Every element your cottage food label needs — including Washington's mandatory disclaimer statement, allergen rules, and the WSDA pre-approval process.
All cottage food products in Washington must be prepackaged and labeled before sale. WSDA reviews every label during the permit application process and must approve it before you can start selling. Here's exactly what must appear on each label:
Your registered cottage food business name — this is the name on your WSDA permit and business license.
Your unique permit number issued by WSDA. Since the 2020 amendment (HB 2217), you are required to list your permit number instead of your home address on the label — a welcome privacy protection for home-based sellers.
The name of the specific cottage food product — for example, "Raspberry Jam" or "Chocolate Chip Cookies." The name should clearly identify what the product is.
All ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The ingredient that makes up the largest portion of the product by weight comes first, and so on down to the smallest. Use common ingredient names that consumers will recognize.
The total weight or volume of the product in the package. Use standard U.S. measurements (ounces, pounds) and metric equivalents where applicable. Measurement should be of the food product only, not including the packaging.
If your product contains any of the major food allergens, they must be clearly identified on the label. If tree nuts are used, you must identify the specific type of nut (e.g., "almonds" or "walnuts" — not just "tree nuts"). See the allergen section below for the complete list.
Washington requires a specific disclaimer statement on every cottage food label. This must be printed in at least 11-point font in a color that contrasts with the background. See the exact required wording below.
If your product contains any liquor (at 1% or less by weight), you must include this statement: "This product contains liquor and the alcohol content is one percent or less of the weight of the product."
This disclaimer informs the consumer that your product was made in a residential kitchen rather than a commercial facility. It's a legal requirement, not optional — and WSDA will verify it during label review. The statement must be reproduced exactly as written above. You cannot rephrase, abbreviate, or alter the wording.
If your cottage food product contains any of the nine major food allergens recognized by federal law, you must clearly identify them on your label. Washington's requirements align with FDA allergen labeling standards. The nine major allergens are:
You can declare allergens in one of two ways: by listing them parenthetically within the ingredients list — for example, "flour (wheat)" or "butter (milk)" — or by adding a separate "Contains" statement after the ingredients list, such as "Contains: wheat, milk, eggs."
Even though some allergens (like fish and shellfish) correspond to products that are prohibited under cottage food, they may appear as ingredients in other products. For example, fish sauce could theoretically be an ingredient in a dry seasoning blend — which is why the full list of allergens applies to all cottage food labels.
Every cottage food product must display the net weight (for solid or semi-solid foods) or net volume (for liquid-like products such as jams) on the label. This tells the consumer exactly how much product they're getting, excluding the weight of the packaging.
Use standard U.S. customary units — ounces (oz) for smaller items, pounds (lb) for larger ones, or fluid ounces (fl oz) for semi-liquid products. Including the metric equivalent (grams or milliliters) alongside is good practice and common on professional labels, though Washington's cottage food rules don't explicitly require dual units.
Make sure you weigh or measure your product consistently. If your label says 8 oz, every package needs to contain at least 8 oz. Underweight packages violate measurement accuracy standards and can result in enforcement action. It's better to slightly overfill than underfill.
Washington's cottage food rules specify one explicit font size requirement: the home kitchen disclaimer statement must be printed in at least 11-point font in a contrasting color. This is a firm minimum — the disclaimer cannot be printed any smaller.
For other label elements (product name, ingredients, allergens, net weight), Washington's cottage food statute doesn't specify font size minimums beyond requiring that labels be legible. However, following FDA general food labeling standards is good practice: ingredient lists on packages with a principal display panel of less than 5 square inches should be at least 1/16 of an inch tall (approximately 4.5 pt), and larger packages should use at least 1/8 inch (approximately 9 pt) for most required information.
For large cakes, wedding cakes, or bulk items where attaching a traditional label may be impractical, Washington allows a separate product sheet containing all the required label information. The product sheet must accompany the product at the time of sale and include every element that would normally appear on the label.
Unlike most states, Washington requires every product label to be reviewed and approved by WSDA before your cottage food permit is issued. You submit example labels as part of your permit application, and WSDA reviews them for compliance with all labeling requirements. If your labels don't meet the standards, WSDA will ask you to make corrections before approving your application.
This applies to your initial application and to any new products you add later. If you want to add products outside of your renewal period, you'll need to file a permit amendment ($105 fee) and submit the new product labels for review.
While the pre-approval requirement adds a step to the process, it has a significant upside: once WSDA approves your label, you know it meets all state requirements. You won't face surprises at a farmers market or from a compliance inspection down the road.
Here's what a compliant Washington cottage food label looks like with all required elements:
Create compliant Washington cottage food labels with the required disclaimer pre-filled — ready to print and attach to your products.
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