Wisconsin cottage food law
Sell cottage food in Wisconsin
Wisconsin cottage food law, label rules, and a free storefront. Wisconsin's cottage food law lets home bakers sell directly to consumers up to a $25,000 sales cap — provided you sell directly to consumers, label every product correctly, and follow Wisconsin's rules. CottageOps configures the Wisconsin label disclosure for you, tracks your sales against the cap, and gives you a free storefront to take orders.
What Wisconsin's cottage food law says
- Sales cap
- $25,000 per year, gross sales. In Wisconsin this is a hard cap — once you reach it in a 12-month window, the lawful move is to stop selling under the cottage food exemption (or move to a fully licensed operation).
- Refrigerated (TCS) foods
- Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin consumers — pickup, in-state delivery, farmers markets, and online sales to in-state customers.
Required label disclosure in Wisconsin
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin cottage food authority — CottageOps lays out the required fields for you.
Before you sell in Wisconsin
Wisconsin doesn't require a permit to start.
Wisconsin lets cottage food bakers start selling without a state permit or inspection — set up your storefront, add your menu, and you can begin taking orders.
Full Wisconsin cottage-food law
The detail behind the summary above: Wisconsin'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
- Wis. Stat. §97.29 ("Pickle Bill," home-canned/acidified only); baked-goods D2C sales are court-exempt (Kivirist v. DATCP) (Wisconsin home-baked goods (Kivirist exemption))
- Revenue cap
- $25,000/year (cottage / Pickle Bill scope; the engine stores $25,000). A separate $5,000 "Pickle Bill" high-acid sub-cap is out of baking scope. Hard cap. NOTE: for court-exempt baked goods specifically, the cap framing is contested — confirm.
- Allowed foods
- Home-baked goods sold direct-to-consumer are court-exempt (Kivirist v. DATCP). The §97.29 "Pickle Bill" governs home-canned/acidified foods, not baked goods.
- Refrigerated (TCS) / prohibited
- Conservative shelf-stable only (engine refuses TCS labels for WI).
- Where you can sell
- Direct to consumer for baked goods.
- Labeling notes
- NO disclosure sentence is mandated for BAKED GOODS sold D2C in Wisconsin (Kivirist v. DATCP). The label renders the universal fields + standing disclaimer footer with no state-disclosure line. (The §97.29 string applies only to home-canned/acidified foods.)
- Watch-outs
- No mandated disclosure sentence for baked goods (engine stores an empty string).
- Do not apply the §97.29 "Pickle Bill" string to baked goods — wrong regime.
- REVISIT if WI 2025 SB739 (or successor) is enacted.
General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state agency. Last verified 2026-06-15.
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Wisconsin cottage food FAQ
What must a Wisconsin cottage food label include?
A compliant Wisconsin 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. Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?
No — Wisconsin'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 Wisconsin doesn't permit it, so you don't print a non-compliant label.
Is this Wisconsin cottage food label generator really free?
Yes. Building and previewing your Wisconsin-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 Wisconsin bakers, plus our guides for every other state:
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A free Wisconsin storefront, the Wisconsin label disclosure configured for you, and sales tracking — built in from day one. Cancel anytime; the most-recent month is refundable.
Start freeThis is general information, not legal advice — confirm with your Wisconsin cottage food authority before selling. Last verified: 2026-06-13.