Can I sell eggs in Wisconsin?

Do I need a license to sell eggs in Wisconsin?

Not the food processing plant license, if you meet the statute’s conditions. Wisconsin’s direct-sale statute says “An egg producer who satisfies all of the following need not obtain a license under s. 97.29 to sell eggs, including nest-run eggs” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(2)): a flock that “does not exceed 150” egg-laying birds; sales “directly to a consumer” at “the premises where the eggs were laid,” “a farmers’ market located in this state” or “an egg sales route”; a carton “labeled only with” four items (below); and eggs kept at 41°F. Section 97.29 is the food processing plant license. The Department’s rule repeats the exemption and adds that the eggs “may or may not be washed, candled, and graded” (ATCP 88.02(2)(a)). An “egg producer” is a person who sells eggs laid only by birds that person owns (§97.28(1)(c)), and a “consumer” is “an individual purchasing eggs which will be consumed by the individual, the individual’s family, or the individual’s non-paying guests” (ATCP 88.01(6)).

A retail food license is a separate question. The rule says “no egg producer may sell eggs directly to consumers, including sales at a farmers’ market or on an egg sales route, without a valid license issued by the department for a retail food establishment under s. 97.30,” except for sales “at the egg producer’s premises or as part of a community-supported agriculture business operated by the egg producer” (ATCP 88.02(5)). The statute counts raw shell eggs as potentially hazardous food (§97.30(1)(bm)3.), and its no-license line for a retail establishment covers only one that “does not sell potentially hazardous food” (§97.30(2)(b)1.a.). The license comes from the Department or from “an agent city or county” (§97.30(2)(a)). The Department’s egg page says a small producer “still” needs “a transient retail food establishment license to sell their eggs at farmers markets and on egg sales routes.” The sources read do not say which class or fee an egg-only market stand takes, or what an agent city or county asks of one.

Above 150 birds, the license is required. The Department says “Anyone owning more than 150 birds that produce eggs is considered a large-scale producer. As a result, a Food Processing Plant License generally must be obtained to lawfully package and sell their eggs in Wisconsin.” The rule bars egg handling, “including sales of eggs to a licensed egg handler, retail food establishment, food processing plant, or community-supported agriculture business,” without that license (ATCP 88.02(1)). The one exception the Department names is nest-run eggs sold to a licensed egg handler, from a producer registered with the Department at no charge (ATCP 88.02(2)(b), (4)). Storing another farm’s eggs for more than 24 hours takes a food warehouse license (ATCP 88.02(3)).

Two questions the sources leave open. The Department’s page says “Registration is required for egg producers who collect, package, and store nest−run eggs from a flock of laying birds owned by the producer,” under its small-producer heading, while the rule ties registration to a producer selling nest-run eggs to an egg handler (ATCP 88.02(4)) and says nothing of it for a 150-bird direct seller. On online sales, the statute names three venues and no internet sale, and the Department’s licensing guide (a PDF dated January 2017) says of food in general that “Internet sales are considered retail sales.” Neither says how the Department treats eggs listed or requested online and picked up by the buyer at the farm. A farm that lists eggs or takes requests online should ask the Department before it does.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Stat. §97.30, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88, DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing and DATCP, Food Processing and Food Sales Requirements Guide.

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

The limit is on the flock: the number of egg-laying birds “does not exceed 150” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(2)(a)). The rule says “not more than 150 laying birds” (ATCP 88.02(2)(a)), and the Department’s page says “150 birds or fewer” for a small-scale producer and “more than 150 birds that produce eggs” for a large-scale one. The sources read do not say whether young or resting birds, or birds of another species, count toward the 150. No dozen or weekly limit turned up in the statute or the rule.

A federal rule adds a line at 3,000 hens: FDA’s egg safety rule covers a producer with 3,000 or more laying hens “that does not sell all of your eggs directly to consumers” (21 CFR 118.1), and the Department’s rule has a producer of 3,000 or more birds register with FDA (ATCP 88.04(1)(a)). Its rule on restricted eggs (checks and dirties) draws a second line at 3,000 birds, below (ATCP 88.28).

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88, DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing and 21 CFR 118.1.

Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Wisconsin?

