National rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Palestine?

Palestine's egg-marketing rule lets officials set special procedures for farm and market sales, and excuse producers with up to 50 hens from stamping eggs they sell at markets if their name and address are shown.

Read from 8 official sources55 passages quotedChecked October 30, 2026

At a glance

License

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

Premises notification for food businesses (small direct supply is outside it; the competent body's own rules for it were not found); Ministry licence for farms

Farmers markets

Not stated

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

Food businesses must notify the competent body of their premises so they can be registered (TR 33-2011 Art. 6-2), but that hygiene rule does not cover a producer's direct supply of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer, for which the competent body must set its own rules (Arts 1-2 and 1-3); those rules and a definition of small quantities were not found. Setting up a farm or hatchery needs a Ministry of Agriculture licence (Regulation No. 16 of 2021, Art. 6); a poultry farm is defined as pens for raising poultry for production, designed to approved technical specifications, with a pen area of at least 300 m2 (Art. 1). Whether a household flock counts as a farm was not established. The egg-marketing rule defines a production site as an establishment keeping laying hens and licensed for this work under the legislation (TR 30-2011 Art. 2-17); whether a household flock needs such a licence was not established.

A sourced reading of the rules in Palestine, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the Ministry of Agriculture (وزارة الزراعة) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Depends on how and how much you sellPremises notification for food businesses (small direct supply is outside it; the competent body's own rules for it were not found); Ministry licence for farms
  • Animals and animal products that have not been registered and numbered or identified under the Animal Health Control Regulation may not be sheltered, displayed, sold, transported, slaughtered or traded (Decision No. 8 of 2010, Art. 5); how this applies to eggs, and how animal products are registered or identified, was not established.
The exact wording
“(ت) التزويد المباشر لكميات صغيرة من المواد الأولية من المنتج إلى المستهلك النهائي. … يجب على كل مشتغل أن يخطر الجهة المختصة (وفق الطريقة التي طلبتها هذه الجهة) عن جميع المنشآت التي تحت سيطرته … يحظر على الشخص إنشاء مزرعة أو مفرخة أو توسيع القائم منها أو تغيير صفة استخدامها إلا بترخيص من الوزارة وفقاً لأحكام هذا النظام.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

Not stated

The egg-marketing rule covers all eggs marketed locally and lets the competent body set special procedures for direct sale to the consumer at production sites (TR 30-2011 Arts 1-1 and 1-2). The hygiene rules do not cover a producer's direct supply of small quantities to the final consumer and leave its rules to the competent body (TR 33-2011 Arts 1-2 and 1-3; TR 62-2016 Art. 1). No such procedures or rules were found.

Farmers markets

Not stated

Eggs a producer sells directly to the final consumer in popular markets must be stamped with the producer code and laying date, but the supervising body may exempt producers holding no more than 50 hens if the producer's name and address are shown at the point of sale (TR 30-2011 Arts 9-1 and 9-3). Moving healthy animals or their products requires a veterinary health certificate and a known route (Decision No. 8 of 2010, Art. 11(4)), and shipments of locally produced poultry and poultry products must carry a veterinary certificate and an internal transport permit, which the Ministry's instructions define as a marketing permit within and between governorates issued by the governorate agriculture department (Instructions No. 2 of 2012, Arts 1 and 15); how these apply to a producer taking eggs to a market was not established.

Stores and restaurants

Not stated

Only packing centres licensed by the authorised body may grade eggs, pack them and label the packs (TR 30-2011 Art. 6-1). Whether a small producer may supply shops or caterers without a packing centre was not established.

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

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

Refrigeration

No maximum storage temperature was found in the texts read (TR 30-2011, TR 62-2016). Class A eggs must not be treated for preservation or chilled in artificial cooling units below 5 °C (TR 30-2011 Art. 4-3). The hygiene rule for food of animal origin, which does not cover a producer's direct supply of small quantities to the final consumer or to local retailers (TR 62-2016 Art. 1(3)(c)), requires eggs to be kept clean and dry and stored and transported until sale at the most suitable, preferably constant, temperature unless the competent body sets one (Annex 12).

