Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Iceland?

Registration: conditions apply, for the keepers covered below. The national keeping rule, and the bird-flu and welfare rules, follow.

Read from 4 official sources18 passages quotedChecked October 8, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Conditions apply

National keeping rule

Rule identified

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule identified

A sourced reading of national law in Iceland, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national or state scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Iceland

Applies to: Annex I activity under the poultry-welfare regulation, including the listed poultry holdings, houses, hatcheries and building work.

Outside this finding's scope

  • This is a specific welfare notification and assessment duty, not a complete animal-health or backyard premises-registration finding. An under-250 flock is not established as universally exempt.

What the checked sources say

  • Notify MAST at least 30 days before starting Annex I activity.
  • The activity cannot start until MAST confirms that housing, equipment and knowledge conditions are met.
  • Regulation 987/2026 applies regardless of commercial keeping unless it says otherwise, but that scope statement does not establish a particular backyard registration duty.
  • Within regulation 987/2026, the keeper bears marking and registration costs unless otherwise specifically decided. No fee amount or universal backyard registration charge is established.
  • Dýraskrá is deferred until 1 January 2028, with interim recording arrangements. It is not presented here as an available current registration route.

Thresholds

  • Annex I lists holdings with at least 250 poultry, poultry houses for at least 250, hatcheries, and new buildings or major housing alterations. The building category is not reduced to a 250-bird threshold.

Authority: Matvælastofnun (MAST)

Fee: Not established from the sources checked.

The official wording

  • Umráðamanni alifugla í starfsemi sem talin er upp í viðauka I, ber að tilkynna Matvælastofnun um fyrirhugaða starfsemi eigi síðar en 30 dögum áður en áætluð starfsemi hefst.

    Article 3 paragraph 2 first sentence · Checked

  • Matvælastofnun skal taka út fyrirhugaða starfsemi. Óheimilt er að hefja starfsemi áður en staðfesting Matvælastofnunar liggur fyrir um að skilyrði varðandi húsakost, búnað og þekkingu sem tilgreind eru í reglugerð þessari séu uppfyllt.

    Article 3 paragraph 2 remainder · Checked

  • 1. Bú með samtals 250 alifuglum eða fleiri. 2. Alifuglahús fyrir 250 alifugla eða fleiri. 3. Útungunarstöðvar. 4. Nýbyggingar eða meiriháttar breytingar á húsakosti.

    Original gazette PDF page 11, Annex I items 1–4 · Checked

  • Reglugerð þessi gildir óháð því hvort dýr eru haldin í atvinnuskyni eða ekki, nema annað sé sérstaklega tekið fram.

    Regulation 987/2026 article 1 final paragraph · Checked

  • Umráðamaður dýra ber kostnað af merkingum og skráningum samkvæmt reglugerð þessari, nema annað sé sérstaklega ákveðið.

    Article 20, Kostnaður · Checked

  • Dýraskrá samkvæmt 4. gr. tekur gildi 1. janúar 2028. Fram að því fara skráningar fram í miðlægum gagnagrunnum búfjártegundanna þ.e. Huppu, Fjárvís, Heiðrúnu og WorldFeng auk upplýsinga sem skrá á í gagnagrunnana Mark og Bústofn.

    Transitional provision first paragraph · Checked

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-08

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Rule identified for the scope below

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Iceland

Applies to: The danger-stage mechanism for temporary bird-flu measures in particular areas or throughout Iceland.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The precaution list and current surveillance page do not establish a currently binding housing order or the absence of one.

What the checked sources say

  • At the danger stage, MAST proposes temporary protective measures to the minister for particular areas or the whole country.
  • MAST’s danger-stage guidance tells bird owners to follow its instructions and rules published by notice in the Official Gazette.
  • Listed precautions include keeping birds in roofed enclosures or buildings. This is evidence of the mechanism, not proof that a housing order currently applies.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

  • Leggur til við ráðherra að fyrirskipaðar verði tímabundnar varnaraðgerðir til að fyrirbyggja að fuglainflúensa berist í alifugla, aðra fugla í haldi, spendýr eða fólk, annað hvort á tilteknum svæðum eða á öllu landinu

    Hættustig / Matvælastofnun · Checked

  • Fylgja fyrirmælum Matvælastofnunar og þeim reglum sem settar hafa verið með auglýsingu í Stjórnartíðindum.

