Can I sell eggs in Nevada?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Nevada?

The Department of Agriculture says you need a producer certificate, and Nevada’s egg sections have no exemption for a small flock. The Department’s FAQ (dated January 31, 2018) says “The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) requires a producer certificate to sell eggs produced in Nevada. Health departments may also require additional permits or licenses to sell your eggs.” The certificate costs “$50 for the first year and $30 each year to renew,” and “The NDA will visit your farm to verify the information on your application and egg production questionnaire is correct.” The rule sets $50 for an application and its inspection and $30 for renewal “without an inspection” (NAC 576.371(1)(a), (b)), with a later inspection at $30 an hour plus mileage (NAC 576.371(1)(c)), and an inspection before approval (NAC 576.340(1)), and a certificate is “valid for 12 months after the date on which the certificate is issued” (NAC 576.350(3)).

The statute that orders certification is worded differently from the Department’s page. NRS 576.128(1) says “The Department shall adopt regulations pursuant to which a person who is an actual producer of farm products other than any livestock, livestock product or poultry must obtain certification as an actual producer of farm products.” Chapter 576 defines “Farm products” as including “all agricultural, horticultural, viticultural and vegetable products of the soil, poultry and poultry products, livestock and livestock products and hay” (NRS 576.0155), and “Livestock” as “includes all kinds and ages, and both sexes, singular and plural, of the bovine and equine species and sheep, goats and hogs” (NRS 576.017). The rule’s list says “Agricultural product includes, without limitation: ... 3. Eggs” (NAC 576.310), and the Department’s certificate page says certificates are issued for “eggs of domestic poultry.” Chapter 576’s own definitions (NRS 576.0115 to 576.018) do not define “poultry” or “livestock product,” and chapter 583’s definitions of “Poultry” (“any domesticated bird, whether live or dead,” NRS 583.405) and “Poultry product” (“any poultry carcass, or part thereof,” and products made from one, NRS 583.407) are written for NRS 583.255 to 583.555, the meat and poultry inspection sections. No source read says whether an egg is “poultry” or a “livestock product” in NRS 576.128(1). The rule’s exemptions, “The following persons are exempt from the requirements set forth in NAC 576.300 to 576.440, inclusive: 1. A person who produces only organic agricultural products; and 2. A person who does not anticipate that he or she will offer for sale an agricultural product which he or she has produced” (NAC 576.325), and its other sections (NAC 576.300 to 576.440, inclusive) say how to obtain a certificate; none says in so many words that a person selling eggs must hold one.

The egg grade and label rule applies to every sale. Apart from an order under NRS 583.135 (below), its only exception is NRS 583.200, which reads “The provisions of NRS 583.110 to 583.210, inclusive, shall not apply to any eggs being handled for, or in transit to, or sold to dealers in commercial centers to be candled and graded, but all such eggs offered for sale in half cases or more shall be plainly stamped or branded ‘Not candled’ upon the outside of the container in letters 1 inch in height.” Those sections set no hen, dozen or small-flock line. A separate section opens “Except as otherwise provided by federal law,” and lets the State Quarantine Officer “by order, temporarily suspend” NRS 583.110 to 583.251 and the egg regulations “for a period of time which may not exceed 120 consecutive days per suspension during any ongoing event that negatively impacts the national supply chain for egg products or shell eggs,” and during it “temporarily” authorize “a farm owner or operator of a small egg flock to produce, sell or transport eggs and egg products to a retailer in this State” (NRS 583.135(1), (2)(c)(3)). “The State Quarantine Officer may not order more than two temporary suspensions in 1 calendar year” (NRS 583.135(3)). No such order was read.

Nevada’s cage-free chapter has its own 3,000-hen line. NRS 583.235 says “The provisions of NRS 583.211 to 583.251, inclusive, do not apply to the production, sale or transport for sale in this State of shell eggs by a farm owner or operator with an annual shell egg production from 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens if all shell eggs sold or transported for sale in this State by the owner or operator are derived from the 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens.” That range holds the housing rules and the certificate-and-endorsement requirement for farm owners (NRS 583.239), and stops at 583.251. It does not reach the grade and label sections, NRS 583.110 to 583.210.

