Can I sell eggs in Montana?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Montana?

Not from the Department of Livestock, on its own words, if you sell straight from your farm or home. Its page says nothing of a market sale. Its Egg Section says: “If you are simply selling eggs from your backyard flock to friends and neighbors, directly from your farm or home -- good news - no license is needed! If, however, you want to sell your eggs at retail (i.e., a grocery store, cafe, etc.) then you need an egg grading license.” The statute agrees on the dealer’s license: nobody may “buy, sell, or deal in eggs” without a wholesale egg dealer’s license, but a person dealing in eggs “a major portion of which are produced by the person’s own fowl or in amounts less than an average of 25 cases a month over a 12-month period, is exempt” from that section (MCA 81-20-201(1), (3)(a)). A case is 30 dozen (ARM 32.12.501). The Department adds that an egg dealer license is for a seller of “more than 25 cases (30 dozen/case) a month that you have purchased from a shell egg producer.”

The license the law does provide for a seller who candles and grades is the grader’s license: $5 a year, after a written and a performance examination, expiring each March 31 (81-20-201(5), ARM 32.12.1002 to 32.12.1004). The Department’s licensing sheet (July 2026) lists what an applicant needs: a candling light, an adjustable scale, thermometers, a sanitizer, a drying rack, new labeled cartons, a dedicated refrigerator at 45°F or lower and clean transport containers at 45°F or lower. A violation of the egg part is a misdemeanor, with a fine of $25 to $75 for a first offense and $50 to $200 after that (81-20-208).

The health side is separate. The Department of Public Health and Human Services’ guidance for selling farm fresh eggs says a farm selling directly to consumers “either on farm, on subscription basis, or at a Famer’s Market” and having “3,000 laying hens or fewer” needs “no license” from it, no Department of Livestock inspection and no egg grading, on the farm. The retail food law agrees in its words: a “retail food establishment” does not include “persons who sell or serve at a farmer’s market or a food stand whole shell eggs,” and a “farmer’s market” includes “a farm premises, a food stand owned and operated by a farmer, or an organized market” (MCA 50-50-102(8), (24)(c)(xiv)). That exclusion is written “as authorized by the appropriate municipal or county authority,” and the sources do not say what a county or city asks of an egg stand away from a market. The Montana Local Food Choice Act (50-49-201 to 203) frees homemade food from licensing, but its list of laws it lifts names Title 81, chapters 2, 9, 21, 22 and 23, not chapter 20 on eggs, and no source read says whether an egg is “homemade food.” This page does not rest on it.

Farms with 3,000 or more hens have a federal line of their own: the 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” (21 CFR 118.1), and the Department registers farms of that size for the USDA’s shell egg surveillance.

Source: Department of Livestock, Egg Section, MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, ARM ch. 32.12, Department of Livestock, Shell Egg Licensing Information, DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs, MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121, MCA 50-49-201 to 50-49-203 and 21 CFR 118.1.

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

No dozen or hen limit on your own eggs appears in the statute or the rules read. The numbers that do appear are these. The dealer’s license section uses 25 cases a month, averaged over 12 months (750 dozen), and exempts a person whose eggs are mostly “produced by the person’s own fowl” (MCA 81-20-201(3)(a)). The same section adds that “wholesale and retail dealers who handle more than an average of 25 cases of eggs a month over a 12-month period and who are supplying eggs to consumers shall sell only eggs candled by or under the supervision of experienced and licensed graders” (81-20-201(4)). It does not say whether a producer selling more than that from the farm is a “dealer” under that sentence. Ask the Department of Livestock.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services’ line is 3,000 laying hens: at or under it, a farm selling direct needs no license from it and no grading. The Department of Livestock says of farms with more than 3,000 birds that they register for the USDA shell egg program.

Source: MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, ARM ch. 32.12, Department of Livestock, Egg Section and DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Montana?

