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Illinois cottage food label requirements and registration checklist
Answer a few plain-English questions about what you make and how you want to sell it. We check it against Illinois's current Cottage Food Operation rules — no sales cap, but CFPM certification and local registration are required — flag the choices that push you toward a licensed commercial kitchen, and build you a personalized checklist plus a printable label draft.
Free customized label/checklist after walk-through completion
Built from current Illinois Department of Public Health guidance and 410 ILCS 625/4. Not legal advice and not state approval — verify final requirements with the Illinois Department of Public Health or your local health department before you sell.
Free registration walk-throughSee fast whether you fit Illinois's Cottage Food Operation rules.
Free checklistKeep the CFPM requirement, prohibited-foods list, and sales-channel rules tied to your own answers.
Free label generationDraft Illinois's exact disclosure statement plus your registration and ingredient lines in one place.
Do you need a permit to sell cottage food in Illinois?
You need to register (not get a license) as a Cottage Food Operation with the local health department in the county where you live — the fee is capped at $50/year and there's no routine home inspection. Everyone who prepares or packages the food, including you, must hold a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certificate. Illinois has no annual sales cap and allows nearly all foods except an explicit prohibited list (meat/dairy/eggs beyond minor ingredient use, hazardous pies, non-acidified garlic-in-oil, low-acid canned foods, sprouts, cut leafy greens, cut fresh tomato/melon, wild mushrooms, alcohol, kombucha). Acidified/fermented foods and canned tomato products need an approved recipe or lab pH test on file. Sales must be direct-to-consumer and stay inside Illinois — no interstate shipping or wholesale resale.
Business name and the unit of local government where you're registered
Registration number and the county/municipality where it was filed
The product's common or usual name
Ingredients in descending order by weight, with allergens
Full processing date (month/day/year)
Net weight or net volume
Exact label statement: 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.
Separately, an 8"×10" point-of-sale placard (or matching online listing notice) reading: This product was produced in a home kitchen not inspected by a health department that may also process common food allergens.
Common Illinois blockers
Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, or dairy/raw eggs beyond minor ingredient use
Cheesecake, custard/cream pies, pumpkin or sweet-potato pie
Garlic-in-oil that isn't acidified, low-acid canned foods, sprouts, wild-harvested mushrooms, alcohol, or kombucha
Cut leafy greens, cut/pureed fresh tomato or melon (unless dehydrated, acidified, or blanched-and-frozen)
Shipping or selling to customers outside Illinois
Wholesaling to a retail store, restaurant, or any third party for resale
Not having CFPM certification for everyone who preps or packages the food