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Food Freedom (no cap) Last reviewed 2026-06-14

2026 reference

Maine Cottage Food Law

Maine's cottage food law sets no statewide revenue cap and a permit (Home Food Processor license) is required before the first sale. Direct sales, farmers markets, and online sales permitted.

Watch for: Maine trades higher upfront requirements (state license + inspection) for unlimited revenue potential. Best for serious home bakers.

Key facts

Annual revenue cap
No cap (Home Food Processor)
Permit / registration
Home Food Processor license
Kitchen inspection
Required
Food handler training
Not required
Acidified foods
Permitted (pH test)
Interstate shipping
In-state only

Where you can sell

Direct sales, farmers markets, and online sales permitted.

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

What's required before your first sale

Home Food Processor license required, plus a kitchen inspection.

Label requirements

  • Common or usual name of the product
  • Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight, beginning "Ingredients:"
  • Net weight, net volume, or numerical count
  • Name, address, and ZIP code of the producer
  • Federal allergen labeling under FALCPA + FASTER Act: "Contains:" statement for any of the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame)
  • Maine requires NO "made in a home kitchen" disclaimer — a licensed (inspected) Home Food License kitchen prints a standard packaged-food label; under the Food Sovereignty Act any disclosure is set by local ordinance, not statewide. No label is required when product is sold directly to the consumer from the home.
How Ardent Seller helps

Generate your Maine disclosure label in one click

Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for Maine 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 Maine requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.

Start free See all food features

Sources

Reference content only — not legal advice. State laws change frequently. Verify against the official source before launching.

Tools that work with Maine

Revenue cap tracker

Enter your year-to-date gross sales and see how close you are to the No cap (Home Food Processor) cap.

50-state PDF guide

Printable 17-page reference covering every state with quick-scan cards.

Compare with nearby states

NH Mid cap

New Hampshire

$25,000

Run your Maine cottage food business in one place

Ardent Seller tracks ingredients, batches, labels, and revenue against your state's cap — built for cottage food producers.

Start free For at-home bakers
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