Can you sell backyard eggs in the Netherlands?
COKZ says you may sell unsorted eggs to consumers at your farm, a local market or door to door after signing up with COKZ; every seller must register the hens and stamp the number on the eggs.
Read from 4 official sources14 passages quotedChecked October 27, 2026
At a glance
License
Registration
Small-flock line
Registration at any flock size
Farmers markets
With conditions
Cartons
Not stated
In plain English
COKZ says anyone who wants to sell hen eggs to consumers in the Netherlands must register the laying hens, whatever the flock size (the number comes from Avined), and must sign up with COKZ to use the direct-sale sorting exemption.
A sourced reading of the rules in the Netherlands, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) before you sell.
Do you need a license?
- Register the laying hens before selling eggs to consumers; the registration number is requested from Avined.COKZ
- Sign up with COKZ, using its form, to use the sorting exemption for direct sales.COKZ
- Stamp the registration number on the eggs with food-grade ink.COKZ
- RVO's rules for hobby keepers, petting farms and zoos say that within a bird-flu restriction zone (the area within 10 kilometres of an outbreak) you may not transport or sell eggs, not even at the roadside; RVO lists separate measures for poultry farms that its page does not set out.
- These points come from COKZ and RVO guidance; the text of the exemption scheme itself was not read.
The exact wording
Where you can sell
From home or the farm
COKZ says article 2 of the egg exemption scheme (in effect since 17 April 2026) lets a producer sell eggs without sorting by quality and weight directly to the final consumer at the laying-poultry holding, after signing up with COKZ. The eggs must still be stamped.
Farmers markets
The same COKZ exemption covers direct sales to final consumers at a local public market and door to door, with COKZ sign-up and stamping. A distance limit for a local market was not found in the texts read.
Stores and restaurants
COKZ says eggs may not go straight from the laying-poultry holding to shops (for example a supermarket or a farm shop), and only approved packing stations may supply restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses.
Cartons, labels and handling
Cartons
The sources we read don't set a carton rule.
Refrigeration
Not stated in the sources we read.
The label must show
- Registration number stamped on each egg
Grading
Ungraded sales are allowed only in some cases.
COKZ says sorting by weight and quality is compulsory in the Netherlands and only approved packing stations may do it; the exemption for direct sales to final consumers needs COKZ sign-up.
Washing
Not stated in the sources we read.
Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.
What changed recently
- 2026-04-17 · COKZ says the egg exemption scheme (Vrijstellingsregeling eieren) took effect on 17 April 2026. Source
Common questions
- Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in the Netherlands, and do I need a license?
- COKZ says you may sell unsorted eggs to consumers at your farm, a local market or door to door after signing up with COKZ; every seller must register the hens and stamp the number on the eggs. Small-flock line: registration at any flock size. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
- Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in the Netherlands?
- Allowed with conditions. The same COKZ exemption covers direct sales to final consumers at a local public market and door to door, with COKZ sign-up and stamping. A distance limit for a local market was not found in the texts read.
- Can I reuse egg cartons in the Netherlands?
- The sources we read do not say; ask COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
- What has to be on the carton label in the Netherlands?
- Registration number stamped on each egg. The rule reads: "Het verkregen registratienummer, ook wel het kipnummer, moet op de eieren gestempeld worden met food grade inkt zodat de traceerbaarheid gewaarborgd blijft."
- Wet dieren, arts 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 5.1 and 5.4 · Wet dieren (Animals Act)
- Gemeentewet, arts 108 and 149 · Gemeentewet (Municipalities Act)
- Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · COKZ guidance on the Dutch egg exemption scheme
- COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · Egg exemption scheme for direct sales (Vrijstellingsregeling eieren)
Read the 14 passages this page is built on
“Sinds 17 april 2026 is de Vrijstellingsregeling eieren in werking getreden.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“In artikel 2 van de Vrijstellingsregeling eieren is de mogelijkheid tot vrijstelling opgenomen ten aanzien van het sorteren (indelen naar kwaliteit en gewicht) voor eieren die door de producent rechtstreeks aan de eindverbruiker worden verkocht.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“Deze verkoop mag uitsluitend plaatsvinden: op het legpluimveebedrijf; op een lokale openbare markt; of via huis-aan-huisverkoop.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“De verplichting tot het stempelen van eieren blijft gehandhaafd vanwege het belang van traceerbaarheid.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“Wilt u gebruikmaken van deze vrijstelling? Dan moet u zich hiervoor aanmelden bij het COKZ via het onderstaande formulier.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“Let op: rechtstreekse levering van eieren aan horeca, restaurants en hotels valt niet onder deze vrijstelling. Deze afnemers vallen niet onder de definitie van ‘eindverbruiker’.”
Vrijstellingsregeling eieren, art. 2 (as described by COKZ) · read 2026-10-27
“Een ieder die kippeneieren, ongeacht het aantal legkippen dat de houder bezit, wil verkopen aan de consument in Nederland moet de legkippen registeren. Dit registratienummer kan worden aangevraagd bij Avined.”
COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · read 2026-10-27
“Het verkregen registratienummer, ook wel het kipnummer, moet op de eieren gestempeld worden met food grade inkt zodat de traceerbaarheid gewaarborgd blijft.”
COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · read 2026-10-27
“In Nederland is het verplicht om eieren te sorteren op gewicht en naar kwaliteit. Het sorteren op gewicht en kwaliteit mag alleen worden gedaan door erkende pakstations.”
COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · read 2026-10-27
“Voor de volledigheid: het is niet toegestaan om eieren van het legpluimveebedrijf direct aan de detailhandel (bijvoorbeeld een supermarkt of een boerderijwinkel) te leveren.”
COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · read 2026-10-27
“Directe levering van eieren van het legpluimveebedrijf aan horeca, restaurants en hotels valt niet onder de vrijstellingsregeling. Dit betekent dat alleen erkende pakstations eieren mogen leveren aan de horeca.”
COKZ (Controle Orgaan Kwaliteits Zaken) · read 2026-10-27
“1 Bij of krachtens algemene maatregel van bestuur worden regels gesteld voor de uitvoering van bindende onderdelen van EU-rechtshandelingen over dierlijke producten.”
Wet dieren, arts 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 5.1 and 5.4 · read 2026-10-27
“U mag geen eieren vervoeren en verkopen, ook niet langs de weg.”
rvo.nl · read 2026-10-27
“Op de Dierziekteviewer vindt u waar beperkingsgebieden zijn. Dit is het gebied binnen 10 kilometer van een uitbraak. Deze maatregelen gelden binnen een beperkingsgebied:”
rvo.nl · read 2026-10-27
What we couldn't confirm
- The direct-sale rules here are COKZ's description of the egg exemption scheme; the scheme's own text was not read.
- No storage temperature or handling rule for direct sellers was found in the texts read (COKZ egg pages; Wet dieren, art. 3.1).
- Carton reuse and washing rules for direct sellers were not found in the texts read (COKZ egg pages).
- Whether any bird-flu measures apply now, and where, is not shown here.
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