State rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Tennessee?

Unclear. Tennessee repealed its egg law in 2020; egg sellers now fall under the general food law, which requires a state license to pack food for sale unless exempt. Ask the Department of Agriculture first.

Read from 9 official sources23 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

License

Not stated

Small-flock line

None: egg law repealed 2020

Farmers markets

Not stated

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

Tennessee has had no egg-specific law since June 22, 2020, when Public Chapter 727 deleted the Tennessee Egg Law (Title 53, Chapter 2) and its licensing system. The legislature's fiscal note says the businesses once covered by the Egg Law 'now fall under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act', and that no Egg Law licenses had been issued for several years. Under that act, no one may manufacture, process, pack or hold food for introduction into commerce without a TDA license, unless all of these are true: the food is not potentially hazardous, sales are only direct to end consumers in Tennessee, there are no regular full-time employees, and the food is labeled. TDA's rules treat raw animal foods as time/temperature-control food and exclude only pasteurized or hard-boiled eggs, so raw shell eggs do not appear to fit that exemption. TDA's licenses are a food manufacturer license (any kitchen or establishment where food is packed for commerce) and a retail food store permit (a stand is excluded only if it sells nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables). TDA has published nothing saying how these apply to a backyard flock, and no egg rule has been adopted since the repeal.

A sourced reading of Tennessee's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) before you sell.

Do you need a license?

Not stated in the sources we readNone: egg law repealed 2020
  • The Tennessee Egg Law (Title 53, Chapter 2) and its egg licenses were deleted, effective June 22, 2020.2020 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 727, § 2
  • Businesses once covered by the Egg Law now fall under the Tennessee Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.HB 2209 fiscal note, Feb. 14, 2020
  • No person may manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for introduction into commerce without a TDA license, except as provided in subsection (d).T.C.A. § 53-1-208(b)
  • Subsection (d) exemption requires all of: food not potentially hazardous as defined by department regulation; sales only directly to end consumers in Tennessee; no regular, full-time employees; food labeled as the law requires.T.C.A. § 53-1-208(d)
  • Exempt producers still follow sanitation, recordkeeping and inspection rules.T.C.A. § 53-1-208(e)
  • TDA's food rules count raw animal food as time/temperature control for safety food; only hard-boiled or pasteurized shell eggs are excluded.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-04-09-.01(117)
  • A food manufacturer license is required for any kitchen or establishment where food is manufactured, processed, or packed for introduction into commerce.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-04-13-.03(4)(a)
  • A 'retail food store' is any establishment offering food to consumers for off-premise consumption; roadside markets offering only fresh fruits and fresh vegetables are excluded.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-04-09-.01(98)
  • Stores obtain food from sources that comply with law and receive raw eggs clean, sound, within U.S. Grade B tolerances, at 41°F or less.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-04-09-.03(2)

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

Not stated

No egg-specific rule since 2020. The general food law requires a TDA license to pack food for introduction into commerce, and its small-producer exemption covers only food that is not potentially hazardous; TDA treats raw animal food as time/temperature control food. TDA has not said whether a backyard flock selling its own eggs at the farm needs a license.

Farmers markets

Not stated

Same open question as at the farm. A market stand selling eggs is not within the retail food store exclusion, which covers only fresh fruits and vegetables. No current TDA farmers' market guidance on eggs was found.

Stores and restaurants

License needed

The § 53-1-208(d) license exemption applies only when food goes 'only through direct retail sales to end consumers in the state', so selling eggs to a store or restaurant for resale or use falls outside it. Stores must buy from sources that comply with law and receive eggs at 41°F or less, clean, sound and within Grade B tolerances (0080-04-09-.03).

Also check with: Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Consumer and Industry Services (food manufacturer license and retail food store permits)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

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

Refrigeration

41°F or colder where the rule applies.

“Raw eggs shall be received in refrigerated equipment that maintains an ambient air temperature of 5°C (41°F) or less.”

The label must show

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

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

Grading

Not stated in the sources we read.

No state grading or labeling rule for eggs since the 2020 repeal. Retail food stores receive eggs within U.S. Consumer Grade B tolerances (0080-04-09-.03(2)(b)3.).

Washing

No state washing rule in the sources read.

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

What changed recently

  1. 2020-06-22 · Public Chapter 727 (SB 2140/HB 2209) deleted the Tennessee Egg Law (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 53, Chapter 2) and its reference in § 53-1-208(d)(2), effective on becoming law (signed June 22, 2020). Egg businesses now fall under the Tennessee Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Source

Common questions

Do I need a license to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Tennessee?
Unclear. Tennessee repealed its egg law in 2020; egg sellers now fall under the general food law, which requires a state license to pack food for sale unless exempt. Ask the Department of Agriculture first. Small-flock line: none: egg law repealed 2020. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Tennessee?
Not stated in the sources we read. Same open question as at the farm. A market stand selling eggs is not within the retail food store exclusion, which covers only fresh fruits and vegetables. No current TDA farmers' market guidance on eggs was found. Also check with Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Consumer and Industry Services (food manufacturer license and retail food store permits).
Can I reuse egg cartons in Tennessee?
The sources we read do not say; ask the state agriculture department before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in Tennessee?
The sources we read do not list label items for small producers. The federal safe handling statement applies in every state.
Do eggs I sell in Tennessee have to be refrigerated?
Yes, at 41°F or colder. The rule reads: "Raw eggs shall be received in refrigerated equipment that maintains an ambient air temperature of 5°C (41°F) or less."
Sources
Read the 23 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • The official Tennessee Code (LexisNexis public access) requires accepting LexisNexis Terms and Conditions before it opens; that was not done. Current T.C.A. § 53-1-208 text was therefore read from the session laws that wrote it (2017 Pub. Ch. 150) and amended it (2020 Pub. Ch. 727); later amendments, if any, were not checked. T.C.A. § 53-1-104 (definition of potentially hazardous food used by Rule 0080-04-13-.02(h)) and T.C.A. 53-8-2xx (retail food store permits) were not read.
  • Whether TDA treats a backyard producer selling its own eggs as packing food 'for introduction into commerce' (needing a food manufacturer license) or as a retail food store is not stated in any current TDA source. The fiscal note says no Egg Law licenses had been issued 'for several years' before the repeal.
  • The conclusion that raw shell eggs fall outside the § 53-1-208(d) exemption is an inference: TDA's retail rule (0080-04-09) treats raw animal food as time/temperature control food, and TDA's 2019 Farmers Markets State Compliance Guide (pre-repeal, hosted on a UT Extension site, not quoted) defined potentially hazardous food to include eggs. That guide also let producers with under 3,000 birds sell at markets under the since-repealed egg rules.
  • TDA's former 'Regulation of Farm Fresh Egg Sales in TN' page and its 2018 PDF now return 404. No egg rule has been adopted since 2020: the agriculture rule list (publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0080) has no egg chapter; the old Division of Markets chapter 0080-05-04 was repealed effective Sept. 23, 2021 (subject not shown in the repeal notice).
  • UT Extension PB1898 (Nov. 24, 2021; secondary, not quoted) says federal rules now apply (federal under-3,000-hen exemption from 21 CFR 118, FDA safe handling statement, 45°F at retail). Federal rules are outside this page's state-only sources.
  • Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118, amended by 2025 Pub. Ch. 431 effective July 1, 2025) covers homemade food produced at a private residence; shell eggs are not mentioned (cottage food, out of scope).
  • No 2024–2026 bill re-creating an egg law was found by web search; the legislature's bill search was not scripted. Department of Health restaurant rules were not checked.

Selling across the state line?

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

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

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