Can I sell eggs in Idaho?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Idaho?

Not an egg license, on the egg chapter’s words, when a producer sells straight to a consumer at the place of production. The chapter says “‘Distributor’ means any person having possession or control of eggs or egg products for the purpose of candling, grading, packing, selling, peddling, distributing, dealing in, or trading in eggs or egg products for resale to a dealer in the state of Idaho, but shall not refer to a producer when engaging in the sale of eggs or egg products to a distributor or when engaging in the sale of eggs directly to a consumer at the place of production. Distributor shall not include those operating pursuant to chapter 2, title 37, Idaho Code” (I.C. 37-1520(g); “this chapter” is chapter 15 of title 37, I.C. 37-1501 to 37-1507 and 37-1519 to 37-1530). “No person shall act as a distributor of eggs in the state of Idaho without first obtaining a license therefor from the director for each physically separate establishment at which such business is conducted” (37-1522(a)), for $20 a year (37-1523(a)). “No producer or distributor shall engage in candling eggs for official grade designation in the state of Idaho without first obtaining a license therefor from the director” (37-1522(b)), for $5 a year. The Department of Agriculture’s rule says “An Idaho producer of shell eggs may sell shell eggs produced on his premises in Idaho directly to consumers at the place of production of the eggs, without grade designations” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.b).

The Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act is the second route, and it names eggs. It took effect on 2026-03-20 (S1283, 2026 session law chapter 91, with an emergency clause). Its “perishable food” includes “Eggs and egg products” (I.C. 37-203(7)(f); “this chapter” there is chapter 2 of title 37, I.C. 37-201 to 37-208), and “Producers operating pursuant to this chapter may sell homemade shelf-stable or perishable food products to the fullest extent permitted by applicable state and federal law” (37-205(1)). The Act does not say in so many words that a producer is excused from a license. What stops counting such a producer is the egg chapter’s definition above, the assessment’s exemption for “Those operating pursuant to chapter 2, title 37, Idaho Code” (37-1523A(2)(g)) and the food establishment definition’s exclusion of the same (39-1602(2)(h), which lists what “The term ‘food establishment’ does not include”), and the Act bars a rule “more stringent than the corresponding state or federal requirement”: “Except as expressly authorized by state statute, agencies and political subdivisions of this state shall not adopt, continue in effect, or enforce any ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, or policy pertaining to the licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging, or labeling of products made available pursuant to this chapter that is more stringent than the corresponding state or federal requirement” (37-204(2)).

The Act’s conditions are on the sale. It must “Occur between a producer or designated agent and informed end consumer” (37-205(2)(a)). The buyer is an “informed end consumer,” “a person who knowingly purchases products available pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, who is the final purchaser of such product, who does not resell or redistribute the product, and for whom resale or redistribution is unlawful” (37-203(6)). The sale must “Occur entirely within the state of Idaho and shall not constitute or involve interstate commerce. All production, processing, packaging, sale, and delivery activities shall take place wholly within the state of Idaho” (37-205(2)(b)), and the Department of Health and Welfare’s page says “If you sell food or drinks outside of Idaho, you may need FDA approval.” The producer tells the buyer the food “is not subject to inspection or licensing” and shows a sign, a label or a card that says “This product is not subject to government food safety inspection or licensing requirements. It may contain allergens.” with the producer’s name and contact information, and “a list of ingredients used in the product if such product contains two (2) or more ingredients” (37-205(3)(b)(iii)). The producer keeps records of “the type and quantity of product sold, the date of the sale, the date of production, where the homemade food product was produced, and where each ingredient was produced or acquired” (37-208(1)), for “at least two (2) years” (37-208(4)), confidential except in a confirmed foodborne illness investigation, and a producer found without them in such an investigation “may be subject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500)” (37-208). The Department of Health and Welfare’s page says the same about the notice.

Open, because the sources part or are silent. The Act says “Nothing in this chapter shall: (a) Exempt any food product from law, regulations, or inspections for weights and measures, representation, marketing or branding, the lawful use of pesticides or fertilizers, and the lawful use of pest, weed, or disease prevention methods” (37-204(3)(a)), and no source read says what that reaches for an egg. The Department of Agriculture’s rule carries history stamps of March 2022 and was not conformed to the Act, and the Department of Health and Welfare’s Food Code rule still lists cottage food operations (IDAPA 16.02.19.001.02.i) while the Department’s page says the Act “replaces and supersedes the cottage food rule that was defined previously in IDAPA 16.02.19.” The Department of Agriculture’s page words the distributor line shorter than the statute: “An egg distributor is any person having possession or control of eggs or egg products for the purpose of candling, grading, packing, selling, peddling, distributing, dealing in or trading in eggs or egg products for resale to a dealer in the state of Idaho – unless that person is the producer selling the eggs at the place of production.” It leaves out the statute’s clause on a producer’s sale to a distributor and its sentence on those operating under chapter 2. Title 22, chapter 7 (“this chapter” is I.C. 22-701 to 22-707, farm marketing) defines farm products to include “poultry and poultry products” (22-701, “within the meaning of this section”), and its grade section, which S1283 amended, says a farm product must conform to a standard that “becomes effective under this chapter,” subject to variations “allowed pursuant to the rules promulgated in accordance with this chapter or allowed pursuant to chapter 2, title 37, Idaho Code” (22-703). The rule’s cover page lists 22-702 among the statutes it implements, while its section 000 cites only 37-1521, and no source read says an egg grade standard was adopted under chapter 7. No source read says whether a flock under the Act must also follow the egg chapter’s carton and temperature parts. Ask the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Welfare’s Food Protection Program.

