State rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Arkansas?

Yes, with fewer than 700 hens: sell ungraded eggs that are washed, labeled "ungraded" with your name and address, and kept at 45°F, including to stores and at farmers' markets.

Read from 5 official sources22 passages quotedChecked October 6, 2026

At a glance

License

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

Fewer than 700 hens

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

Reuse with conditions

In plain English

Arkansas draws its line at 700 hens. Its Egg Marketing Act applies to all egg retailers, but a store may sell eggs bought directly from a producer who owns fewer than seven hundred hens if the eggs are washed and clean, prepackaged and identified as ungraded with the producer's name and address, in new cartons or old ones with all brand markings blotted out, and kept at 45°F or below; the retailer keeps an invoice showing where the eggs came from. The Department of Agriculture applies these same 'country egg' rules at flea markets, farmers' markets and fruit stands, keeps the store's invoice requirement at two years, and does not accept ice chests or other non-powered coolers for holding eggs. Producers with 700 or more hens, and anyone packing or wholesaling eggs, fall under the full act: graded eggs, an Egg Handler Permit and inspection fees. The 700 figure dates from 2023; before then it was 200.

A sourced reading of Arkansas's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Arkansas Department of Agriculture ((501) 225-1598) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Depends on how and how much you sellFewer than 700 hens
  • The producer owns fewer than seven hundred (700) hens.Ark. Code Ann. § 20-58-203; 2 CAR § 157-101(a)
  • The eggs are washed and clean.§ 20-58-203(1); 2 CAR § 157-101(a)(1)
  • The eggs are prepackaged and identified as ungraded with the name and address of the producer.§ 20-58-203(2); 2 CAR § 157-101(a)(2)
  • Used cartons are not used unless all brand markings and other identification are obliterated.§ 20-58-203(3); 2 CAR § 157-101(a)(3)
  • The eggs are refrigerated and maintained at 45°F or below (§ 20-58-203(4); 2 CAR § 157-101(a)(4)); the department does not accept ice, dry ice or other non-powered coolers for holding eggs.Department of Agriculture, Egg Programs
  • A retailer buying the eggs must produce an invoice showing their origin; the department says the retailer keeps it for two years, showing who the eggs came from, the date and the amount.2 CAR § 157-101(a)(5); Department of Agriculture, Egg Programs
  • The department applies these requirements at flea markets, farmers markets, fruit stands and similar locations.Department of Agriculture, Egg Programs
  • Eggs delivered to consumers are kept at 45°F or below during delivery and delivered dry, not soaked in melted ice water.2 CAR § 157-103(d)
The exact wording
“Retailers shall be permitted to sell eggs when the eggs are purchased directly from producers who own fewer than seven hundred (700) hens, provided that the following requirements are met:”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

No source read exempts on-farm sales outright. The department applies its country-egg requirements (under 700 hens; washed, labeled ungraded with name and address, 45°F in powered refrigeration) at fruit stands and similar sale points, so follow them at a farm stand too.

Farmers markets

With conditions

The department says the country-egg requirements apply at farmers markets: fewer than 700 hens, eggs washed and clean, prepackaged and labeled ungraded with your name and address, cartons new or with old markings obliterated, and held at 45°F or below. Ice chests and other non-powered coolers are not acceptable. No permit is named for these sellers.

Stores and restaurants

With conditions

Stores may sell eggs bought directly from a producer with fewer than 700 hens under the same conditions, and must keep an invoice showing where the eggs came from (two years, per the department). The sources read do not say whether the small-producer exception covers sales to restaurants, and the rules require places serving eggs below Grade A to post their quality and weight.

Also check with: Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Egg and Poultry Section, before selling to restaurants or with 700 or more hens

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

Reused cartons are allowed, with conditions.

“Cartons cannot be reused unless all brand markings and other identification are obliterated;”

Refrigeration

45°F or colder where the rule applies.

“The eggs are refrigerated and maintained at a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (45° F) or below; and”

The label must show

  • 'Ungraded'
  • Name and address of the producer

The carton label maker prints these lines with the federal safe handling statement.

Grading

Ungraded sales are allowed only in some cases.

