Province rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Alberta?

Yes. With 300 hens or fewer you need no Egg Farmers of Alberta licence, and you may sell uninspected eggs from your own farm directly to consumers, kept at 7°C in clean cartons marked UNINSPECTED.

Read from 7 official sources24 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

Licence

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

300 hens or fewer

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

Reuse with conditions

In plain English

Alberta's supply-management line is 300 hens: a person who keeps no more than 300 hens (hens being chickens 19 weeks or older) is an 'exempt producer' outside the Egg Farmers of Alberta Plan and needs no board licence or quota. Selling is governed by the Purchase and Sale of Eggs and Processed Egg Regulation: hen eggs must be graded and inspected at an egg station, except that a producer may sell uninspected eggs directly to a consumer if all five conditions are met: produced on the producer's own farm; for the buyer's own or household use only; clean, uncracked and not leaking; kept at an ambient temperature of 7°C or less until they leave the producer; and packed in clean containers marked UNINSPECTED in letters at least 2 cm high. The regulation names no venue, and the Food Regulation lets stallholders at approved farmers' markets sell raw shell eggs held at 7°C without a stall permit. Stores, restaurants and other commercial food establishments must use inspected eggs.

A sourced reading of Alberta's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, Food Safety Division before you sell.

Do you need a licence?

Depends on how and how much you sell300 hens or fewer
  • Keep no more than 300 hens (female chickens 19 weeks or older), or have facilities with capacity of no more than 300 hens, to be an exempt producer outside the Egg Farmers of Alberta Plan.Alta Reg 26/2022, ss. 1(g), 5(1)
  • More than 300 hens needs an Egg Farmers of Alberta licence.Alta Reg 293/1997, s. 3(2)
  • Uninspected eggs only from the producer, a person selling eggs produced only on their own farm.Alta Reg 23/2004, ss. 1(k), 3(1)(a)
  • Sold directly to a consumer, for the consumer's own or household use and not for resale.Alta Reg 23/2004, ss. 1(b), 3(1)(b)
  • Eggs clean, with no visible cracks and not leaking.Alta Reg 23/2004, s. 3(1)(c)
  • Kept at an ambient temperature not exceeding 7°C until they leave the producer's possession.Alta Reg 23/2004, s. 3(1)(d)
  • Packed under sanitary conditions in clean containers marked "UNINSPECTED" in letters at least 2 centimetres high.Alta Reg 23/2004, s. 3(1)(e)
  • No sales from a flock exposed to Salmonella enteritidis.Alta Reg 23/2004, s. 4(1)
  • At an approved farmers' market, a stallholder may sell whole raw shell eggs only if stored at 7°C or below; no stall permit is needed.Alta Reg 31/2006, ss. 4(3), 36(2)
  • Any other sale of hen eggs requires grading, inspection, packing and labelling at an egg station.Alta Reg 23/2004, s. 2
The exact wording
““exempt producer” means a person (i) who does not possess, whether by ownership or otherwise, more than 300 hens, or (ii) whose productive capacity from that person’s production facilities does not exceed 300 hens;”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

A producer may sell uninspected eggs from their own farm directly to consumers for household use if all five conditions in Alta Reg 23/2004 s. 3(1) are met (clean, uncracked, 7°C, sanitary packing, UNINSPECTED label). No Egg Farmers of Alberta licence up to 300 hens.

Farmers markets

With conditions

Allowed at approved farmers' markets: the Food Regulation lets stallholders sell whole raw shell eggs stored at 7°C or below, and a stall needs no permit (Alta Reg 31/2006, ss. 4(3), 36(2)); the five uninspected-egg conditions still apply. Markets not approved by the Ministry are public markets under Alberta Health Services' rules, which were not checked.

Stores and restaurants

Licence needed

Uninspected eggs are for the consumer's own or household use only. Stores, restaurants and other commercial food establishments must obtain food subject to inspection from an inspected source, so they need eggs graded at a registered egg station (Alta Reg 23/2004, ss. 2-3; Alta Reg 31/2006, s. 22).

Also check with: Alberta Health Services, Environmental Public Health (market and food sales)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

Reused cartons are allowed, with conditions.

“the eggs are packed under sanitary conditions in clean containers that are conspicuously and legibly marked with the word “UNINSPECTED” in letters that are at least 2 centimetres in height.”

Refrigeration

7°C or colder where the rule applies.

