Can you sell your backyard eggs in the United Kingdom?

• Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex VII Part VI (assimilated law, Great Britain) · Marketing standards for hen eggs: direct-sales exemption (point I(2)), egg marking and the up-to-50-hen market derogation (point III)
• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Art. 1 (assimilated law, Great Britain) · Food hygiene scope: excludes direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 (assimilated law, Great Britain) · Detailed egg marketing rules: packing centres, Class A quality, marking, best-before (28 days), records
• Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/2163 · England: applies the direct-sales exemption and the up-to-50-hen market derogation
• Eggs and Chicks (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2008, SSI 2008/395 · Scotland: the same exemption and derogation
• Eggs and Chicks (Wales) Regulations 2010, SI 2010/1671 (W. 158) · Wales: the same exemption and derogation
• Eggs and Chicks Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, SR 2010/125 · Northern Ireland: the same exemption and derogation, under EU marketing standards
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2465 · EU egg marketing standards that replaced Regulation 589/2008 in the EU (relevant to Northern Ireland)

• “exempt from the requirements provided for in this Part, with the exception of point III(3), eggs sold directly to the final consumer by the producer … on the production site, or … in a local public market or by door-to-door selling in the region of production”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Where such exemption is granted, each producer shall be able to choose whether to apply such exemption or not. Where this exemption is applied, no quality and weight grading may be used.”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Eggs sold by the producer to the final consumer on a local public market in the region of production … shall be marked in accordance with point 1. … exempt from this requirement producers with up to 50 laying hens, provided that the name and address of the producer are indicated at the point of sale.”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Class A eggs shall be marked with the producer code. … Class B eggs shall only be delivered to the food and non-food industry.”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Only packing centres shall grade and pack eggs and label their packs.”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “‘final consumer’ means the ultimate consumer of a foodstuff who will not use the food as part of any food business operation or activity;”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “shall be fixed at not more than 28 days after laying.”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Class A eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, before or after grading”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “This Regulation shall not apply to: … the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer;”

  legislation.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “You must register your premises with APHA if you: send any of your eggs for grading at a registered egg packing centre have 50 or more hens and you sell ungraded eggs at a local public market have 350 or more hens”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “To sell eggs to shops, catering outlets or restaurants you must also register your premises as an egg packing centre. Only egg packing centres can grade eggs. The eggs must be graded as Class A for retail and catering.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “You do not need to stamp your eggs with a producer code if you: sell your eggs directly to consumers - for their own use - from your own farm or door to door in your local area have fewer than 50 birds and you sell at a local public market”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “To sell your eggs at local public markets you must still display: your name your address the best before date (maximum of 28 days from date of lay) advice to keep eggs chilled after purchase”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Some markets have their own rule that you must stamp the producer code on hen eggs.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “You do not have to comply with NCP testing if either: all the eggs you produce are for private domestic use you have fewer than 350 hens and you supply directly to the consumer or through local retailers”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Last updated: 12 December 2023”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “If you have less than 350 hens and all the eggs you produce are sold directly to individual consumers at your farm gate or by door-to-door sales, you will not need to register with an APHA EMI.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “If you sell some of your eggs at local public markets but have less than 50 hens then you will not need to register with an APHA EMI, but you will need to display labelling required under Food Information Regulations (name of the food, your name and address, best before date and advice to consumers to keep eggs chilled)”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “If you sell your eggs, for example to shops, restaurants or bakeries, they must first be graded as Class A and therefore you must also be approved and authorised as a packing centre.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Producers who have poultry of any kind must register with the Poultry Register separately. … This is regardless of how hen eggs are marketed, or whether welfare conditions apply or whether they must register with an EMI.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Eggs must be kept clean, dry and out of direct sunshine at all times.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Class A eggs shall not be washed or cleaned, before or after grading (no exceptions apply in the UK).”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Whilst eggs should not be chilled during marketing, to minimise risk to quality and safety that may arise due to temperature variations, eggs should be kept chilled once purchased by the final consumer to maximise quality.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Version: 8 … Published: 17/09/2026”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “You must register within one month of keeping poultry or other captive birds at any premises in England or Wales. … You’re breaking the law if you do not register.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Anyone who keeps birds, even a single bird, must register on the Scottish Kept Bird Register (SKBR). This is a legal requirement.”

  gov.scot · read 2026-10-07

• “everyone who keeps birds of any species must register with DAERA’s Veterinary Service. Only pet birds kept in cages indoors are exempt.”

  daera-ni.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “The EU Eggs Marketing Standards lay down uniform standards for all hen eggs marketed within the Community, intended for human consumption. … However, there are certain exemptions for direct sales from producer to consumer.”

  daera-ni.gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

• “Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 is repealed.”

  eur-lex.europa.eu · read 2026-10-07

• “If you sell, cook, store, handle, prepare or distribute food, you may be considered a food business and will need to register with your local authority. … You are required to register at least 28 days before trading.”

  gov.uk · read 2026-10-07

What we couldn't confirm

• Exactly 50 hens is unclear: the regulations exempt market sellers with 'up to 50 laying hens' from stamping, but gov.uk says register at '50 or more hens' and stamp with 'over 50 hens', no stamp with 'fewer than 50 birds'; APHA EMR01 says 'less than 50 hens' (registration) and 'unless the producer has 50 hens or less' (stamping).
• The gov.uk Egg marketing standards page (last updated 12 December 2023) still says keepers of fewer than 50 birds 'should' register; the 2024 rules made registration compulsory for every keeper. APHA EMR01 v8 (September 2026) also keeps one paragraph saying registration is needed at '50 or more birds' while its contacts section says all poultry keepers must register.
• APHA EMR01's 'Definitions within England' (local public market within 60 miles or the county locality; region = European election region) does not match the current Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009 on legislation.gov.uk (public market within an 80 kilometre radius of the production site; regions listed in Schedule 5). The record follows the regulations.
• Food business registration for small egg sellers: no FSA guidance specific to eggs was found. Regulation 852/2004 art. 1(2)(c) puts direct supply of small quantities of primary products outside the hygiene regulation, while FSA guidance says anyone who sells food may need to register. Whether a farm-gate or market egg seller must register is left to the local authority.
• The best-before and 'keep chilled' display for market sales comes from gov.uk and EMR01 guidance (EMR01 cites the Food Information Regulations); the Eggs and Chicks exemption itself only requires name and address. The exact legal hook was not traced.
• No rule on reusing cartons for ungraded eggs sold direct was found in the GB sources read.
• Northern Ireland: EU egg marketing rules were rewritten by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2465 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2466; the Eggs and Chicks Regulations (NI) 2010 on legislation.gov.uk still refer to 589/2008 and show no outstanding amendments. How the newer EU text maps onto NI enforcement was not confirmed with DAERA.
• The egg marketing rules cover hen eggs only ('eggs ... produced by hens of the species Gallus gallus'); duck, goose and quail eggs fall under general food law (DAERA says so for Northern Ireland; no GB equivalent statement was fetched).
• eur-lex.europa.eu returned an empty bot-check response to scripts; the EU 2023/2465 text was saved from the EU Publications Office (publications.europa.eu) official Official Journal rendition instead.