Source: I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, I.C. Title 37, ch. 2, I.C. Title 39, ch. 16, I.C. Title 22, ch. 7, S1283 (2026), IDAPA 02.02.11, IDAPA 16.02.19, ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors and IDHW, Food Safety.

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

Not on a producer’s sale to a consumer at the place of production: the egg chapter and the rule set no dozen or hen line on it, and the Act sets no egg or dollar cap on a producer. Two numbers appear. The first is 300 hens, for a sale to retailers: “Idaho shell egg producers having three hundred (300) or less hens may sell ungraded shell eggs produced upon their premises to retailers, provided that each carton or other container of ungraded shell eggs sold must be clearly marked ‘Ungraded’ and bear the name and address of the Idaho producer” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.c; the statute’s assessment exemption says the same, I.C. 37-1523A(2)(f)). The Department’s page says something else: “Egg distributors and those who have 300 or more birds must comply with IDAPA 02.02.11 ‘Rules Governing Eggs and Egg Products’ and Title 37, Chapter 15, Idaho Code, ‘Eggs and Egg Products.’ If an individual has less than 300 birds, that person can sell the eggs without having to adhere to these requirements.” The rule says “300 or less hens” and the page says “less than 300 birds,” so a flock of exactly 300 sits on both sides, the page names no buyer, and no source read says how birds or hens are counted. Ask the Department.

The second is money. An assessment of up to four mills a dozen falls on “all eggs entering intrastate commerce in retail cartons” (37-1523A(1)), and it “shall not apply to” a “Sale to consumers at the place of production or processing” (37-1523A(2)(d)). The federal egg safety rule covers “a shell egg producer with 3,000 or more laying hens at a particular farm that does not sell all of your eggs directly to consumers and that produces shell eggs for the table market” (21 CFR 118.1(a)).

Source: I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, IDAPA 02.02.11, ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Idaho?

The sources do not settle it, and the two routes read differently. The egg chapter’s producer route is “at the place of production” (I.C. 37-1520(g); IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.b), and the rule says “Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, all shell eggs sold for human consumption” must carry an Idaho consumer grade (012.01.a), with the only other exception for “retailers” (012.01.c). A market stall is not the place of production, and no source read says what an ungraded sale to a consumer there takes under the egg chapter alone. The Act names no venue: its purpose is “to encourage the expansion of agricultural sales at farm stands, ranches, farms, and producer’s homes” (37-202), a “farm stand” is “a temporary or permanent structure operated by a producer or designated agent for the sale of homemade shelf-stable food, perishable food, or nonalcoholic drinks” (37-203(4)), and a “designated agent” can be a “cooperative market, consignment model market, or other entity” (37-203(3)). It does not define a farmers market, and no source read says whether a market stall is a farm stand.

The health side has its own words. A food vendor at a recurring event such as “a farmers or community market” is an intermittent food establishment, “a food vendor that operates for a period of time, not to exceed six (6) consecutive days per week, at a single, specified location in conjunction with a recurring event,” and “Intermittent food establishment does not include the vendor of farm-fresh ungraded eggs at a recurring event” (I.C. 39-1602(3)). The food establishment definition’s exclusions include “Agricultural markets” (39-1602(2)(f)), which the Food Code rule defines: “Any venue where a fixed or mobile retail food establishment can engage in the sale of raw or fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts in the shell. It may also include the sale of factory sealed non-TCS foods. Agricultural market means the same as ‘farmers market’ or ‘roadside stand.’” (IDAPA 16.02.19.110.01). Eggs are not on that list. The same rule defines the other two names on their own: a farmers market is “Any fixed or mobile retail food establishment at which farmer producers sell agricultural products directly to the public” (110.11), and a roadside stand is “Any fixed or mobile retail food establishment at which an individual farmer producer sells their own agricultural products directly to consumers” (111.10), each “the same as” the other two names. Those two say “agricultural products” and do not list eggs or define the words, so the three definitions do not match, and no source read says which one reaches an egg stall. The egg-vendor sentence says what such a vendor is not, and no source read defines “farm-fresh” or says what an egg vendor at a market is. The Health and Welfare rule says its Food Code rules do not apply to “Farmers market vendors and roadside stands that only offer or sell non-TCS foods or cottage foods” (IDAPA 16.02.19.001.02.f), and the Food Safety Act’s “potentially hazardous food” “Included is any food of animal origin, either raw or heat-treated,” excepting only “Air-dried hard-boiled eggs with shells intact” (39-1602(5)(a)). Central District Health’s market sheet (Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties, updated 12/28/2023, before the Act) says a vendor completes an application and “A health inspector will review the application and determine if a license is required,” and names no egg. What a market’s own manager, or a city or county, asks of an egg vendor is not in any source read. Ask the Department of Health and Welfare’s Food Protection Program.

