Can I sell eggs in Michigan?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Michigan?

The Food Law says: “This act does not apply to a person who meets all of the following requirements: (a) Is directly responsible for producing eggs from fewer than 3,000 hens. (b) Only sells eggs directly to consumers or first receivers. (c) Only sells eggs in containers that each bear a label stating ‘packaged in a facility that has not been inspected by the department.’ (d) Does not sell eggs through the internet or by mail order or consignment” (MCL 289.7114(10)). A “first receiver” is “a person who receives eggs from a producer at any place of business and candles, grades, sorts, packs, or packages the eggs” (MCL 289.1107(l)). The list of persons exempt from licensure in the same act (MCL 289.4105(1)) does not name eggs, and the act’s own definition of a farmers’ market (below) says nothing about them either.

The Department’s pages describe the same four conditions as a license exemption. Its shell-egg page says: “MDARD does not require a license for shell egg processors who meet all the following requirements,” lists them, and adds “Egg processors who do not meet all the previous requirements will require a license.” Its exemptions page lists “Small scale egg producers: Producers that sell eggs if you raise fewer than 3,000 hens, only sell them directly to consumers or first-stage egg handlers, avoid all internet, mail-order, and consignment sales, and properly label every container do not need a license,” under a lead-in that says “Some firms do not require a food establishment license but are still subject to inspection by MDARD or local agencies.” The statute says the act does not apply; the page says the firm is exempt from the license and remains subject to inspection. The sources read do not say which of those the Department applies to a farm that meets all four conditions.

The label wording differs too. The statute’s is “packaged in a facility that has not been inspected by the department”; the shell-egg page’s is “packaged in a facility that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.” Neither source says whether either wording will do.

The statute does not define “sells eggs through the internet,” and the sources read do not say whether taking an order or a request for pickup online, with the eggs handed over and paid for in person, is one. A farm that lists eggs or takes requests online should ask the Department before it does. A pending amendment to MCL 289.1107, effective 91 days after the 2026 regular session adjourns, rewrites some of the definitions; in its text “egg,” “first receiver” and “farmers’ market” change by a word or two (“who” to “that,” “and may include”) and nothing else read here.

Source: MCL 289.7114, MCL 289.1107, MCL 289.4105, MDARD, Shell Egg Processor and MDARD, Food Establishment License Exemptions.

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

The limit in the sources is hens, not dozens: fewer than 3,000. It is the first condition of the Food Law’s egg exclusion (MCL 289.7114(10)(a)), repeated on the Department’s shell-egg and exemptions pages, and the line in the cage-free housing law (MCL 287.746(5)). No dozen or weekly limit turned up in any of them. The statute says a person “directly responsible for producing eggs from fewer than 3,000 hens”; the Department’s exemptions page says “if you raise fewer than 3,000 hens.”

The sources read do not say how the count treats pullets, ducks or other birds kept with the hens, or a flock that passes 3,000 during the year. A farm near the line should ask the Department.

The cage-free housing law has its own 3,000. Subsection (4) bars a business owner from selling a shell egg it knows or should know came from a hen confined in a way the section does not allow, and subsection (5) says “Subsection (4) does not apply to the sale of shell eggs that are the product of a farm with less than 3,000 egg-laying hens” (MCL 287.746). Subsection (2)(b), which tells a “farm owner or operator” not to confine a hen “in an enclosure other than a cage-free housing system” or with less floor space than the housing guidelines give, carries no such words, and a “farm” is land and buildings used “for the commercial production of animals or animal products used for food or fiber” (287.746(1)(g)). The Department’s cage-free summary and FAQ say the law applies “to only farms with 3,000 or more egg-laying hens selling shell eggs for human consumption” and “does not apply to producers with less than 3,000 hens.” The statute names subsection (4) only; the Department’s pages speak of the whole law. Ask the Department whether subsection (2)(b) reaches a small flock.

A federal rule adds a second number. FDA’s egg safety rule covers a farm with 3,000 or more laying hens “that does not sell all of your eggs directly to consumers” (21 CFR 118.1), and its words do not reach a farm under that line.

Source: MCL 289.7114, MDARD, Cage-Free Egg Law, MDARD, Shell Egg Processor, MDARD, Food Establishment License Exemptions, MCL 287.746 and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Michigan?

The Food Law defines a farmers’ market as “a public and recurring assembly of farmers or their representatives selling directly to consumers food and products that the farmers have produced themselves” (MCL 289.1107(i)). A market sale is a sale to a consumer, so on its words the egg exclusion’s “directly to consumers” condition covers it (MCL 289.7114(10)(b)), and none of the sources read carves a market out. The Department’s farmers market licensing guide says “Existing Michigan food establishment licenses extend to the market,” that some vendors need an on-site license, and, under products and vendors exempt from licensing, says some firms “do not require a food establishment license but are still subject to inspection by MDARD or local agencies” and links the list of exempt firms, where the exemptions page puts the small-scale egg producer.

The Department’s farmers markets page adds: “All markets must be established in accordance with local ordinance and operated in compliance with Act No. 92, the Michigan Food Law.” The sources read do not say whether a market or a local health department may ask an egg seller for more than the state does, or whether a market stall counts under the internet and consignment condition. Ask the Department and the market’s manager.

Source: MCL 289.1107, MCL 289.7114, MDARD, Farmers Market Licensing Guide, MDARD, Food Establishment License Exemptions and MDARD, Farmers Markets.

