Connecticut Cottage Food Law

Connecticut's cottage food law sets an annual revenue cap of $50,000 and a permit (Connecticut DCP Cottage Food Operator license (annual)) is required before the first sale. Sales must be made directly to the consumer: at the point of production, farmers markets, local fairs and festivals, and charitable organization functions. Internet, mail, and phone advertising and orders are allowed only if you or your designee deliver the product in person to the customer within Connecticut — no shipping by mail, UPS/FedEx, third-party delivery services, or mobile food ordering companies. Sales at grocery stores, restaurants, long-term care facilities, group homes, day care facilities, and schools are prohibited, as are consignment and wholesale sales (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-62d(b)).

Watch for: No shipping and no store shelves: online, mail, and phone orders must be hand-delivered within Connecticut by you or your designee, and sales through grocery stores, restaurants, schools, day care facilities, long-term care facilities, group homes, consignment, or wholesale are all prohibited.

Annual revenue cap

$50,000

Permit / registration

Connecticut DCP Cottage Food Operator license (annual)

$50/year

Kitchen inspection

Required

Food handler training

Required

Acidified foods

Excluded

Interstate shipping

In-state only

Where you can sell

Sales must be made directly to the consumer: at the point of production, farmers markets, local fairs and festivals, and charitable organization functions. Internet, mail, and phone advertising and orders are allowed only if you or your designee deliver the product in person to the customer within Connecticut — no shipping by mail, UPS/FedEx, third-party delivery services, or mobile food ordering companies. Sales at grocery stores, restaurants, long-term care facilities, group homes, day care facilities, and schools are prohibited, as are consignment and wholesale sales (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-62d(b)).

Direct (in-person)
Farmers markets
Online (in-state)

What's required before your first sale

Annual Cottage Food Operator license from the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP); the statute caps the annual license fee at $100 and DCP currently lists a $50 application fee. Before licensing you must complete a DCP-recognized food safety training course, confirm that local zoning allows the business, and have a private water supply tested for potability, and DCP examines the premises. You may produce only the products listed on your license, and the license must be displayed wherever you sell (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 21a-62c, 21a-62d(c)-(d)).

Label requirements

Name and address of the cottage food operation (DCP: the address must include the city, state, and ZIP code)
Common or usual name of the product
Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight or volume, with sub-ingredients for compound items (the specific tree nut must be named)
Allergen information per federal labeling requirements
Net weight or volume, including the metric equivalent
Verbatim disclosure required by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-62g, in 10-point or larger type in a color that contrasts with the background: "Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection."
Connecticut requires an annual DCP cottage food license, and you may produce only the specific products listed on it (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 21a-62c(a), 21a-62d(c))

How Ardent Seller helps

Generate your Connecticut disclosure label in one click

Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for Connecticut from data you already track — the state's required disclosure statement rendered verbatim (and sized to meet the state's minimum type size where one applies), your operator info, ingredients in descending order by weight, the federal "Contains:" allergen line, net weight, and lot code. A validation checklist flags anything Connecticut requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.

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