    Hættustig / Fuglaeigendur · Checked

  • Að fuglarnir séu hafðir inni í yfirbyggðum gerðum eða húsum

    Hættustig / Helstu varúðarráðstafanir · Checked

  • Staða - Uppfært 28. september 2026

    Status heading · Checked

Small-flock welfare minimums

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Iceland

Applies to: Ordinary poultry keeping, including small flocks. The regulation’s poultry definition includes Galliformes, ducks, geese and other birds raised for meat and egg production.

Outside this finding's scope

  • Application of the ordinary-keeping knowledge, inspection and feeding provisions to hatcheries under Article 31’s special regime is not established. Selected duties only; not a complete welfare checklist or property permission.

What the checked sources say

  • For ordinary poultry keeping, acquire basic knowledge of poultry needs and care even when keeping one bird.
  • In ordinary poultry keeping, inspect birds at least daily and remedy defects promptly. Broiler chickens—Gallus gallus raised for meat—must be inspected at least twice daily; this is not a twice-daily rule for all young hens.
  • In ordinary poultry keeping, feed quality, amount and composition must meet the birds’ needs. Provide adequate accessible feed and water, with daily access to uncontaminated drinking water and feed.
  • Monitor feeding and health and call a veterinarian if needed.
  • After initial adjustment, adult laying hens must have uninterrupted darkness for one third of the day.
  • Outdoor areas must provide shelter from weather and wind. This does not establish a right to outdoor access during disease restrictions.

The official wording

  • Alifuglar: Hænsnfuglar af ættbálki Galliformes, endur, gæsir og aðrir fuglar aldir til framleiðslu á kjöti og eggjum.

    Article 2 definition Alifuglar · Checked

  • Öllum þeim sem halda alifugla, hvort sem það eru einn eða fleiri fuglar, er skylt að afla sér grunnþekkingar á þörfum og umönnun alifugla.

    Article 4 paragraph 1 · Checked

  • Eftirlit skal haft með alifuglum að lágmarki einu sinni á sólarhring og bæta svo fljótt sem auðið er úr því sem er ábótavant. Eftirlit skal hafa með öllum kjúklingum að lágmarki tvisvar sinnum á sólarhring.

    Article 5 paragraph 2 · Checked

  • Gæði fóðurs, magn og samsetning skal fullnægja þörfum fugla. Fóðrun og brynning skal vera aðgengileg og nægileg öllum fuglum. Fuglar skulu hafa daglegan aðgang að ómenguðu drykkjarvatni og fóðri.

    Article 6 paragraph 1 · Checked

  • Umráðamaður skal fylgjast með fóðrun og heilbrigði alifugla í hans umsjá og kalla til dýralækni ef með þarf.

    Article 12 paragraph 1 · Checked

  • Eftir fyrstu aðlögunardagana skal tryggja fullorðnum varphænum órofna myrkvun þriðjung sólarhringsins.

    Article 16 paragraph 4 first sentence · Checked

  • Á útisvæðum skal vera skjól fyrir veðri og vindum.

    Article 18 final paragraph · Checked

National or state rules on keeping poultry

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Iceland

Applies to: The national transition away from conventional cages defined in Article 24 of the poultry-welfare regulation.

Outside this finding's scope

  • This is not a ban on every cage type or permission to keep birds at a particular property. Regional-law allocation remains unknown.

What the checked sources say

  • The transitional provision required conventional cages under Article 24 to stop being used after 30 June 2023.

The official wording

  • Notkun á hefðbundnum búrum skv. 24. gr. skal hætt eftir 30. júní 2023.

    Transitional provision · Checked

Selling eggs in Iceland? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: No license

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Iceland?
Registration: conditions apply. The finding covers: Annex I activity under the poultry-welfare regulation, including the listed poultry holdings, houses, hatcheries and building work. Annex I lists holdings with at least 250 poultry, poultry houses for at least 250, hatcheries, and new buildings or major housing alterations. The building category is not reduced to a 250-bird threshold. Outside this finding's scope: This is a specific welfare notification and assessment duty, not a complete animal-health or backyard premises-registration finding. An under-250 flock is not established as universally exempt. Authority: Matvælastofnun (MAST).
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Iceland?
The national sources we read don't settle it, and we haven't identified who decides. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Iceland?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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