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

On the statute’s words, not directly. The egg exclusion covers a person who “Only sells eggs directly to consumers or first receivers” (MCL 289.7114(10)(b)), and a store or a restaurant that does not itself candle, grade, sort, pack or package eggs is neither. The Department’s shell-egg page says: “First receivers, retailers, and wholesale distributors are required to be licensed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).” Its buying-local sheet for food establishments answers “Can food establishments obtain eggs directly from the producer?” with “Yes, if the producer is a MDARD licensed processing establishment,” adds that “Michigan food laws require that egg processors (i.e. those that clean, grade or break eggs) be licensed by MDARD,” and cites the 2005 Food Code for eggs that are clean, sound and Grade AA, A or B.

The exclusion does allow a sale to a first receiver, which is a business that candles, grades, sorts or packs the eggs and is itself licensed by the Department. The sources read do not say whether a farm’s sale to another farm’s stand or a neighbor who resells eggs is a sale to a consumer. Ask the Department.

Source: MCL 289.7114, MCL 289.1107, MDARD, Shell Egg Processor and MDARD, Buying Local: Approved Food Sources for Food Establishments.

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

For a farm that meets the egg exclusion’s four conditions, the one label the statute asks for is the statement “packaged in a facility that has not been inspected by the department” on each container (MCL 289.7114(10)(c)). The Department’s wording is “packaged in a facility that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.”

Two sets of rules sit beside it. For a licensed processor, the Department’s shell-egg page lists the minimum label: “Name and address of the responsible party,” the egg size (jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, small or pee wee), the egg grade (AA, A or B), a last date of sale (“recommended not to be greater than 30 days including the date of packing”) and a lot code, and the USDA safe handling statement. In the act, the size “shall also appear on the exterior of any container” offered to the retailer or the consumer (MCL 289.7114(6)), and eggs sold “by a retailer or wholesaler” carry a grade of AA, A or B, with eggs that meet none of them not sold in the shell (289.7114(8)). The same section bars “strictly fresh, hennery, new laid, best, grade A, number 1, fancy, special, extra, selected, direct from the farm” on eggs that do not meet the U.S. AA or A standard (289.7114(7)). The statute says the whole act does not apply to a farm that meets the four conditions (289.7114(10)), so on its words those lines are not that farm’s. The Department’s shell-egg page, though, says under its grading heading: “If you have chickens and plan on selling eggs, grading and sizing is required,” and elsewhere “If you plan on being licensed to sell your eggs, you need to sort and size them.” The sources read do not say which the Department holds an unlicensed farm to. Ask the Department.

On reuse, the shell-egg page says: “Use of new egg cartons is recommended. Reused egg cartons must not bear labeling that is false or misleading, or eggs will be deemed as misbranded.” Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)).

Source: MCL 289.7114, MDARD, Shell Egg Processor and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

The Food Law says: “Eggs shall be held and transported at or below 45 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature beginning 36 hours after time of lay” (MCL 289.7114(9)). It sits inside the act that, on the statute’s words, does not apply to a farm meeting the four conditions (289.7114(10)). The Department’s shell-egg page lists the same 45°F for a licensed processor (“Refrigerate eggs at an ambient temperature of 45°F or below”) and does not speak to an unlicensed farm.

A federal rule says “all shell eggs, whether in intrastate or interstate commerce, held for retail distribution” are stored and displayed under refrigeration at an ambient temperature “not greater than 7.2 °C (45 °F)” at a retail establishment (21 CFR 115.50), and defines that as “an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption directly to consumers” (115.50(a)). The sources read do not say how that meets a farm’s own sale. The safe handling statement itself tells the buyer to keep eggs refrigerated. Ask the Department.

Source: MCL 289.7114, MDARD, Shell Egg Processor and 21 CFR 115.50.

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

The egg exclusion speaks of “hens” (MCL 289.7114(10)(a)) and the Food Law’s definition of “egg” leaves out only “a balut, which is an embryo inside a fertile egg” that has been incubated (289.1107(d)). Its grade and size lines speak of “eggs from domesticated chickens” (289.7114(5), (8)). The cage-free housing law defines an “egg-laying hen” as “a female domesticated chicken, turkey, duck, goose, or guinea fowl kept for the purpose of egg production” (MCL 287.746(1)(e)). Quail is named in none of these. The sources read do not say whether a duck, goose, quail or turkey egg counts as a hen’s for the 3,000 line. Ask the Department about the species you raise.

Source: MCL 289.7114, MCL 289.1107 and MCL 287.746.

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

The Food Law adopts the U.S. standards for shell eggs by reference and bars selling “any egg unfit for human food” (MCL 289.7114(1), (3)), and both sit inside the act that does not apply to a farm meeting the four conditions (289.7114(10)). For a licensed processor the Department’s shell-egg page says to “Size, grade and candle eggs,” that “Eggs shall be clean,” and that good washing practices include washing “in potable water that is slightly warmer than the eggs,” never submerging them, with an approved detergent or sanitizer, and drying before packing. It adds that a licensed processor’s building “cannot be located inside a private residence.”

The same page’s USDA operational guidance says candling helps sort “cracked eggs or eggs with foreign matter inside like blood spots,” and “Eggs with interior spots should not be sold.” The sources read do not say whether an unlicensed farm must candle or wash, or how it shows an egg is clean and sound. Ask the Department.

Source: MCL 289.7114 and MDARD, Shell Egg Processor.