National rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Hungary?

Registered small producers need a vet certificate for animal-origin food; category I: 500 eggs a week, 20,000 a year. Up to 50 hens: own eggs sold to consumers at the farm need no code if name, address, FELIR no. show.

Read from 3 official sources30 passages quotedChecked October 27, 2026

At a glance

License

Registration

Small-flock line

Small-producer route: 500 eggs a week and 20,000 a year in category I

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

Hungary's small-producer route lets a registered small producer sell their own eggs within set limits: 500 eggs a calendar week and 20,000 a calendar year in category I, or 1,500 and 60,000 in category II, which carries additional hygiene requirements. Notify the district office for registration (60/2023 § 3(1)) and hold an official veterinary certificate (§ 11(1)). Food made in a private household for own consumption is outside the decree (§ 1(2)(a)).

A sourced reading of the rules in Hungary, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the district office (járási hivatal) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Registration requiredSmall-producer route: 500 eggs a week and 20,000 a year in category I
  • Notify the activity for registration to the district office where the food is produced or, failing that, where the farmyard is (60/2023 § 3(1)). Report changes to registered data within 8 days.§ 3(8)
  • A small producer is a person or organisation doing this activity that has a FELIR identifier.§ 2 point 29
  • Animal-origin products may be placed on the market only with an official veterinary certificate from the district office's official veterinarian (§ 11(1)). It is valid for one year and can be extended each year on request.§ 11(2)
  • Category I covers selling primary products you produced yourself (§ 4(1)(a)(aa)). Egg limits: 500 a calendar week and 20,000 a calendar year in category I; 1,500 and 60,000 in category II (Annex 3, row 12), for which Annex 6 point 3 sets additional hygiene requirements.
  • The category is set from the combined quantity of all small producers at the same farm location (§ 3(7)). Working from several sites does not raise the limits.§ 4(3)
  • Keep records, on paper or electronically, of the quantities you produce, when you produce them, the quantities you sell, and where and when you sell them (§ 14(1)); keep them for two years.§ 14(2)
  • Anyone producing or selling the food must hold a valid certificate of the medical fitness examination required by Decree 33/1998 (VI. 24.) NM.60/2023 Annex 6 point 1.6, which § 8 applies to small-producer activities
The exact wording
“helye szerint illetékes járási hivatalnak nyilvántartásba vétel céljából a bejelentésre kötelezett bejelenti.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

A registered small producer may sell to the final consumer at the farm (60/2023 § 5(1)(a)(aa)), with the registration, certificate and quantity limits above.

Farmers markets

With conditions

Sales to final consumers are also allowed at Hungarian local producer markets, markets, fairs, occasional events and authorised temporary sale points (§ 5(1)(a)(ab)). The no-stamp option for 50 or fewer hens covers local producer markets only, not every market (§ 13(6)).

Stores and restaurants

With conditions

A small producer may supply retail and catering establishments and accommodation providers (§ 5(1)(b)), which may sell the food only to final consumers (§ 5(9)). Nébih says unmarked eggs may not go into a shop or a kitchen.

Also check with: District office (járási hivatal), which registers small producers (60/2023 § 3(1))

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

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

Refrigeration

“2.2.2. A tojást értékesítésig és felhasználásig tiszta, hűvös, száraz, jól szellőző, napfénytől védett helyen kell tárolni. A tojásokat a tojásrakást követően 28 napon belül kell értékesíteni.”

The label must show

  • With at most 50 laying hens, eggs you sell to final consumers at the farm, at a local producer market or by home delivery need no producer code if your name, address and FELIR number are shown where you sell (60/2023 § 13(6)).
  • At the farm and at markets, show your name, address (or the farm's address), FELIR number and the product name in front of non-prepacked food (§ 13(4)).
  • A shop selling your non-prepacked food shows your name, FELIR number and the product name (§ 13(2)); Nébih says unmarked eggs may not go into a shop or a kitchen.

Grading

Not stated in the sources we read.

Washing

Small producers may not sell washed eggs, incubated eggs or eggs boiled in the shell; eggs must be fresh, intact, uncracked, clean and from healthy animals (60/2023 Annex 6 point 2.2.1).

Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.

Keeping chickens in Hungary? →Registration, bird-flu housing powers and welfare rules, on their own page.Registration: conditions

Common questions

Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Hungary, and do I need a license?
Registered small producers need a vet certificate for animal-origin food; category I: 500 eggs a week, 20,000 a year. Up to 50 hens: own eggs sold to consumers at the farm need no code if name, address, FELIR no. show. Small-flock line: small-producer route: 500 eggs a week and 20,000 a year in category I. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Hungary?
Allowed with conditions. Sales to final consumers are also allowed at Hungarian local producer markets, markets, fairs, occasional events and authorised temporary sale points (§ 5(1)(a)(ab)). The no-stamp option for 50 or fewer hens covers local producer markets only, not every market (§ 13(6)). Also check with District office (járási hivatal), which registers small producers (60/2023 § 3(1)).
Can I reuse egg cartons in Hungary?
The sources we read do not say; ask the district office (járási hivatal) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in Hungary?
With at most 50 laying hens, eggs you sell to final consumers at the farm, at a local producer market or by home delivery need no producer code if your name, address and FELIR number are shown where you sell (60/2023 § 13(6)). At the farm and at markets, show your name, address (or the farm's address), FELIR number and the product name in front of non-prepacked food (§ 13(4)). A shop selling your non-prepacked food shows your name, FELIR number and the product name (§ 13(2)); Nébih says unmarked eggs may not go into a shop or a kitchen. The rule reads: "(6) A gazdaságában legfeljebb 50 tojótyúkot tartó kistermelőnek az általa termelt és a végső fogyasztó részére a gazdaság helyén, helyi termelői piacon vagy házhoz szállítással értékesített tojáson nem kell feltüntetnie a termelő megkülönböztető számát tartalmazó kódot, ha az értékesítés helyén feltünteti a nevét, a címét és a FELIR azonosító számát."
Do eggs I sell in Hungary have to be kept cold?
The rule reads: "2.2.2. A tojást értékesítésig és felhasználásig tiszta, hűvös, száraz, jól szellőző, napfénytől védett helyen kell tárolni. A tojásokat a tojásrakást követően 28 napon belül kell értékesíteni."
Sources
Read the 30 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • Texts are quoted from the national consolidated versions at njt.jog.gov.hu as in force on 27 October 2026 (decree 60/2023 in the version from 28 March 2026).
  • Whether ungraded eggs may be sold, and rules on reusing cartons, were not found in the sections read (60/2023 §§ 1-5, 11-14, Annex 3 and Annex 6 point 2.2).
  • A numeric storage temperature was not found in the sections read; the decree requires a cool place and a suitable temperature (60/2023 § 5(8), Annex 6 point 2.2.2).
  • Rules for egg sellers who are not registered small producers were not researched.
  • Whether a housing order applies now, and where, is not shown here; check the Nébih bird-flu page.

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