your name and address as the producer. Confirm current label requirements with your Maine cottage food authority — CottageOps lays out the required fields for you.
Before you sell in Maine
Maine requires a permit and a kitchen inspection before you sell.
Before accepting orders in Maine, you'll need to obtain the required permit and pass a kitchen inspection. This can take weeks, so start the application early. You can build your storefront and menu in CottageOps now and switch on orders once you're cleared.
Full Maine cottage-food law
The detail behind the summary above: Maine's primary statute, the agency that enforces it, the revenue cap, what foods are allowed, refrigerated-food (TCS) rules, labeling notes, and the watch-outs to know before you sell.
- Primary statute
- Maine Food Sovereignty Act (7 M.R.S. Ch. 8-F, municipally administered) and/or Home Food Manufacturer license (22 M.R.S.) (Maine Food Sovereignty / Home Food Manufacturer paths)
- Enforcing agency
- Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) / municipal ordinance
- Revenue cap
- No cap stored.
- Allowed foods
- Shelf-stable foods under either the municipally-administered Food Sovereignty path or the state Home Food Manufacturer license.
- Refrigerated (TCS) / prohibited
- Conservative shelf-stable only (engine refuses TCS labels for ME).
- Where you can sell
- Direct to consumer; under the Home Food Manufacturer path a permit AND inspection are required before sale (permit + inspection tier). The Food Sovereignty path is governed by local town ordinance.
- Labeling notes
- NO statewide mandated disclosure string — requirements vary by town ordinance (Food Sovereignty path) and the licensed path is locally inspected. The label renders the universal fields + standing disclaimer footer with no state-disclosure line.
- Watch-outs
- Two parallel regimes (municipal Food Sovereignty vs state Home Food Manufacturer license) with different rules.
- No statewide mandated disclosure sentence — varies by town ordinance (engine stores an empty string).
- Permit + inspection on the licensed path (stronger gated tier).
General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state agency. Last verified 2026-06-15.
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Maine cottage food FAQ
What must a Maine cottage food label include?
A compliant Maine cottage food label needs the product name, the ingredients in descending order by weight, the net weight (oz and/or grams), the "Contains" allergen statement for any FDA major allergens, and the producer's name and address. Maine does not mandate a specific cottage-food disclosure statement, so the generator lays out those required fields for you automatically as you type.
What is the required cottage food disclosure in Maine?
Maine does not mandate a specific cottage-food disclosure statement on the label. The generator simply lays out the required fields (product name, ingredients, net weight, allergens, and your name and address) without adding a disclosure line.
Can I sell TCS or refrigerated cottage food items in Maine?
No — Maine's cottage food path is limited to shelf-stable goods, so TCS items that need refrigeration are not allowed under the cottage food exemption. If you toggle "Contains a TCS item" the generator will flag that Maine doesn't permit it, so you don't print a non-compliant label.
Is this Maine cottage food label generator really free?
Yes. Building and previewing your Maine-compliant label is free with no account. CottageOps is free through 2026 — no credit card — and when you're ready to download or print the full-resolution label you just claim your free CottageOps account. In 2027 it's a flat $19/mo (or $190/yr).
More for Maine bakers, plus our guides for every other state:
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Start freeThis is general information, not legal advice — confirm with your Maine cottage food authority before selling. Last verified: 2026-06-13.