Yes, with a retail food license. The statute lists “a farmers’ market located in this state” as one of the three places a 150-bird producer may sell without the food processing plant license, and defines it as a place where “2 or more individuals gather on a regular, recurring basis to sell, directly to the consumer,” raw agricultural commodities they grow or collect or food they prepare (Wis. Stat. §97.28(1)(e), (2)(b)2.). The rule then requires a retail food establishment license for a market sale (ATCP 88.02(5)).

Which retail license is not settled in the sources read. The Department’s egg page names a transient retail food establishment license. The rule defines a transient establishment as “a temporary retail food establishment that operates at a fixed location in conjunction with a special event and sells or serves food for a period of no more than 14 consecutive days or in conjunction with an occasional sales promotion,” counts “farmers markets” among special events, and limits a transient license to “a period not to exceed 14 days in conjunction with a specific special event” (ATCP 75.04(37)(b), (39); 75.06(2)(c)). The Department’s marketing guide (a PDF dated January 2016) says a producer at a farmers market or going door to door “must hold the mobile retail food establishment license.” Which of these a stand at a weekly market for a season takes, and its fee, is a question for the Department or the agent city or county that licenses where you sell. The fee schedule is ATCP 75.06.

The market’s own rules and the carton are separate. The statute’s carton and 41°F conditions apply at a market as they do on the farm (below). The 2016 guide says eggs at a market “must be fully labeled including a Grade statement or ‘Ungraded’,” which asks for more than the statute’s four items; see the carton answer.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 75, DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing and DATCP, Local Food Marketing Guide (2016).

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

Yes, with a food processing plant license. The exemption covers only sales “directly to a consumer” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(2)(b)), and the Department says “If the producer sells eggs at retail or wholesale, a food processing license is required.” The rule bars egg handling, “including sales of eggs to a licensed egg handler, retail food establishment, food processing plant, or community-supported agriculture business,” without the license (ATCP 88.02(1)). A store or restaurant is not “an individual” buying for a household (ATCP 88.01(6)). The licensed seller’s carton carries the full label, with a grade and size or the word “UNGRADED” (ATCP 88.34(1), 88.24, 88.38(4)), and its eggs are held at 45°F in transport and at 41°F for retail sale (ATCP 88.18). A producer who sells eggs to anyone for resale keeps a written record of the sale for a year (ATCP 88.40).

The one sale of unwashed eggs off that path is nest-run eggs, “from any size flock,” to a licensed egg handler, by a producer registered with the Department (no fee), stored at 45°F “during storage and transportation from producer to processor” (Department’s egg page; ATCP 88.02(2)(b), (4)). A community-supported agriculture business the producer operates appears in the rule’s retail-license and label lines (ATCP 88.02(5), 88.34(4)) but not among the statute’s three venues, and the sources read do not say whether the exemption reaches a sale to its members. Ask the Department.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88 and DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing.

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

For the exempt sale, the statute lists four things and says the carton is “labeled only with” them: the producer’s name and address; the date the eggs were packed; a date “no more than 30 days after” the pack date “by which the eggs must be sold”; and “a statement indicating that the eggs in the package are ungraded and uninspected” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(2)(c)). The rule says the same four for eggs sold to household consumers on the premises or through the producer’s own community-supported agriculture business, and for the exempt market and route sales (ATCP 88.34(4), 88.02(2)(a)).

The Department’s pages ask for more, and do not say for whom. Its egg page lists, for “Retail egg packaging,” the product identity, name and address or a packer number, net quantity, nutrition labeling, the grade and size “or the word ‘Ungraded’,” a “keep refrigerated” statement, the pack date, a sell-by or use-by date and a safe-handling statement, and separately says “small producers” selling from their premises “can use their complete name and address” and “are exempt from nutritional labeling requirements.” Its egg-labeling fact sheet (a PDF dated July 2026) says it is “intended for licensed egg producers and processors.” The Department’s 2016 marketing guide says eggs at a market “must be fully labeled including a Grade statement or ‘Ungraded’.” Federal rules put the "Safe Handling Instructions" statement on every carton of shell eggs (21 CFR 101.17(h)), and the statute says an exempt carton carries “only” the four items; the sources read do not say how those fit together, or whether the keep-refrigerated line belongs on an exempt carton. Ask the Department.

