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North Carolina cottage food label requirements and home processor checklist
Answer a few plain-English questions about what you make, your kitchen setup, and how you want to sell it. We check it against NCDA&CS's Home Processor program — the single statewide standard covering all of North Carolina — flag what needs extra steps, and build you a personalized checklist plus a printable label draft.
Free customized label/checklist after walk-through completion
Built from N.C.G.S. § 130A-250(12), N.C.G.S. Chapter 106 Article 12, and NCDA&CS's current Home Processor Program guidance and application. North Carolina has no separate "cottage food" statute — home food production runs through one statewide NCDA&CS program instead of county health departments. Not legal advice and not state approval — verify final requirements with NCDA&CS before selling.
Free permit walk-throughSee fast whether your product, kitchen setup, and sales channels fit NCDA&CS's Home Processor program.
Free checklistKeep product-type, kitchen, and channel-specific labeling rules tied to your own answers.
Free label generationDraft the manufacturer, ingredient, net quantity, and allergen lines NCDA&CS requires.
Do you need a permit to sell homemade food in North Carolina?
You don't need a state-issued permit or license, but you do need a NCDA&CS home kitchen inspection before selling. North Carolina doesn't have a separate cottage-food statute — instead, N.C.G.S. § 130A-250(12) exempts food regulated by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) from the local health department's general food-establishment permit, and NCDA&CS runs a single statewide Home Processor program covering the whole state (not a patchwork of county health department rules). You'll need your home kitchen inspected (no fee, no pets allowed inside, and it has to be your actual home kitchen — not a separate building or garage), submit a business plan and water test results, and get a compliant inspection before selling. There's no stated dollar sales cap, and NCDA&CS's own guidance covers direct sales, farmers markets, and wholesale to retail stores and restaurants under the same program. A physical label is required whenever the product is packaged for self-service, sold wholesale, or shipped — but not for on-demand sales handed directly to the customer.