The health side changed on July 1, 2025. Senate Bill 466 (2025 Statutes of Nevada, chapter 512) moved food establishment permitting from the Division of Public and Behavioral Health to the Department of Agriculture and the local boards of health, and repealed NRS 446.020, 446.875 and 446.940 among others. The new NRS 580.900(1), which opens “Except as otherwise provided in this section,” says “it is unlawful for any person to operate a food establishment unless the person possesses a valid permit issued to him or her by the food safety authority,” and “food safety authority” means “the officers and agents of the Department or the officers and agents of the local boards of health” (NRS 580.080). A “food establishment” is “any place, structure, premises, vehicle or vessel, or any part thereof, in which any food intended for ultimate human consumption is manufactured or prepared by any manner or means whatever, or in which any food is sold, offered or displayed for sale or served,” and “does not include” “A facility regulated under chapter 583 of NRS that produces eggs” (NRS 580.050(1), (2)(h); this text is in force through June 30, 2027, and the version from July 1, 2027 keeps paragraph (h)). No source read says whether a farm’s egg stand is “a facility regulated under chapter 583 of NRS,” which includes NRS 583.211 to 583.251, the range NRS 583.235 leaves a farm of 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens out of, on its conditions. The Board of Health’s rule, NAC 446, remains in force under the act’s section 72(1) “until amended by the officer or agency to which the responsibility for the adoption of the regulations has been transferred,” and the Legislature’s copy still cites NRS 446.940 as its authority; whether the Department has amended it is unread.

A listing with a price and an online request for pickup are not addressed. The egg sections (NRS 583.110 to 583.210, 583.211 to 583.251), the egg standards (NAC 583.080 to 583.201), the certificate rule (NAC 576.300 to 576.440), the farmers market rule (NAC 446.970 to 446.981) and the Department’s FAQs and questionnaire do not mention a listing, a price, the internet, delivery or pickup. The hooks are “sell or offer or expose for sale” (NRS 583.170) and “represent, advertise or sell as fresh eggs” (NRS 583.160), and NAC 576.410, which lets the Director stop the sale of a product “advertised, sold, labeled or otherwise represented as certified” in violation of the certificate rule. No source read says whether a farm’s post with a price is an offer or an advertisement of an egg.

Nothing here says a seller is legal. It says what Nevada’s sources say and where they leave it open.

Source: NRS chapter 583, NRS chapter 576, NRS chapter 580, Senate Bill 466 (2025), NAC chapter 576, Department FAQ (2018) and Producer Certificate page.

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

The sources read set no dozen or hen line on a sale. The grade and label sections (NRS 583.110 to 583.210) name no volume, the certificate rule’s application asks for the “estimated yield” of each product (NAC 576.330(2)(d)) without a limit, and the Department’s FAQ names none.

The line that exists is 3,000 hens, and it belongs to the cage-free chapter. NRS 583.235 leaves out of NRS 583.211 to 583.251 “the production, sale or transport for sale in this State of shell eggs by a farm owner or operator with an annual shell egg production from 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens if all shell eggs sold or transported for sale in this State by the owner or operator are derived from the 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens.” An “egg-laying hen” is “a female chicken, turkey, duck, goose or guinea fowl that is domesticated and is kept for the purpose of producing eggs commercially” (NRS 583.215). A farm above that line is held to NRS 583.237’s housing rules and needs the certificate and an endorsement from the Department, with no fee for the endorsement (NRS 583.239(1), (8)).

The federal egg safety rule starts at 3,000 hens and is not a sales limit. 21 CFR 118.1(a) says “If you are 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, you are covered by some or all of the requirements in this part, as follows: (1) If any of your eggs that are produced at a particular farm do not receive a treatment as defined in § 118.3, you must comply with all of the requirements of this part for egg production on that farm. (2) If all of your eggs that are produced at the particular farm receive a treatment as defined in § 118.3, you must comply only with the refrigeration requirements in § 118.4(e) for production of eggs on that farm and with the registration requirements in § 118.11.” Paragraph (b) adds “If you transport or hold shell eggs for shell egg processing or egg products facilities, you must comply with the refrigeration requirements in § 118.4(e). This section applies only to eggs from farms with 3,000 or more laying hens.”

Source: NRS chapter 583, NAC chapter 576, Department FAQ (2018) and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Nevada?