Selling by online request and pickup: the egg chapter’s “sale” “means and includes sale, offer of sale, display for sale, have in possession for sale, exchange, barter, trade, or other dealing” (37-1520(l)), so an online offer is a sale, and no source read says whether an order placed online and handed over at the farm is a sale “directly to a consumer at the place of production.” The Act’s notice is “a conspicuously displayed sign, label affixed to the food product, or card given to the informed end consumer” (37-205(3)(b)), and no source read says how a buyer who orders before meeting the producer is told. Ask the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Welfare.

Source: I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, I.C. Title 37, ch. 2, I.C. Title 39, ch. 16, IDAPA 02.02.11, IDAPA 16.02.19 and Central District Health, Farmers Market Information.

Can I sell eggs to a restaurant, a store or someone who resells them in Idaho?

It depends on the buyer, and the sources do not settle a restaurant. For a store the egg chapter has a route for a flock of 300 hens or fewer: ungraded eggs “to retailers,” each carton “clearly marked ‘Ungraded’” with “the name and address of the Idaho producer” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.c; I.C. 37-1523A(2)(f)). Neither defines “retailer.” A producer selling to a dealer otherwise falls inside the distributor definition (37-1520(g)), which takes a $20 license (37-1522(a), 37-1523(a)), and a dealer is “any person who acquires eggs or egg products from a producer or distributor for resale to consumers” (37-1520(e)). The Department’s page says its “Egg distributors and those who have 300 or more birds must comply” with the chapter and rule. No source read says whether a producer of 300 hens or fewer selling to a retailer also needs the distributor license.

Under the Act, a store is not the buyer it protects: the “informed end consumer” is one “who does not resell or redistribute the product” (I.C. 37-203(6)). A “designated agent,” which can be a “cooperative market, consignment model market, or other entity,” may sell for the producer but “shall not take ownership of any food or drink product” (37-203(3)), and a retail space that offers Act products must keep them apart and mark the area (37-205(5)). The Department of Health and Welfare’s page says “Wholesale operations are not exempted from regulation by the Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act.”

A restaurant is where the sources are silent or part. The Act says “Nothing in this chapter shall: (d) Allow the use of a product made available pursuant to this chapter as an ingredient in a food establishment, as that term is defined in section 39-1602, Idaho Code, including in public school kitchen facilities” (37-204(3)(d)), and no source read says whether an egg served as an egg is an ingredient. The egg chapter names “any restaurant, hotel, boarding house, baker, or other institution” as a buyer of “candled or graded eggs other than those of his own production sold and delivered on the premises where produced” and asks an invoice showing grade and size (37-1525(c)), and lists it apart from “any retailer.” Whether the rule’s “retailers” reaches a restaurant is not said. Ask the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Welfare.

Source: I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, I.C. Title 37, ch. 2, IDAPA 02.02.11, ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors and IDHW, Food Safety.

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

For a sale to a consumer at the place of production the rule says “without grade designations” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.b) and names no label, and the rule’s carton section says something else: it opens “Each egg carton must display the following:” an egg seal or facsimile, the grade, the size, “The name and address of the distributor” and “The statement ‘Keep Refrigerated’ or with a statement of similar meaning” (600.01). Its last item puts the seal, grade and size “on the top panel” without those words, and says the name, address and “Keep Refrigerated” “may be contained anywhere on the lid portion of each egg carton to be used by any dealer or distributor” (600.01.g), so the dealer-or-distributor words are on the lid clause only. No source read says whether that section reaches a producer selling at the farm. The statute’s container section asks a grade, a size and the distributor’s name and address of a carton “sold or offered for sale by a distributor, egg handler or dealer” and does not ask the seal or “Keep Refrigerated” (I.C. 37-1524(a)). The Department’s page puts a label sentence beside its under-300 line: “the eggs must be clean and the container must be labeled with the individual’s name, address, phone number, and the words ‘UNGRADED EGGS.’” The rule’s ungraded sale to retailers asks only for “Ungraded” and the producer’s name and address (012.01.c), so the page adds a phone number, and no source read says the page’s label applies to a sale at the farm. The Act asks for the notice on “a conspicuously displayed sign, label affixed to the food product, or card given to the informed end consumer” with the producer’s name and contact information (I.C. 37-205(3)), and for perishable food “information on handling instructions sufficient to inform the consumer of safe storage and preparation practices” (37-205(4)(b)). Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)).

