National rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Montenegro?

Montenegro's Food Safety Law has food businesses work only from premises the food agency has registered or approved. Agency guidance describes a small egg-seller route under a decree that was not read.

Read from 5 official sources19 passages quotedChecked November 2, 2026

At a glance

License

Registration

Small-flock line

Registered or approved premises; no size threshold found in the law read

Farmers markets

Not stated

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

Montenegro's Food Safety Law, in force since May 2026, has food business operators, including natural persons and non-profit activity, carry out food production and distribution only in establishments registered or approved by the food agency, and apply before starting to register premises whose activity is subject to registration; the Ministry lists those activities, and that list was not read. The law does not apply to household production for own use. It exempts operators who directly supply small quantities of primary products to final consumers or local retail from the general hygiene requirements and leaves the small-quantity and local-market criteria to the Government; until new implementing rules are adopted, rules made under the 2015 law apply where not contrary to the new law. The food agency's 2024 handbook (guidance, not law) describes a 2016 small-quantities decree (Sl. list CG 59/16, 6/18) whose text was not read and whose current status was not checked: the handbook's table gives eggs at 350 a week, and the handbook lists the farm gate, fairs, markets, shops, supermarkets and catering as places of sale. Ask the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs.

A sourced reading of the rules in Montenegro, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Uprava za bezbjednost hrane, veterinu i fitosanitarne poslove (Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Registration requiredRegistered or approved premises; no size threshold found in the law read
  • Before starting, an operator must apply to the food agency to register premises whose activity is subject to registration; the Ministry prescribes which activities those are (Food Safety Law, art. 43(1) and (4)). The agency's handbook says a small producer applies before starting.
  • The general hygiene requirements do not apply to operators who directly supply small quantities of primary products to final consumers or to local retailers that supply final consumers (art. 35(4) point 3); the Government sets the criteria for small quantities and the local market.art. 35(5)
  • The parallel exemption from the special hygiene rules for food of animal origin names only poultry and lagomorph (rabbit and hare) meat slaughtered on the farm and wild game supplied by hunters, not eggs (art. 38(3) point 3); how this applies to small egg sellers was not established.
  • The food agency's handbook for small producers (guidance, not law) says eggs must be collected every day and only unfertilised eggs with undamaged, clean shells may be marketed; the 2016 small-quantities decree it describes was not read.
The exact wording
“(1) Subjekat u poslovanju hranom ili hranom za životinje i predmetima i materijalima koji su namijenjeni da dolaze u kontakt sa hranom dužan je da djelatnost proizvodnje, prerade i distribucije hrane ili hrane za životinje ili predmeta i materijala koji su namijenjeni da dolaze u kontakt sa hranom obavlja samo u registrovanim odnosno odobrenim objektima.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

Not stated

The food agency's handbook (guidance, not law) lists the place of production (the so-called farm gate) as a place of sale on the local market; the 2016 small-quantities decree it describes was not read.

Farmers markets

Not stated

The same handbook (guidance, not law) lists fairs and markets as places of sale on the local market; the decree itself was not read.

Stores and restaurants

Not stated

The law exempts direct supply of small quantities to local retailers that supply final consumers from the general hygiene requirements; agency guidance names shops, supermarkets and catering. The decree was not read.

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

No carton rule for eggs was found in the laws read; the egg marketing standards a laying-hen rulebook refers to were not read. Food-agency guidance (not law) says eggs are packed in cardboard packaging or packs that prevent damage and contamination.

Refrigeration

No binding storage temperature for eggs was found in the laws read. The food agency's handbook (guidance, not law) says eggs are kept at as low a room temperature as possible, at most 18˚C, away from light and outside heat, and eggs not sold within two days are kept in a fridge or at most 10˚C.

The label must show

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

Grading

Egg marketing standards were not read; no rule on selling ungraded eggs was found in the texts read.

Washing

No washing rule for eggs was found in the laws read. Food-agency guidance (not law) says eggs must not be washed or sprayed with disinfectants, because the shell is porous.

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

What changed recently

  1. 2026-05-12 · A new Food Safety Law came into force, replacing the 2015 law; rules made under the old law apply until replaced, where not contrary to it. Source
  2. 2026-07-07 · A new food hygiene decree came into force; it does not apply to a producer's direct supply of small quantities of primary products to final consumers or local retail. Source
Keeping chickens in Montenegro? →Registration, bird-flu housing powers and welfare rules, on their own page.Registration required

Common questions

Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Montenegro, and do I need a license?
Montenegro's Food Safety Law has food businesses work only from premises the food agency has registered or approved. Agency guidance describes a small egg-seller route under a decree that was not read. Small-flock line: registered or approved premises; no size threshold found in the law read. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Montenegro?
Not stated in the sources we read. The same handbook (guidance, not law) lists fairs and markets as places of sale on the local market; the decree itself was not read.
Can I reuse egg cartons in Montenegro?
The sources we read don't settle this. In short: No carton rule for eggs was found in the laws read; the egg marketing standards a laying-hen rulebook refers to were not read. Food-agency guidance (not law) says eggs are packed in cardboard packaging or packs that prevent damage and contamination. Ask Uprava za bezbjednost hrane, veterinu i fitosanitarne poslove (Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in Montenegro?
The sources we read do not list label items for small producers.
Do eggs I sell in Montenegro have to be kept cold?
In short: No binding storage temperature for eggs was found in the laws read. The food agency's handbook (guidance, not law) says eggs are kept at as low a room temperature as possible, at most 18˚C, away from light and outside heat, and eggs not sold within two days are kept in a fridge or at most 10˚C.
Sources
Read the 19 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The 2016 government decree on small quantities of primary products (Sl. list CG 59/16, amended 6/18), which the food agency's handbook describes as setting the quantities and places of sale, was not read and its current status was not checked. Its terms here come only from that 2024 handbook, which was prepared within an EU/IPA-supported project and whose disclaimer says the content reflects only the authors' view.
  • The Ministry's list of activities that must be registered was not read, so whether a household selling a few eggs needs to register was not confirmed.
  • Egg marketing standards (grades, cartons, egg marking) and the food-information decree were not read.
  • The identification, veterinary and welfare laws and the laying-hen rulebooks were read in consolidated texts posted by the food agency in 2023 to 2025; later amendments were not checked.
  • Whether any bird-flu measure applies now is not shown here; ask the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs.
  • Municipal rules on keeping hens were not researched.

More countries in Europe

Elsewhere in the world

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