Nevada’s health rule allows it on six conditions. NAC 446.979 reads “Fresh poultry eggs are allowed for sale at a farmers’ market, provided that the following requirements are met: 1. The eggs must be sold by a producer certified by the State Department of Agriculture; 2. The eggs must be candled and graded with a minimum of Grade A; 3. An application for Direct Marketing of Poultry Eggs at Farmers’ Markets must be on file with the State Department of Agriculture; 4. All records, including, without limitation, temperature maintenance logs required by the State Department of Agriculture and the health authority, must be maintained and available for review; 5. The temperature at the shell in stored eggs following harvest up to the point of sale must not exceed 45°F (7.2°C); and 6. All eggs must be transported, stored and displayed in a safe and sanitary manner to minimize breakage and contamination.” The rule also says “The producer of the farm products to be sold at a farmers’ market must be certified by the State Department of Agriculture. A certificate issued to such a producer from another state, if equivalent to those issued by the State Department of Agriculture, shall be deemed acceptable. A copy of the certification must be provided to the health authority” (NAC 446.973).

Two points in that rule are open. The Department’s page carries a form titled “Application for Direct Marketing of Poultry Eggs Questionnaire,” which asks “Eggs sold at farmer’s markets must be maintained between 41- 45 degrees Fahrenheit at the point of sale. If you plan to sell at farmer’s markets, how will you assure that eggs are kept at that temperature?” No source read says whether that questionnaire is the application NAC 446.979(3) names, and the rule’s “must not exceed 45°F” differs from the form’s “between 41- 45.” And the rule is the Board of Health’s, cited to NRS 446.940, which the 2025 act repealed; it stays in force until the Department amends it (section 72(1) of Senate Bill 466), and no amendment was read.

A farmers market is defined by the counties’ statute as “a place of business where the actual producer of farm products can bring the products for direct sale to consumers” (NRS 244.336(1)), with “Farm products” as NRS 576.0155 defines them, and “It is unlawful for any person to sell, within the farmers market, any product which is not a farm product” (NRS 244.338(3)). A board of county commissioners “may provide by ordinance for the licensing and regulating of farmers markets located outside of an incorporated city” (NRS 244.337(1)). No city’s or county’s ordinance was read.

The market rule excuses a certificate holder from a health permit, and the District’s rule does so on a condition. NAC 446.980 says “Except for certified producers of organic agricultural products and those producers who possess a certificate as a producer of farm products issued by the State Department of Agriculture or an equivalent federal, state or local agency, it is unlawful for any person to operate a produce stand in conjunction with a farmers’ market or to sell food at a farmers’ market unless such person possesses a valid health permit issued by the health authority.” Southern Nevada Health District’s 2023 food regulations say “Farmers are exempt from obtaining a health permit only if the farmer sells only farm products in their natural and unprocessed state” (13-101.3(C)), and define “Farm Products” as “All agricultural, horticultural, viticultural and vegetable products excluding livestock and livestock products, poultry and poultry products, uncertified non-graded whole shell eggs, fish and fish products, shellstock and shellstock products, crustacean and crustacean products, honey, hay and timber products, or milk and milk products.” Whether “uncertified non-graded” means certified graded eggs are farm products there is not stated. Those regulations name Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 446, which the 2025 act repealed. Northern Nevada Public Health’s regulations could not be read, its site’s certificate chain not verifying, and Carson City’s were not read.

Source: NAC chapter 446, NRS chapter 244, Senate Bill 466 (2025), Department egg questionnaire and Southern Nevada Health District 2023 Food Regulations.

Can I sell eggs to a store or restaurant in Nevada?

The sources read do not settle it. Nothing read bars a certified producer from selling to one, and nothing read says what a store or restaurant needs from a farm beyond the grade and label rule.