“the eggs are kept at an ambient temperature that does not exceed 7ºC until they leave the producer’s possession”

The label must show

  • "UNINSPECTED" in letters at least 2 centimetres high, conspicuous and legible

Grading

Ungraded sales are allowed only in some cases.

“Except as provided in section 3, no person shall sell, offer for sale, hold in possession for sale or after sale, ship, transport or deliver chicken eggs unless the eggs are graded, stored, inspected, packed, marked and labelled … a producer may sell, offer for sale, hold in possession for sale, ship, transport or deliver uninspected chicken eggs directly to a consumer if”

Washing

Not stated in the sources we read.

Federal rules apply on top of Alberta's: Canada's federal egg rules. Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.

What changed recently

  1. 2026-01-31 · Egg Farmers of Alberta Plan Amendment Regulation (Alta Reg 16/2026, Ministerial Order 002/2026) in force: lets the Board exempt supply-flock owners and updates the federal agreement's name. The 300-hen exempt-producer definition was not changed. Source

Common questions

Do I need a licence to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Alberta?
Yes. With 300 hens or fewer you need no Egg Farmers of Alberta licence, and you may sell uninspected eggs from your own farm directly to consumers, kept at 7°C in clean cartons marked UNINSPECTED. Small-flock line: 300 hens or fewer. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Alberta?
Allowed with conditions. Allowed at approved farmers' markets: the Food Regulation lets stallholders sell whole raw shell eggs stored at 7°C or below, and a stall needs no permit (Alta Reg 31/2006, ss. 4(3), 36(2)); the five uninspected-egg conditions still apply. Markets not approved by the Ministry are public markets under Alberta Health Services' rules, which were not checked. Also check with Alberta Health Services, Environmental Public Health (market and food sales).
Can I reuse egg cartons in Alberta?
With conditions. The rule reads: "the eggs are packed under sanitary conditions in clean containers that are conspicuously and legibly marked with the word “UNINSPECTED” in letters that are at least 2 centimetres in height."
What has to be on the carton label in Alberta?
"UNINSPECTED" in letters at least 2 centimetres high, conspicuous and legible. The rule reads: "clean containers that are conspicuously and legibly marked with the word “UNINSPECTED” in letters that are at least 2 centimetres in height."
Do eggs I sell in Alberta have to be kept cold?
Yes, at 7°C or colder. The rule reads: "the eggs are kept at an ambient temperature that does not exceed 7ºC until they leave the producer’s possession"
Sources
Read the 24 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • Farm-gate health permit: the Food Regulation (s. 3) requires a permit to operate a 'food establishment' (a place where food is handled) unless a Part or exemption applies; it does not name farm-gate egg sales, and the Agriculture overview describes the uninspected-egg exemption without mentioning a permit. Alberta Health Services was not asked whether a farm-gate egg seller needs a food handling permit.
  • Public markets: the Food Regulation's farmers' market rules (Part 3) apply only to markets approved under the Ministry's program. Rules for selling eggs at other public markets (Alberta Health Services) were not checked; s. 22 (inspected sources) may apply there.
  • Cartons: the regulation requires clean containers marked UNINSPECTED; it does not say whether used cartons with another packer's grade marks may be reused. The 2012 Agri-Facts and 2016 farmers' market package that addressed this carry a 'Superseded' watermark on open.alberta.ca and were not quoted.
  • Alta Reg 23/2004 still cross-refers to the federal Egg Regulations (Canada) CRC 1978, c.284, which the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations replaced in 2019; the consolidation is current as of October 24, 2022 and the PDF was last modified November 4, 2022 (no later amendment found).
  • The Food Regulation consolidation is current as of June 21, 2024 and the regulation expires June 30, 2027 unless renewed; amendments after June 2024 were not searched in the Alberta Gazette.
  • Recent changes to the Egg Farmers of Alberta Marketing Regulation (AR 30/2024; AR 13/2026) and Plan (AR 16/2026) concern definitions, supply flocks and the expiry date (now September 30, 2031); none changes the 300-hen exempt-producer line.
  • Washing: no washing rule found in the regulations read.
  • Duck and other non-chicken eggs: Alta Reg 23/2004 covers chicken eggs; the Food Regulation's market rule covers 'whole raw shell poultry eggs'. Other species not researched.

Elsewhere in Canada

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No licence for small salesDepends how you sellRegistration or licenceNot stated or not checked

All of Canada

Coloured by the small-flock licence rule, with the rules that apply everywhere in Canada.

Canada overview →

Legal where you live? Then keep the books.

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