Ungraded eggs are allowed only from producers with fewer than 700 hens, labeled as ungraded, under the four statutory conditions (§ 20-58-203). Other eggs sold in Arkansas are graded, with grade and size shown in advertising and point-of-sale material (2 CAR § 157-102).

Washing

Required: 'The eggs are washed and clean' is a condition of the small-producer exception (§ 20-58-203(1); 2 CAR § 157-101(a)(1)). No washing method is set in the sources read.

Federal rules apply on top of Arkansas's: the four federal egg rules. Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.

What changed recently

  1. 2023-04-04 · Act 467 of 2023 (SB 338), approved April 4, 2023, raised the small-producer line in Ark. Code Ann. § 20-58-203 from fewer than 200 hens to fewer than 700 hens. Source
  2. 2025-03-12 · Act 285 of 2025 (HB 1279), approved March 12, 2025, amended § 20-58-207(e) to let retailers repack eggs to replace missing or broken eggs from the same packer, grade, size, date and brand. It does not change small-producer sales. Source

Common questions

Do I need a license to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Arkansas?
Yes, with fewer than 700 hens: sell ungraded eggs that are washed, labeled "ungraded" with your name and address, and kept at 45°F, including to stores and at farmers' markets. Small-flock line: fewer than 700 hens. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Arkansas?
Allowed with conditions. The department says the country-egg requirements apply at farmers markets: fewer than 700 hens, eggs washed and clean, prepackaged and labeled ungraded with your name and address, cartons new or with old markings obliterated, and held at 45°F or below. Ice chests and other non-powered coolers are not acceptable. No permit is named for these sellers. Also check with Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Egg and Poultry Section, before selling to restaurants or with 700 or more hens.
Can I reuse egg cartons in Arkansas?
With conditions. The rule reads: "Cartons cannot be reused unless all brand markings and other identification are obliterated;"
What has to be on the carton label in Arkansas?
'Ungraded', Name and address of the producer. The rule reads: "The eggs are prepackaged and identified as ungraded with the name and address of the producer;" The federal safe handling statement applies as well; our carton label maker prints all of it.
Do eggs I sell in Arkansas have to be refrigerated?
Yes, at 45°F or colder. The rule reads: "The eggs are refrigerated and maintained at a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (45° F) or below; and"
Sources
Read the 22 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The official Arkansas Code (LexisNexis public access, linked from arkleg.state.ar.us) shows a CAPTCHA before opening a section; only the search-result text of § 20-58-202 was read in the browser (in arkansas.blocked.json). The current text of § 20-58-203 is taken from Act 467 of 2023 (the amending act, on arkleg.state.ar.us); permit sections (§§ 20-58-204 to -206, -215) were not read.
  • The Department of Agriculture's Egg Programs page (agriculture.arkansas.gov) returns HTTP 403 to scripted requests; it was read in the browser and its quotes are in arkansas.blocked.json.
  • Effective date of Act 467 of 2023 not confirmed: it was approved April 4, 2023 and has no emergency clause, so it took effect on the session's general effective date (not checked).
  • Whether a producer selling only on the farm directly to consumers is covered by the Act at all is not stated in the sources read; the record applies the department's country-egg conditions as the safe reading.
  • Whether producers with fewer than 700 hens may sell to restaurants is not stated in the sources read.
  • The agency's Egg Handler Permit is described as required for 'individuals or businesses handling eggs for sale'; the rule ties the $60 permit to processors, packers and wholesalers. Whether a small producer selling under the country-egg exception needs one is not stated; the department's country-egg section names no permit.
  • The CAR rule PDF (2 CAR part 157) was created August 16, 2024; the date the Arkansas Code of Rules codification took effect was not confirmed.
  • Ark. Code Ann. § 20-58-202 (definitions, including whether restaurants count as consumers) could not be read on the official LexisNexis site, which shows a CAPTCHA; it is not quoted.

Selling across the state line?

The rules change at the border. Here's where Arkansas's neighbors draw the line.

ALAKAZARCACOCTDEFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNJNMNYNCNDOHOKORPARISCSDTNTXUTVTVAWAWVWIWY
No license for small salesDepends how you sellRegistration or licenseNot stated or rechecking

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