Can I sell eggs in Kentucky?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Kentucky?

Not if you sell only directly to consumers and no more than 60 dozen eggs a calendar week. Kentucky's egg marketing law says no person shall sell eggs without a license, and one of its exceptions is "producers who sell only directly to consumers and do not exceed a sales limit of sixty (60) dozen eggs per calendar week." A producer is someone who sells eggs from their own flock. The Department of Agriculture says the same on its egg page, and the state health department's Food Safety Branch says it doesn't permit egg sales.

Everyone else needs a Department of Agriculture egg license. The department uses two applications, the Retail License to Handle Eggs and the Wholesale Egg Handler License. The statute sets $20 a year for a retailer, and for a producer, dealer or distributor $20 up to 750 dozen a week, $30 up to 1,500 and $50 above that. Every egg sold in the state also carries an assessment of 2 cents per 15 dozen. Since July 15, 2026, licenses expire on January 31 each year.

The exemption is from the license only. The statute says sellers exempt from licensing "are not exempt from inspection."

Source: KRS 260.550, KRS 260.540, KRS 260.600, 302 KAR 10:025, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, eggs and Food Safety Branch starter guide.

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

Without a license, 60 dozen eggs a calendar week, sold only directly to consumers. More than that takes a license. The statute sets no hen limit. The license fee steps up at 750 and 1,500 dozen a week, and those steps set the fee, not a cap on sales.

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

Source: KRS 260.550, KRS 260.600 and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Kentucky?

The Department of Agriculture's Farmers' Market Manual says: "Farmers may sell up to 60 dozen eggs per week directly to consumers without a license. Eggs shall be kept refrigerated at a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit during transport and storage." A market that sells eggs on a farmer's behalf needs the Retail License to Handle Eggs itself. The department's guide for small producers says eggs in a chest cooler with wet ice sit behind a divider at least three inches from the ice.

The state health department says egg sales are "NOT regulated by the Food Safety Branch" and points sellers to the Department of Agriculture. The sources don't say whether a local health department or a market adds its own rules. Ask both before your first market.

Source: KDA Farmers' Market Manual, KDA Small Producer's Guidelines and Food Safety Branch starter guide.

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

Only with a license. The exemption is for a producer who sells only directly to consumers, and a consumer buys eggs "for consumption and not resale." Someone who sells eggs to a wholesaler, a retailer or a food service facility is a distributor, and needs a license at any volume. The Department of Agriculture says that is the wholesale license.

A licensee identifies its eggs by USDA grade and size, and a graded carton shows the grade, size, quantity, the dealer's name, address and plant number, the pack date, and an expiration date (no more than 30 days) or a best-by date (no more than 45). Distributors file an emergency recall plan by June 30 each year. Selling for resale is beyond what this directory is built for.

Source: KRS 260.550, KRS 260.540, KRS 260.610, KRS 260.630 and KDA Farmers' Market Manual.

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

A producer who sells only directly to consumers and uses stock cartons labels them "ungraded", then "produced by:" with the producer's name and address, then "sold directly to the consumer." It may be hand printed, if it is legible and on the top of the carton. The rules put "ungraded" in letters at least 1/4 inch high on a carton. The sources don't say whether that carton also needs a pack date. Ask the department.

No reuse. The statute says: "Egg cartons cannot be reused." The department's guide adds that you may not use cartons labeled by other businesses.

Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs, 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: KRS 260.630, 302 KAR 10:015, KDA Small Producer's Guidelines and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

Yes, at 45°F. The statute puts any seller's eggs under a withdraw-from-sale order at an ambient temperature above 45°F for four hours or more. The department's rule holds eggs packed for resale to a consumer at 45°F or colder in storage and transport, labels them "Keep refrigerated at or below forty-five (45) degrees Fahrenheit", and says eggs that miss it are seized or destroyed. The department and the state health department both tell small producers who sell direct to keep eggs at 45°F in transport and storage.

Federal rules hold shell eggs at a retail establishment at 45°F or colder. A retail establishment is a place that provides food directly to consumers.

Source: KRS 260.550, 302 KAR 10:100, KDA Farmers' Market Manual, Food Safety Branch starter guide and 21 CFR 115.50.

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

They are under the same law. Kentucky defines shell eggs as "the product of the domesticated hen and any other egg from the avian species offered for human consumption in its shell form." The sources don't say whether the 60 dozen counts every species together. Ask the Department of Agriculture.

Source: KRS 260.540 and KRS 260.550.

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

Grading is a choice: eggs are sold graded to USDA standards, or marked "ungraded." No inedible egg is sold, whichever it is. The rules treat uncandled eggs as a violation for a licensee, and no statute or rule read for this page says in so many words that an exempt producer must candle. Ask the department.

The department's guide for small producers tells you to wash eggs soon after gathering, take out badly soiled and cracked eggs first, candle after washing, and never pack wet eggs. That guide is the department's advice, not a rule.

Source: 302 KAR 10:015, KRS 260.610, 302 KAR 10:025 and KDA Small Producer's Guidelines.