Nevada Cottage Food Label Requirements: Exactly What Goes on Your Label

The Six Required Label Elements

Every packaged cottage food product sold in Nevada must carry a label with six specific elements. Missing any one of them can delay your registration, trigger a label revision request from your health district, or — if you are already selling — result in enforcement action.

Here is what goes on every label, with the formatting details that trip people up.

1. Product Name (Common Name)

The usual, descriptive name of the food item — "Chocolate Chip Cookies," "Lemon Blueberry Scones," "Strawberry Jam." This goes on the principal display panel (the front of the package) in a prominent font size. Use the name a customer would naturally use to describe the product, not a brand name or marketing phrase.

2. Business Name and Physical Address

Your registered business name and the physical street address of your home kitchen. Not a P.O. box — the actual residential address where the food is prepared. This is a legal requirement because cottage food operations are tied to a specific residence, and the address lets the health authority trace any product back to its source.

If you filed a DBA (Certificate of Business) with your county clerk, the name on your label must match your DBA registration exactly.

3. Complete Ingredient List

All ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight — the ingredient you use the most goes first, the one you use the least goes last. Sub-ingredients must be declared in parentheses. For example: "butter (cream, salt)" or "chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract)."

This is where accuracy matters most. If your recipe uses a pre-made ingredient like chocolate chips or cake flour, you need to list every sub-ingredient of that product, not just "chocolate chips" or "cake flour."

4. Major Allergen Declaration

Federal law requires you to explicitly declare any of the nine major food allergens present in your product:

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Wheat
4. Soy
5. Peanuts
6. Tree nuts (specify which: almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.)
7. Fish (specify which species)
8. Crustacean shellfish (specify which)
9. Sesame

The standard format places the allergen declaration below the ingredient list: "Contains: wheat, eggs, milk" — listing only the allergens actually present in that specific product.

If your product does not contain any of the nine major allergens, you do not need a "Contains" statement. But be careful about cross-contact — if you bake peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies in the same kitchen using the same equipment, both products may need allergen declarations unless you follow strict sanitization protocols between batches.

5. Net Quantity of Contents

The total net weight or volume of the packaged product, expressed in both US customary units (ounces, pounds) and metric units (grams, kilograms). This must be printed in the lower third of the principal display panel, parallel to the base of the package.

For example: "Net Wt. 8 oz (227 g)" or "Net Wt. 12 oz (340 g)."

Weigh finished, packaged products on a kitchen scale to get accurate numbers. Estimating will eventually cause problems — inconsistent weights across packages can draw scrutiny during a label review.

6. The Mandatory Non-Inspection Warning Statement

This is the element unique to cottage food labels. Nevada law requires the following statement, word for word, in capital letters:

MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION.

It must be printed in at least 10-point contrasting font on the primary product label. This is not optional, and the wording is not flexible — it must match the statutory language exactly.

County-Specific Label Review Rules

How your labels get reviewed depends on your health district:

SNHD (Clark County): Label review is voluntary — you are not required to submit labels for review before selling. However, if you request a review, SNHD bills at $87 per hour of staff time. Getting a voluntary review is worth the cost for first-time operators because it catches formatting errors before products hit the market.

NNPH (Washoe County): Digital proofs of all product labels must be uploaded as part of your online application through onenv.us. Environmental health staff review them during the registration process.

CCHHS (Carson City/Douglas County): Label review is mandatory — your labels must be reviewed and approved by environmental health staff before any public sales can begin. The initial registration is free, but you cannot sell until labels pass.

CNHD and DPBH (rural counties): Labels are submitted as part of the registration application and reviewed by environmental health staff.

Common Label Mistakes

Missing sub-ingredients. Listing "chocolate chips" without breaking down the sub-ingredients (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract) is the most frequent error. Every component of every ingredient must be declared.

Wrong address format. Using a P.O. box or business mailing address instead of the physical home kitchen address where production occurs.

Incomplete allergen declarations. Forgetting that butter contains milk, or that standard flour contains wheat. The allergen declaration must cover every allergen present in every ingredient and sub-ingredient.

Inconsistent business name. The name on your label must match your DBA registration and your health district application. Three different names across three documents creates confusion and delays.

Missing or modified warning statement. The statutory language is exact. Paraphrasing it, abbreviating it, or moving it to a secondary label panel can cause your registration to be delayed.

Getting It Right the First Time

For a label template with all six elements properly positioned, along with county-specific formatting guidelines and an allergen cross-reference checklist, the Nevada Cottage Food & Home Food Business Guide includes ready-to-use label layouts that satisfy both state and federal requirements.

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