The label must show

  • Packing-centre code
  • Quality class: Class A or the letter A, alone or with the word for fresh
  • Weight grade
  • Best-before date
  • Advice to consumers to keep the eggs chilled after purchase
  • Final sell-by date
  • Production method, using only the set terms for field, barn, cage or organic eggs
  • Explanation of the producer code, on or inside the pack

Grading

The egg-marketing rule says eggs must be graded by quality into Class A or Class B, and only licensed packing centres may grade eggs (TR 30-2011 Arts 3-1 and 6-1). Whether special procedures for farm or market sales change this was not established.

Washing

Class A eggs must not be washed or cleaned before or after sorting (TR 30-2011 Art. 4-2).

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

Common questions

Can I sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Palestine, and do I need a license?
Palestine's egg-marketing rule lets officials set special procedures for farm and market sales, and excuse producers with up to 50 hens from stamping eggs they sell at markets if their name and address are shown. Small-flock line: premises notification for food businesses (small direct supply is outside it; the competent body's own rules for it were not found); Ministry licence for farms. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Palestine?
Not stated in the sources we read. Eggs a producer sells directly to the final consumer in popular markets must be stamped with the producer code and laying date, but the supervising body may exempt producers holding no more than 50 hens if the producer's name and address are shown at the point of sale (TR 30-2011 Arts 9-1 and 9-3). Moving healthy animals or their products requires a veterinary health certificate and a known route (Decision No. 8 of 2010, Art. 11(4)), and shipments of locally produced poultry and poultry products must carry a veterinary certificate and an internal transport permit, which the Ministry's instructions define as a marketing permit within and between governorates issued by the governorate agriculture department (Instructions No. 2 of 2012, Arts 1 and 15); how these apply to a producer taking eggs to a market was not established.
Can I reuse egg cartons in Palestine?
The sources we read do not say; ask the Ministry of Agriculture (وزارة الزراعة) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in Palestine?
Packing-centre code, Quality class: Class A or the letter A, alone or with the word for fresh, Weight grade, Best-before date, Advice to consumers to keep the eggs chilled after purchase, Final sell-by date, Production method, using only the set terms for field, barn, cage or organic eggs, Explanation of the producer code, on or inside the pack.
Do eggs I sell in Palestine have to be kept cold?
In short: No maximum storage temperature was found in the texts read (TR 30-2011, TR 62-2016). Class A eggs must not be treated for preservation or chilled in artificial cooling units below 5 °C (TR 30-2011 Art. 4-3). The hygiene rule for food of animal origin, which does not cover a producer's direct supply of small quantities to the final consumer or to local retailers (TR 62-2016 Art. 1(3)(c)), requires eggs to be kept clean and dry and stored and transported until sale at the most suitable, preferably constant, temperature unless the competent body sets one (Annex 12).
Sources
Read the 55 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • These rules were issued by Palestinian Authority bodies and posted by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Palestine Standards and Metrology Institution. Where they are applied in practice was not established.
  • The egg-marketing rule was read in the institution's compact edition of 15 June 2021, which says it does not replace the original regulation issued by the ministers; the original texts and any later changes were not checked.
  • The rules the competent body must set for producers who supply small quantities directly, and any special procedures for farm or market sales, were not found; the term small quantities (كميات صغيرة) is not defined in the texts read.
  • The label list applies to packs of Class A eggs; how it applies to loose eggs sold by a small producer was not established. Packs must be shock-resistant, dry, clean and in good condition (TR 30-2011 Art. 17); no rule on reusing cartons was found in the texts read.
  • The Public Health Law and the Consumer Protection Law were not read.
  • Current bird-flu measures are not asserted here; the Ministry of Agriculture's website was not searched for an official status page.

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