Province rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Newfoundland and Labrador?

Yes, with fewer than 100 laying hens and selling your own eggs directly to the people who eat them. A market stall needs a provincial food licence, and stores and restaurants can't buy ungraded eggs.

Read from 8 official sources31 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

Licence

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

Fewer than 100 layers

Farmers markets

Licence needed

Cartons

Reuse with conditions

In plain English

Newfoundland and Labrador's egg supply-management board, the Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador, needs quota only from people who own 100 or more layers. Someone who owns fewer than 100 layers is an "unregulated producer" and is outside the Egg Scheme and Egg Regulations except where they expressly say otherwise (the board may, for example, charge such producers levies). Provincial grading at a designated grading station is not required when a producer sells eggs from a farm they operate to consumers buying for their own use. Selling at a public market needs a seasonal food licence from Government Services, and the province's market guidelines require eggs from flocks under 100 hens to be labelled "Unregulated Producer", kept at 4°C, candled, and sold only by the producer directly to the person who will eat them. Stores, restaurants and other food premises must get food from an inspected source, so they cannot buy ungraded backyard eggs.

A sourced reading of Newfoundland and Labrador's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Government Services (Environmental Health food licensing); quota rules belong to the Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador ((709) 729-0248) before you sell.

Do you need a licence?

Depends on how and how much you sellFewer than 100 layers
  • Own fewer than 100 layers (an "unregulated producer"); a person with 100 to 499 layers who was registered as a non-quota holder before June 9, 2000 needs a non-quota holder certificate, and any other producer with 100 or more layers needs quota.Egg Regulations, NLR 33/00, ss. 2(j), 2(l), 3(1), 18; Egg Scheme, 2000, NLR 32/00, ss. 2(q), 11
  • The Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador may, in its discretion, require unregulated producers to pay levies.NLR 33/00, s. 7
  • Sell eggs produced on a farm you operate to consumers who buy them for their own use; only then do the grading and cracked-egg rules not apply.Egg Grading and Inspection Regulations, CNLR 992/96, ss. 2(a), 2(e), 3, 5
  • Eggs, including cracks, can only be sold by the producer directly to the person eating them; otherwise they must be federally inspected and graded.Public Market Guidelines, 2011, s. 7
  • At a public market, hold a seasonal food licence from Government Services, label eggs from a flock under 100 hens "Unregulated Producer" and store them at 4°C.Public Market Guidelines, 2011, s. 7 and Licensing Requirements
  • Inspect and candle eggs for defects before sale; eggs with defects such as cracks, thin or stained shells, or blood or meat spots are not suitable for sale.Public Market Guidelines, 2011, s. 7
  • Do not mark containers "Graded" unless the eggs were federally inspected and graded at a registered grading station; use clean trays and cartons suitable for food storage.Public Market Guidelines, 2011, s. 7
  • Do not sell ungraded eggs to stores, restaurants or other food premises: food used in a food premises must come from an approved (inspected) source.Food Premises Act, SNL 2013 c F-21.1, s. 4
The exact wording
“"unregulated producer" means a person who owns less than 100 layers. … An unregulated producer shall not be affected by the Egg Scheme, 2000 or these regulations except as expressly set out.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

Grading is not required for eggs a producer sells to consumers from a farm they operate (CNLR 992/96, s. 5), and a flock under 100 layers needs no quota. The Food Premises Act covers any place where food is offered for sale, and the regulations' exemption for farms lists only honey, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and grains, not eggs, so ask Government Services whether your farm stand needs a food licence.

Farmers markets

Licence needed

Eggs are a Schedule A (potentially hazardous) food under the province's Public Market Guidelines, so a market vendor needs a seasonal food licence from Government Services, renewed each year. Eggs from a flock under 100 hens must be labelled "Unregulated Producer", kept at 4°C, candled, and sold by the producer directly to the consumer.

Stores and restaurants

Licence needed

Food used in a food premises must come from an approved source, meaning an establishment inspected by a federal, provincial or territorial government. Ungraded eggs may only go from the producer to the consumer; eggs for stores and restaurants must be federally inspected and graded at a registered grading station.

Also check with: Government Services, Environmental Health (food licence: your regional Government Service Centre); Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador (flocks of 100 or more layers)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

Reused cartons are allowed, with conditions.

“Trays and cartons or other packing materials must be clean and of a suitable material and condition for food storage. … Containers cannot be marked "Graded" unless the eggs are federally inspected and graded at a registered grading station.”

Refrigeration

4°C or colder where the rule applies.

“Eggs must be stored as a potentially hazardous food at 4°C, protected from contamination and properly labeled according to the labeling section.”