The grade and label rule reaches every buyer. A “consumer” includes “a restaurant, hotel, boardinghouse, bakery or other institution purchasing eggs for serving to guests or patrons, or for its use in cooking or baking” (NRS 583.116), a “retailer” is one who “sells eggs to a consumer” (NRS 583.120), and NRS 583.170 asks the size, quality, name and address of every container sold. “When eggs are sold in lots of half cases or more, the container must be marked, showing plainly and truly the grade or grades of eggs therein contained, and an invoice must accompany the sale plainly and truly indicating the grade or grades of eggs sold” (NRS 583.190), and a case is “a container holding 30 dozen shell eggs” (the egg standards’ general terms, subsection 2). NRS 576.128(3) says a person who obtains certification “is exempt from any: (a) Tax or other fee imposed pursuant to NRS 244.335, 266.355, subsection 7 of NRS 266.600, NRS 268.095, 269.170 or 269.175, relating to the issuance of any license to sell or offer to sell, in its natural and unprocessed state directly to any consumer, restaurant or grocery store, farm products specified in subsection 1 for which the person has obtained certification pursuant to this section,” and from the chapter 580 permit and inspection fees for such a sale (paragraph (b)). “Farm products specified in subsection 1” are those in its “other than any livestock, livestock product or poultry” sentence. It excuses fees on a sale to a restaurant or grocery store and says nothing of what the buyer or the seller otherwise needs.

The buyer has its own rule. Food establishments must receive eggs “clean, from an approved source and within proper temperature parameters, and in sound condition” (NAC 446.109), and raw eggs “in refrigerated equipment that maintains an ambient air temperature of 45°F (7.2°C) or below” (NAC 446.131(3)). Southern Nevada Health District’s rule says “Eggs must be received clean and sound and must not exceed the restricted egg tolerances for U.S. Consumer Grade B” (3-202.3). No source read says whether an egg from a certified producer is from an “approved source,” or what a store or restaurant may ask of its supplier. The Department’s 2017 FAQ says “If you are buying eggs from another producer and reselling them or selling eggs from another state you will need a Vendor Certificate,” which is a different certificate from the producer’s.

Source: NRS chapter 583, NAC chapter 583, NRS chapter 576, NAC chapter 446, Southern Nevada Health District 2023 Food Regulations and Department FAQ (2017).

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

Size, quality, and your name and address. NRS 583.170(1) makes it unlawful to sell or offer or expose for sale eggs “Unless each container and subcontainer is marked with the full, correct and unabbreviated designation of size and quality of the eggs contained therein, according to the grade and standards prescribed by the State Quarantine Officer, and with the name and address of the producer, dealer, retailer or agent by or for whom the eggs were graded or marked.” The designation is “in boldface type letters: (a) Not less than one-fourth inch in height on the outside top face of each container holding less than 15 dozen eggs” (NRS 583.180(1)(a)). Eggs may not be sold “From bulk lots, open cases or other types of containers” unless “a plainly legible sign or placard” carries the same designation in letters “not less than 1 inch in height” (NRS 583.170(2), 583.180(2)).

The size classes are weights per dozen. NAC 583.161 sets the minimum net weight per dozen at 30 ounces for jumbo, 27 for extra large, 24 for large, 21 for medium, 18 for small and 15 for peewee. The Department’s FAQ says “You may label your eggs as ‘assorted sizes’ or ‘mixed sizes.’ However, if you used the terms ‘jumbo,’ ‘extra-large,’ ‘large,’ ‘medium’ or ‘small,’ the eggs must meet the minimum weight per dozen requirements required by Nevada regulations.”

Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)), except eggs “specifically processed to destroy all viable Salmonella” (101.17(h)(4)). Paragraph (h)(1) says “The label of all shell eggs, whether in intrastate or interstate commerce, shall bear the following statement: SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from bacteria: keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly.” It goes in bold type “on the principal display panel, the information panel, or on the inside of the lid of egg cartons,” set off in a box (101.17(h)(2), (3)), and if it is inside the lid “Keep Refrigerated” must appear on the principal display panel or the information panel (101.17(h)(2)). “The safe handling statement for shell eggs that are not for direct sale to consumers, e.g., those that are to be repacked or labeled at a site other than where originally processed, or are sold for use in food service establishments, may be provided on cartons or in labeling, e.g., invoices or bills of lading in accordance with the practice of the trade” (101.17(h)(5)). The Department’s FAQ words the statement without the colon after “bacteria” and spells “yokes” for “yolks.” For bulk sales the FAQ says “a label or a placard must be posted in a visible place stating the grade and size, the farm name and address and the safe handling statement.”