The egg part says of a producer’s sale: “This part does not affect the sale of eggs by a producer when the consumer purchases the eggs at the place of production or at a farmer’s market as defined in 50-50-102” (MCA 81-20-206). “This part” is 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, and no source read says how far that reaches into the dealer’s license, candling and the case certificate. The retail food law says a person selling food at a farmer’s market “is not a retail food establishment,” and lists “whole shell eggs if the whole shell eggs are clean, free of cracks, and stored in clean cartons at a temperature established by the department by rule” among the foods eligible (50-50-121(1)(a), (2)(a)). The Department of Public Health and Human Services’ market guide says the same, at “< 45ºF,” and its egg guidance asks a market seller for eggs at 45°F or lower, in clean cartons, clean and free of cracks.

What a market may add is left to the market and the county. A farmer’s market authorized by a city or county “shall keep registration records” of each seller (name, address, telephone number, products and date), available to the local health authority (50-50-121(3) to (5)), and the Department says markets “are allowed to make more stringent rules” and may require “a license, registration, or permit from the local health authority.” Ask the market and your county health department.

One line of the market law reads harder than the Department’s guidance: “food sold in a farmer’s market must, if sold in a container, have a label similar to a label required of a cottage food product” (50-50-121(6)), which lists the seller’s name and address, the product’s name, ingredients, net quantity and allergens (50-50-116(2)(b)). The Department’s egg guidance makes a name-and-address label a “best practice.” No source read says how (6) applies to a carton of eggs. Ask the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Selling by online request and pickup is addressed by no source read on eggs. The statute speaks of a consumer who “purchases the eggs at the place of production,” and the Department’s guidance names sales “on subscription basis,” but neither says what an online request that a farm accepts and a buyer collects at the farm is. Ask the Department of Livestock.

Source: MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121, DPHHS, Farmers’ Market Guidelines, DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs and DPHHS, Local Food Choice Act Guidance.

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

Not without a grader’s license, on the Department of Livestock’s words: “If, however, you want to sell your eggs at retail (i.e., a grocery store, cafe, etc.) then you need an egg grading license.” The Department of Public Health and Human Services agrees: a farmer selling “through grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, schools, and other third-party retailers” is wholesale, “A license is required through the Department of Livestock,” and to accept eggs, retailers need them “graded B or better,” in good condition and received at 45°F.

The statute points the same way. The notice of grade and size applies to any sale “at wholesale or retail,” and the producer’s exception reads “This part does not affect the sale of eggs by a producer” when the consumer buys at the place of production or a farmer’s market (MCA 81-20-206; the part is 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, and no source read says how far that reaches). It names no sale to a store or restaurant. A person buying eggs for resale at retail, other than one who does not buy and sell more than 25 cases a month, must candle all eggs not already candled under a licensed grader, and a certificate on each case states grade, size, date and packer (81-20-204). Cracked eggs the rules call “checked” may not be sold to restaurants, cafes, bakeries, schools or institutions at all (ARM 32.12.105(1)).

A restaurant or shop that collects at your farm is not addressed by any source read: the exception speaks of a “consumer,” a person who “does not offer the food for resale” (50-50-102(1)), and the sources do not say whether a cafe buying at the farm is one. Ask the Department of Livestock.

Source: Department of Livestock, Egg Section, DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs, MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, ARM ch. 32.12 and MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121.

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

For a licensed grader the Department is specific. Every carton has the farm’s name and address (the town, state and zip suffice when the farm is in a directory), the identity “eggs,” the quantity, the grade (AA, A or B, letters at least ¼ inch), the size, the grader’s license number, and the safe handling statement in a box, and the Department asks that a label be shown to the Sanitarian before retail sale (licensing sheet, label sheet, MCA 81-20-204, and 81-20-206, whose “This part” is 81-20-201 to 81-20-209). Sell-by dates are optional: up to 30 days from pack for “Sell By” wording and 45 for “Best By.” Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)).

