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Washington, D.C. 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 D.C.'s cottage food registration rules, flag prohibited categories and packaging, and build you a personalized checklist plus a printable label draft.
Free customized label/checklist after walk-through completion
Built from D.C. Official Code §§ 7-742.01–7-742.03 and DC Health's Cottage Food Business guidance. Not legal advice and not DC Health approval — verify final requirements with DC Health before selling.
Free registration walk-throughSee fast whether your product and sales plan fit DC Health's cottage food registration.
Free checklistKeep the registration, product-list, and packaging rules tied to your own answers.
Free label generationDraft D.C.'s exact disclosure statement plus your ingredient and allergen lines.
Do you need a permit to sell homemade food in Washington, D.C.?
You need to register (not get a license) with DC Health's Cottage Food Business Registry before you sell — a $50 fee covers a 2-year certificate, and DC Health may (but isn't required to) inspect your kitchen first. There's no sales cap: the original 2013 law's $25,000/year cap was repealed in 2020. Direct, retail, wholesale to a licensed DC food establishment (added in 2025), and online sales are all allowed, but every channel has to stay within the District of Columbia — D.C. cottage food can't be sold or shipped to customers outside DC. Products are limited to DC Health's approved list of non-potentially-hazardous foods; meat/poultry, canned fruits/vegetables, low-sugar fruit butters, pressed juice, alcohol, and pet treats are all prohibited outright, along with hermetically sealed jars, reduced-oxygen packaging, and fresh homegrown garnishes.
Ingredients in descending order by weight (specific allergen names)
Net weight or volume
Allergen information
Exact statement (10-pt font or larger, contrasting color): Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to the District of Columbia's food safety regulations.
Common D.C. blockers
Selling or shipping to customers outside the District of Columbia
Meat, poultry, or dehydrated meat products
Canned fruits/vegetables, vegetable butters, or salsas
Low-sugar or low-pectin fruit butters, pressed juice, alcohol, or pet treats
Hermetically sealed jars, acidified/low-acid canning, or reduced-oxygen packaging
Fresh homegrown produce used as a garnish rather than baked/incorporated in