Province rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in New Brunswick?

Yes. Up to 199 hens needs no quota or registration, and you can sell your own ungraded eggs to consumers at the farm or a farmers' market with no food licence. Stores and restaurants need graded eggs.

Read from 6 official sources23 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

Licence

Not needed

Small-flock line

199 hens or fewer

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

Egg Farmers of New Brunswick (EFNB), the provincial egg marketing board, says a backyard flock of up to 199 hens needs no quota or registration; 200 or more needs quota and a licence. Its Levy Order likewise leaves out anyone with fewer than 200 layers housed apart from other people's birds, unless they send eggs to a grading station. EFNB says you may sell your own ungraded eggs directly to consumers at the farm gate or at farmers' markets. Provincial law agrees in its own way: the Eggs Regulation requires all eggs sold to be graded, but that rule does not apply to a producer selling eggs from their own farm to a consumer. The Department of Health says selling these eggs directly or at a farmers' market needs no food premises licence 'at this time', but farm eggs are not an approved source for licensed restaurants, stores or market food vendors. Health's market guidelines say eggs must be clean, free of cracks and kept at 4°C or colder. Don't mark cartons 'Canada A' or another grade without a producer-grader licence.

A sourced reading of New Brunswick's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with New Brunswick Department of Health (Public Health, food premises) before you sell.

Do you need a licence?

No licence or registration for small direct sales199 hens or fewer
  • Keep no more than 199 hens; 200 or more needs quota and a licence from Egg Farmers of New Brunswick.EFNB, nbegg.ca, © 2022
  • The board's levies don't apply if you have fewer than 200 layers (hens 19 weeks or older) housed apart from anyone else's birds and you don't send eggs to a grading station.EFNB Levy Order, s. 3, in force December 16, 2025
  • Sell only eggs from your own farm, directly to consumers buying for their own household and not for resale.N.B. Reg. 82-96, § 2, § 3(5)
  • Sell at the farm gate or at farmers' markets (EFNB, nbegg.ca, © 2022); no food premises licence is needed for these eggs 'at this time'.NB Department of Health, Public Market Guidelines, March 2026
  • At a market, start with the market operator; most food sellers file an Information Form with the Department of Health's Health Protection Branch.NB Department of Health, farming page, 2026
  • Keep eggs clean, free of cracks and at 4°C (40°F) or colder.NB Department of Health, Public Market Guidelines, March 2026
  • Don't sell eggs in containers marked with a grade such as 'Canada A' without a producer-grader licence.N.B. Reg. 82-96, § 7(1)
  • Your eggs are not an approved source for licensed food premises, so restaurants, stores and licensed market food vendors can't use them.NB Department of Health, Public Market Guidelines, March 2026
The exact wording
“No quota or registration is required, provided the number of hens owned does not exceed 199.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

Allowed for eggs from your own farm sold to consumers for their household; grading doesn't apply (N.B. Reg. 82-96, s. 3(5)) and no food premises licence is needed at this time.

Farmers markets

With conditions

EFNB and the Department of Health both allow direct sales of your own ungraded eggs at farmers' markets without a food premises licence 'at this time'. Talk to the market operator first; most food sellers file an Information Form with the Health Protection Branch. Keep eggs clean, uncracked and at 4°C or colder.

Stores and restaurants

Licence needed

Eggs not from a CFIA-registered establishment are not an approved source and cannot be used by licensed food premises, and the Eggs Regulation lets ungraded eggs go only to consumers or to an egg station (N.B. Reg. 82-96, ss. 3(5), 5).

Also check with: Department of Health, Health Protection Branch (public markets); Egg Farmers of New Brunswick (quota)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

The sources we read don't set a carton rule.

Refrigeration

4°C or colder where the rule applies.

“Eggs must be clean, free of cracks and stored at 4 o C (40 o F) or colder.”

The label must show

The sources we read don't list label items for small producers.

Grading

Ungraded sales are allowed only in some cases.

“This section does not apply to a producer who sells, sends or conveys to a consumer, eggs produced on his own farm. … A farmer may sell their own ungraded eggs directly to the consumer through farm gate sales at the farmer’s premise or at farmers markets.”

Washing

No washing rule for producer sales in the sources read; Health's market guidelines say eggs must be clean and free of cracks.

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

What changed recently

  1. 2025-12-16 · Egg Farmers of New Brunswick repealed and replaced its Levy Order (Order 3), published in the Royal Gazette on February 18, 2026. The new order does not apply to anyone with fewer than 200 layers housed apart from other people's birds, unless they send eggs to a grading station. Source

Common questions

Do I need a licence to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in New Brunswick?
Yes. Up to 199 hens needs no quota or registration, and you can sell your own ungraded eggs to consumers at the farm or a farmers' market with no food licence. Stores and restaurants need graded eggs. Small-flock line: 199 hens or fewer. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in New Brunswick?
Allowed with conditions. EFNB and the Department of Health both allow direct sales of your own ungraded eggs at farmers' markets without a food premises licence 'at this time'. Talk to the market operator first; most food sellers file an Information Form with the Health Protection Branch. Keep eggs clean, uncracked and at 4°C or colder. Also check with Department of Health, Health Protection Branch (public markets); Egg Farmers of New Brunswick (quota).
Can I reuse egg cartons in New Brunswick?
The sources we read do not say; ask New Brunswick Department of Health (Public Health, food premises) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in New Brunswick?
The sources we read do not list label items for small producers.
Do eggs I sell in New Brunswick have to be kept cold?
Yes, at 4°C or colder. The rule reads: "Eggs must be clean, free of cracks and stored at 4 o C (40 o F) or colder."
Sources
Read the 23 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The 199-hen quota line rests on Egg Farmers of New Brunswick's own page (nbegg.ca, no date; footer © 2022). The board's Quota Order (cited in the Levy Order) was not found in the 2026 Royal Gazette or on laws.gnb.ca; the Levy Order's under-200 exclusion matches it.
  • N.B. Reg. 82-96 is shown on laws.gnb.ca as 'Current to 1 January 2024' and 'consolidated to December 17, 2010'; its enabling Natural Products Grades Act (chapter N-3) has no consolidated text on laws.gnb.ca, which still lists the regulation under it. Its references to the federal Canada Agricultural Products Act and 'registered egg stations' predate the 2019 Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
  • Inside N.B. Reg. 82-96, s. 3(5) exempts a producer selling its own eggs to a consumer from the grading rule, but s. 5 (ungraded eggs) lists only sales to an egg station as an exception. The record follows s. 3(5), EFNB and the Department of Health, which all allow direct sales of ungraded eggs; confirm with the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries if in doubt.
  • N.B. Reg. 82-96, s. 11(1) says any egg advertisement that shows a price must state the grade name; how that applies to ungraded farm eggs is not stated.
  • The no-licence position for selling eggs is Department of Health guidance ('exempt from licensing at this time'); the Food Premises Regulation (N.B. Reg. 2009-138) does not mention eggs, and Health's guidelines list eggs as a potentially hazardous food.
  • The 4°C rule is from Health's public market guidelines (March 2026, Food Safety Information section); no refrigeration rule for farm-gate eggs was found in the regulations.
  • No rule on carton reuse or on labels for ungraded eggs was found in New Brunswick's provincial sources. Federal rules are in the Canada federal record.
  • Municipal by-laws on keeping hens were not checked.

Elsewhere in Canada

YTNTNUNLBCABSKMBONQCNBPENS
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.

PoultryPal's sales ledger tracks customers, dozens and payments next to your feed costs, so you know your margin and not just your egg count. Premium includes financial tracking and the sales ledger. Free to download on iOS and Android.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play