What a seller under the exception must do is left open. The egg part says “This part does not affect the sale of eggs by a producer” at the place of production or a farmer’s market (MCA 81-20-206; “this part” is 81-20-201 to 81-20-209), and no source read says whether that reaches a carton’s marking. The rule that “all eggs sold in consumer-size containers must be labeled in accordance with the Montana Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act” (ARM 32.12.102) has no exception written into it, and the Department of Public Health and Human Services makes a name-and-address label on the farm a “best practice,” while the market law asks for a label “similar to” a cottage food label (50-50-121(6)). Ask both departments.

Reusing cartons: DPHHS says “Containers with information for other firms is prohibited” on a farm sale, and the Department of Livestock’s licensing sheet asks for “new cartons properly labeled.” The rules allow “new or good, clean used cases and packing materials” for eggs marked with the State’s identification (ARM 32.12.606(3)). Eggs incubated more than 48 hours are among those the statute deems unfit for human food (MCA 81-20-205; ARM 32.12.104).

A listing that shows a price per dozen, on this site or elsewhere: the section on notice of grade and size reaches a person who would “sell, offer, or expose for sale” eggs (81-20-206, whose “This part” is 81-20-201 to 81-20-209). No source read says whether an online listing is an offer that needs a grade and size, or how that meets the exception that “This part does not affect” a producer’s sale at the farm. Ask the Department of Livestock.

Source: Department of Livestock, Shell Egg Licensing Information, Department of Livestock, Shell Egg Carton Label Requirements, MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, ARM ch. 32.12, DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs, MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121 and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

The Department of Public Health and Human Services says 45°F or lower, for a sale on the farm and for one at a market: “Eggs must be stored at 45º F or lower.” The Department of Livestock’s licensing sheet asks a licensed grader for a dedicated refrigerator and transport containers at 45°F or lower, and the federal rule says shell eggs held at a retail establishment are “stored and displayed under refrigeration at an ambient temperature not greater than 7.2 °C (45 °F)” (21 CFR 115.50).

The State’s own rules read differently for the plant: cooler rooms must hold eggs at “55°F. or below” (ARM 32.12.603), and eggs held in a plant go under refrigeration “at 50°F. or below promptly after packaging” (32.12.606). No source read says which of these applies to an exempt seller, and the market law leaves the temperature to “a temperature established by the department by rule” (MCA 50-50-121(2)(a)); the rule it means was not found. Ask the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Source: DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs, DPHHS, Farmers’ Market Guidelines, Department of Livestock, Shell Egg Licensing Information, ARM ch. 32.12, MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121 and 21 CFR 115.50.

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

No source read says. The egg part never defines “eggs,” and no section names duck, quail or any bird. The rules’ quality standards “are applicable only to eggs that are the product of the domesticated chicken hen and in the shell” (ARM 32.12.201), and the Departments’ guidance speaks of “farm fresh eggs” and “laying hens.” Whether the exception, the license or the market rule reaches other birds’ eggs is not said. Ask the Department of Livestock.

Source: MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209, ARM ch. 32.12, DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs and Department of Livestock, Egg Section.

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

No source read says washing or candling is not required. The Department of Public Health and Human Services says a farm of 3,000 hens or fewer selling direct on the farm needs no inspection and “egg grading is not required,” and the Department of Livestock’s no-license line is about a license, not about washing or candling. For a market, eggs must be “clean, free of cracks, and stored in clean cartons” (MCA 50-50-121(2)(a)).

Washing has rules for a grader. Wash water must be “at least 20°F. warmer than the eggs” with a minimum of 90°F, only potable water may be used, washed eggs are sanitized and “reasonably dry before cartoning” (ARM 32.12.605); the Department’s sheet adds “Never soak eggs in the wash water” and a 50 ppm chlorine sanitizer. Candling is “the careful examination, in a partially dark room or place, of the whole egg by means of a strong light” (MCA 81-20-203), and a grader passes an examination on it (ARM 32.12.1003). No source read says whether these washing rules reach an exempt seller. Ask the Department of Livestock.

Source: DPHHS, Guidance for Selling Farm Fresh Eggs, MCA 50-50-102 and 50-50-121, ARM ch. 32.12, MCA 81-20-201 to 81-20-209 and Department of Livestock, Shell Egg Licensing Information.