The label must show

  • "Unregulated Producer" (flocks under 100 hens, at public markets)
  • Not marked "Graded" unless graded at a registered grading station
  • Producer name and address, common name, net quantity and best-before date on pre-packaged food sold at markets (general labelling list in the market guidelines)

Grading

Ungraded sales are allowed only in some cases.

Ungraded eggs are allowed only when the producer sells them to consumers buying for their own use (CNLR 992/96, s. 5). All other eggs must be inspected and graded at a grading station (CNLR 992/96, s. 3; Public Market Guidelines, s. 7).

Washing

No washing rule was found for small-flock sales. At public markets, eggs must be candled, and eggs with shell defects, including stained shells, cracks and thin shells, are not suitable for sale.

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

What changed recently

  1. 2025-09-05 · The Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador amended the Egg Regulations (NLR 101/25, filed September 5, 2025): mostly gender-neutral wording, plus new quota for new entrants now issued under the board's May 2025 new entrant policy. The fewer-than-100-layers line for unregulated producers did not change. Source

Common questions

Do I need a licence to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Yes, with fewer than 100 laying hens and selling your own eggs directly to the people who eat them. A market stall needs a provincial food licence, and stores and restaurants can't buy ungraded eggs. Small-flock line: fewer than 100 layers. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Needs a license or isn't exempt. Eggs are a Schedule A (potentially hazardous) food under the province's Public Market Guidelines, so a market vendor needs a seasonal food licence from Government Services, renewed each year. Eggs from a flock under 100 hens must be labelled "Unregulated Producer", kept at 4°C, candled, and sold by the producer directly to the consumer. Also check with Government Services, Environmental Health (food licence: your regional Government Service Centre); Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador (flocks of 100 or more layers).
Can I reuse egg cartons in Newfoundland and Labrador?
With conditions. The rule reads: "Trays and cartons or other packing materials must be clean and of a suitable material and condition for food storage. … Containers cannot be marked "Graded" unless the eggs are federally inspected and graded at a registered grading station."
What has to be on the carton label in Newfoundland and Labrador?
"Unregulated Producer" (flocks under 100 hens, at public markets), Not marked "Graded" unless graded at a registered grading station, Producer name and address, common name, net quantity and best-before date on pre-packaged food sold at markets (general labelling list in the market guidelines). The rule reads: "Eggs from producers with less then 100 hens must have "Unregulated Producer" included on the labeled."
Do eggs I sell in Newfoundland and Labrador have to be kept cold?
Yes, at 4°C or colder. The rule reads: "Eggs must be stored as a potentially hazardous food at 4°C, protected from contamination and properly labeled according to the labeling section."
Sources
Read the 31 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The Public Market Guidelines date from September 2011. They still call the board the "Egg Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador" (renamed Egg Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador) and cite the Food and Drug Act and Food Regulations (replaced by the Food Premises Act, 2013), but Government Services still links them from its current food premises page.
  • The market guidelines draw the line at "more than 100 hens" and "less then 100 hens", while the Egg Regulations use "less than 100 layers" (unregulated) and "100 or more layers" (producer). A flock of exactly 100 layers needs quota under the regulations.
  • Egg Scheme, 2000 s. 12(1) is worded for any "person" ("A person shall not engage in the production of eggs in the province unless he or she holds a valid quota certificate"), but the Egg Regulations s. 3(1) say an unregulated producer is not affected by the scheme except as expressly set out. We read the two together as the fewer-than-100-layers exemption; the board's own website has no small-flock page to confirm it.
  • Egg Regulations s. 28 (EFNL imprint on containers, no reuse) is worded generally. Because s. 3(1) excludes unregulated producers unless a provision expressly names them, we did not treat it as applying to flocks under 100 layers; not confirmed with the board.
  • Whether a farm-gate egg seller needs a Government Services food licence is not settled in the sources: the Food Premises Act covers any place where food is offered for sale, and the regulations' farm exemption (s. 3(b)) does not list eggs. Not confirmed with Government Services.
  • The Egg Grading and Inspection Regulations (s. 3) and the Food Premises Regulations (s. 45) still point to the federal Egg Regulations under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, which the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations replaced in 2019. The provincial text has not been updated; see the Canada (federal) page for current federal rules.
  • assembly.nl.ca consolidations show amendments through NLR 101/25 for the Egg Regulations; the Egg Grading and Inspection Regulations page carries a 2006 copyright line (last amended 2001). The 'How current is this regulation?' date page was not read.
  • Searched the 2025 annual regulations for egg changes: only NLR 101/25 was found. A full search of 2024 to 2026 bills in the House of Assembly was not done.

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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