Can I sell eggs in Florida?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Florida?

Florida's egg law calls anyone who sells 30 dozen or more eggs in a week an egg "dealer", and a dealer must hold a food permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Sell fewer than 30 dozen a week and you are not a dealer.

You still need a permit. Florida requires a food permit of anyone who operates a food establishment, and FDACS's rule calls a farm that produces and offers its own shell eggs for sale one. The rule says an egg producer with 3,000 hens or fewer on its own farm in Florida that sells under 30 dozen a week "shall be permitted as a limited egg farm operation". That permit costs $100 a year.

Source: Fla. Stat. 583.01(4), 583.09, 500.12(1)(a), Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.033(2)(b), (4)(a) and 5K-4.020(4)(j).

How many eggs can I sell without a license in Florida?

Two lines. Under 30 dozen a week you are not an egg dealer. The Limited Poultry & Egg Farm permit is for a farm with 3,000 hens or fewer, on the farmer's own farm in Florida, still under 30 dozen a week. The rule raised that from 1,000 hens on November 11, 2025, and FDACS's web pages still say 1,000. More hens, or 30 dozen or more a week, takes a dealer's food permit.

Federal egg-safety rules start at 3,000 laying hens, for a farm that doesn't sell all its eggs straight to consumers.

Source: Fla. Stat. 583.01(4), Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.033(4), FDACS and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Florida?

Florida's egg law and FDACS's egg rules don't mention farmers markets. FDACS's permit rules list the limited egg farm as a farm-based food establishment, and a separate "semi-permanent vendor" permit for selling food other than fresh fruits and vegetables from a pushcart, flea market stand, roadside stand, kiosk or similar structure.

The rules don't say which permit covers an egg stall away from the farm, so ask FDACS before your first market.

Source: Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.020(1)(n), (ee).

Can I sell eggs to a restaurant, a store or a neighbor who resells them in Florida?

Not under the Limited Poultry & Egg Farm permit. FDACS's guidance says a limited egg farm doesn't wholesale, and its food permit application counts selling to other businesses as wholesale.

Outside that permit, FDACS permits a farm that sells its eggs wholesale or retail as a shell egg processor: a processing room apart from the house, egg-washing equipment and cold storage at 45°F or below. Anyone who sells 30 dozen or more a week, a reseller included, is a dealer. That's beyond what this directory is built for.

Source: FDACS Shell Egg Processor Requirements, FDACS food permit application and Fla. Stat. 583.01(4).

Do I need to grade or label my eggs in Florida?

A limited egg farm packs its eggs in clean, unused cartons labelled with the farm's name and address, so no reused cartons. Florida's label rule for dealers adds the pack date, the grade and the size. The sources set no other label for a farm under the line.

Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs, sold in-state or not, in a box, on the top, a side panel or inside the lid. If it is inside the lid, "Keep Refrigerated" goes on the outside.

Source: Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.033(4)(e), Fla. Stat. 583.02 and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

Do eggs have to be refrigerated to sell in Florida, and at what temperature?

Yes, at 45°F or colder. Florida law says "all egg handlers" refrigerate eggs once they are packed for the customer, and keep them at no more than 45°F in storage and on the road until they are sold. Federal rules hold eggs for sale to consumers at 45°F too, and FDACS asks a shell egg processor for cooling equipment that holds that line.

Source: Fla. Stat. 583.022, 21 CFR 115.50 and FDACS.

Can I sell duck, quail or other eggs in Florida?

Florida's egg law is written about chicken eggs: its "eggs" are eggs "from the domesticated chicken", so its 30-dozen line says nothing about other birds. FDACS's guidance says the Limited Poultry & Egg Farm permit covers eggs from chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas and quail. For any other bird, ask FDACS.

Source: Fla. Stat. 583.01(10) and FDACS Shell Egg Processor Requirements.

Do I have to wash or candle eggs to sell them in Florida?

Candling, only to grade them. Florida law lets a grade be declared only after candling.

Washing and grading, the law leaves open. It calls eggs that haven't been washed, sized or graded "nest run" and says they are sold only to other producers or processors, never to consumers, retail outlets or public eating places. It calls washed eggs that haven't been graded "unclassified" and says they aren't offered at retail in cartons, and the limited egg farm rule asks for clean, unused cartons and bars the farm from further processing its eggs. The sources don't say how those lines meet for a farm under 30 dozen a week, so ask FDACS before you sell.

Source: Fla. Stat. 583.01(23)(e), (g), 583.021 and Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.033(4)(e)-(f).