Reusing cartons: the rule says used cartons may be used “only” if clean and “all markings that do not pertain to the eggs being sold, including brand name, USDA shield, date of pack, expiration date, use-by date, quality, and size are obliterated” (ATCP 88.32(2)(d)). The Department’s fact sheet repeats it. The statute’s dates run “no more than 30 days after” packing, and the rule for a licensed carton counts 30 days “including the packing date” (ATCP 88.34(1)(f)); a date under 30 days meets both. No one may call eggs “fresh” unless they meet Grade A or AA (ATCP 88.38(6)), and “organic” follows the federal organic rules (ATCP 88.34(6)).

On listings: the rule makes it a deceptive practice to “offer for sale or sell eggs without clearly indicating the grade and size of the eggs or that they are ungraded” (ATCP 88.38(4)). The sources read do not say whether a farm’s online listing or list of what it has today is an offer for sale under that line, or what a listing must say. A farm that posts a price should ask the Department.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88, DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing, DATCP, Egg Labeling Fact Sheet, DATCP, Local Food Marketing Guide (2016) and 21 CFR 101.17(h).

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

For the exempt sale, 41°F. The statute says the packaged eggs, “held, as packaged, for sale at a venue,” are kept “at an ambient temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below at all times” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(2)(d)), and the Department’s page says “Retail sale packaged eggs must be always kept at an ambient temperature no higher than 41°F.”

The rule’s standards for an egg handler are 45°F: eggs held more than 36 hours after lay before packing, packed eggs “at all times, including while they are being transported,” and eggs in transport to and at receipt by a retail food establishment; 41°F “for retail sale”; and no sale of frozen eggs (ATCP 88.18(1) to (4), (6)). The Department’s 2016 marketing guide puts a farm sale at “45°F or below” and a market sale at 41°F. The sources read do not say whether the rule’s 45°F standards reach an exempt producer, or whether the statute’s 41°F covers the eggs before they are packed and in the car on the way to a market. Ask the Department.

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.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88, DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing, DATCP, Local Food Marketing Guide (2016) and 21 CFR 115.50.

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

The statute and the rule count more than chicken eggs: an “egg” is the shell egg of the domestic chicken, “and of turkey, duck, goose, guinea, or other avian species whose eggs are used for human consumption” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(1)(b); ATCP 88.01(9)). A quail egg is inside that definition, and the same 150-bird exemption, retail license and cold apply.

The rules add a species line: no one may “offer for sale or sell eggs laid by a species other than chicken, without clearly indicating the species of bird that laid the eggs” (ATCP 88.38(5)), and the Department’s fact sheet says eggs other than chicken eggs are labeled “UNGRADED” and name the bird (“Duck, Quail, Turkey”), because there is no grade standard for them. The statute’s exempt carton is “labeled only with” four items and the species is not one; the sources read do not say how those fit together. Ask the Department.

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88 and DATCP, Egg Labeling Fact Sheet.

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

The statute and the rule say no for the exempt sale: the exemption covers “nest-run eggs,” which are eggs “not washed, graded, or subject to candling before sale” (Wis. Stat. §97.28(1)(f), (2)), and the rule says the eggs “may or may not be washed, candled, and graded” (ATCP 88.02(2)(a)). The Department’s page says the opposite about candling: “Ungraded is a grade. Eggs labeled Ungraded must still be candled to remove defective eggs.” The sources read do not say which the Department applies to a 150-bird direct seller. Ask the Department.

If you clean eggs, the rule’s egg-handling chapter has standards: eggs “shall be cleaned to remove debris and stains,” dirty eggs may be dry-cleaned, wash water must be “at least 20° Fahrenheit warmer than the eggs, and not colder than 90° Fahrenheit,” eggs are not left soaking, and washed eggs are dry before packing (ATCP 88.20). A candling light is required “for determining the interior and exterior quality of eggs” (ATCP 88.22). “Egg handler” means a person who “washes, grades, sizes, candles, packages, stores, handles, or otherwise prepares eggs for sale,” but not one who handles nest-run eggs (ATCP 88.01(10)); the sources read do not say whether an exempt producer who washes and packs is an egg handler bound by those standards.

Restricted eggs are separate. A producer with 3,000 or fewer birds may sell no more edible restricted eggs than the U.S. Consumer Grade B tolerances allow, and may sell checks and dirties “only on the premises where the eggs are produced directly to consumers for use by the consumer and the consumer’s non-paying guests” (ATCP 88.28(1)(b)). Dirty eggs that cannot be cleaned are discarded (ATCP 88.20(8)).

Source: Wis. Stat. §97.28, Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 88 and DATCP, Egg Sales & Licensing.