A date is not required by the sources read. The Department’s FAQ says “Although not required by federal or state law, it is recommended to include a pack date, sell by, use by, best if used by or other date” and “If date coding is used, certain rules must be followed”: an expiration date in month/day form with a prefix such as “EXP” or “Sell by,” “no more than 30 days from the day the eggs were packed in a carton,” and “Use by,” “Use before” or “Best before” not exceeding “45 days including the day the eggs were packed into the carton.” Its questionnaire says “(The sell by date is 30 days from packing, including the packing date.)” The FAQ also says “When you sell eggs away from your farm, it is recommended new, properly labeled cartons are used”; no rule read on reusing a carton.

Source: NRS chapter 583, NAC chapter 583, Department FAQ (2018), Department egg questionnaire and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

Do I have to keep eggs cold in Nevada?

At a farmers market, yes, at 45°F or below at the shell. NAC 446.979(5) says “The temperature at the shell in stored eggs following harvest up to the point of sale must not exceed 45°F (7.2°C),” and the Department’s questionnaire says “Eggs sold at farmer’s markets must be maintained between 41- 45 degrees Fahrenheit at the point of sale.” The two wordings differ.

For a sale that is not at a market, the sources read set no temperature. The egg sections and standards (NRS 583.110 to 583.251, NAC 583.080 to 583.201) name none, and the label statement tells the buyer “keep eggs refrigerated.” The federal rule’s refrigeration, 21 CFR 118.4(e), says “You must hold and transport eggs at or below 45 °F ambient temperature beginning 36 hours after time of lay. If the eggs are to be processed as table eggs and are not processed for the ultimate consumer within 36 hours from the time of lay and, therefore, are held and transported as required at or below 45 °F ambient temperature, then you may then hold them at room temperature for no more than 36 hours just prior to processing to allow an equilibration step to temper the eggs,” and reaches only farms of “3,000 or more laying hens” (118.1(a), (b)). A food establishment that buys eggs must receive raw eggs at 45°F ambient or below (NAC 446.131(3)).

Source: NAC chapter 446, Department egg questionnaire, 21 CFR 118.4(e) and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell duck or quail eggs in Nevada?

The sources read do not say how a duck or quail egg is graded. Nevada’s quality standards are written for one bird: “Shell eggs of domesticated chickens, except eggs which have been removed from incubation after partial development, must be classified according to the following standards of quality” (NAC 583.141), and “Fresh eggs, ranch eggs, farm eggs or any other terms that represent eggs to be fresh” mean eggs that “Meet the minimum quality of grade A under the grades and standards prescribed by the State Quarantine Officer” (NRS 583.117(1)). The egg sections do not define “eggs.”

Other sources name more birds. The health rule says “Egg means the shell egg of avian species, including, without limitation, chicken, duck, goose, guinea, quail, ratites or turkey” (NAC 446.01283(1)). The cage-free chapter’s “egg-laying hen” is a “chicken, turkey, duck, goose or guinea fowl,” not a quail (NRS 583.215). The Department’s questionnaire speaks of “shell eggs (domestic fowl)” and its certificate page of “eggs of domestic poultry.”

Source: NAC chapter 583, NRS chapter 583, NAC chapter 446, Department egg questionnaire and Producer Certificate page.

Do I have to wash or candle eggs in Nevada?

Candling and grading are asked of every sale, and no source read sets a washing rule. The Department’s FAQ says “Eggs must be graded for size and quality and labeled accordingly,” and describes grading as examination “either by ‘candling’ ... or by breaking them open and exterior characteristics by visually examining the outside of the egg.” At a farmers market the rule adds “The eggs must be candled and graded with a minimum of Grade A” (NAC 446.979(2)). Grade A, the “minimum grade that can be sold in Nevada” by the FAQ’s words, needs “The shell must be clean, unbroken and practically normal,” an air cell of no more than “three-sixteenths of an inch in depth, measured at destination,” and a clear, at least reasonably firm white (NAC 583.141(2)).

Clean is defined by the rule: a shell egg is “Clean if it is free from foreign material and from stains or discolorations that are readily visible,” and “may be considered clean if it has only very small specks, stains, or marks from a cage, which are not of sufficient number or intensity to detract from the generally clean appearance of the egg” (NAC 583.100(2)). The questionnaire asks the temperature of any wash water and the sanitizer used and its concentration, and sets no number.

Source: NAC chapter 583, NAC chapter 446, Department FAQ (2018) and Department egg questionnaire.