Reusing cartons: no source read speaks to it, in the chapter, the rule, the Act or the Department’s page. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

A listing that shows a price per dozen, on this site or elsewhere: the egg chapter says “The words ‘fresh,’ ‘country,’ ‘hennery,’ ‘ranch’ or words of similar import shall not be deemed a substitute for official grade designation. Each advertisement of eggs for sale by a dealer shall plainly and conspicuously indicate the official grade and size thereof” (I.C. 37-1524(b)). A dealer is one who acquires eggs “from a producer or distributor for resale to consumers” (37-1520(e)), which a farm selling its own is not on those words, and no source read says whether a producer’s listing is reached or what an ungraded listing must say. The Act adds that nothing in it will “Exempt any food product from law, regulations, or inspections for weights and measures, representation, marketing or branding” (37-204(3)(a)). Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: IDAPA 02.02.11, ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors, I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, I.C. Title 37, ch. 2 and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

The rule’s number is 45°F, written for others: “All eggs handled, stored or offered for sale by egg distributors, egg dealers and retailers must be held under refrigeration at a temperature of forty-five (45) degrees F or below,” and eggs moved “from one facility to another facility” go in vehicles “refrigerated or capable of maintaining the ambient temperature of the eggs at forty-five (45) degrees F or below” (IDAPA 02.02.11.550.13). A producer selling at the place of production is neither a distributor nor a dealer on the statute’s words (I.C. 37-1520(e), (g)), the rule’s third word, “retailers,” is not defined, and no source read says whether the rule reaches that sale.

The Act has its own words. It defines “perishable food” as “homemade food and drinks that require time or temperature control at a temperature of forty-one (41) degrees Fahrenheit or below for cold foods or one hundred thirty-five (135) degrees Fahrenheit or above for hot foods,” and lists eggs (37-203(7)). “Homemade” means “foods or nonalcoholic drinks that are grown, prepared, or processed at a private or leased farm, home kitchen, or other non-licensed facility,” and “does not include food that is prepared, cooked, or served on-site for immediate consumption, including restaurant-style food service, mobile food units, concession trailers, or other facilities preparing ready-to-eat meals” (37-203(5)). It requires that perishable food “be produced, processed, stored, transported, and sold under conditions reasonably intended to maintain the safety and integrity of the product” (37-205(4)(a)), and names no degree. Whether 41°F is a duty or a definition, and which line governs an egg sold under the Act, is not said. The egg carton’s “Keep Refrigerated” is on the graded carton (IDAPA 02.02.11.600.01.f). Ask the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Welfare.

Source: IDAPA 02.02.11, I.C. Title 37, ch. 15 and I.C. Title 37, ch. 2.

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

The rule’s grading standards are for chicken eggs: “The Idaho standards for quality of individual shell eggs contained in this section are applicable only to eggs that are the product of the domesticated chicken hen and are in the shell” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.03). The egg chapter’s sections on candling, licenses and cartons say “eggs” without limit (I.C. 37-1520 to 37-1525), and the Act lists “Eggs and egg products” (37-203(7)(f)). The 300-hen line speaks of “hens” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.c) and the Department’s page of “birds.” No source read says whether the producer route, the Act or the 300 line reaches a duck’s or a quail’s egg. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: IDAPA 02.02.11, I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, I.C. Title 37, ch. 2 and ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors.

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

Candling is for grading: “No producer or distributor shall engage in candling eggs for official grade designation in the state of Idaho without first obtaining a license therefor” (I.C. 37-1522(b)). A producer selling ungraded at the place of production sells “without grade designations” (IDAPA 02.02.11.012.01.b), and no source read says such a seller must candle. The Department’s page says only that the eggs “must be clean” for the under-300 sale. The rule defines a “clean” shell as one “free from foreign material and from stains or discolorations that are readily visible” (IDAPA 02.02.11.050.01), a grading term.

Washing has a section, written for a grading operation: wash water “must be clean, potable and free of foreign material,” at “ninety (90) degrees F or higher” and “at least twenty (20) degrees F warmer than the temperature of the eggs to be washed,” with soaking of stained eggs limited to five minutes and any compound “approved by the United States Department of Agriculture or the State Department of Agriculture” (IDAPA 02.02.11.550.02 to 550.06). Its first item is the “Grading Room” (550.01), and no source read says it reaches a seller who washes eggs at home. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: I.C. Title 37, ch. 15, IDAPA 02.02.11 and ISDA, Egg Candlers & Distributors.