Provincial

Egg flock permit

Up to 99 hens needs no permit; 100–399 hens needs a small-lot permit — you must be 19 or older, with free-range, free-run, organic or heritage production — and those eggs, graded or not, go only to the people who eat them; 400 or more needs quota. Ungraded eggs are sold from your farm or home, or at farmers’ markets. These rules cover chicken eggs only.

A change is coming

  • Updated compensation for destroyed laying hens and broiler breeders — proposed, no date set; it may not happen. What changes
Who issues it
BC Egg Marketing Board
Cost
Small-lot permit $250 a year.

Do you need it?

You need it if

  • You keep 100 to 399 laying hens and sell their eggs.

You don’t need it if

  • You keep 99 hens or fewer.
Where this comes from

Sources

How to get it

  1. 1

    Send BC Egg the application and $250

    You must be 19 or older. The fee includes a visit from BC Egg and a Salmonella test.

Where this comes from

Sources

Once you have it

  • Renew every year, for $250.
Where this comes from

Sources

Which businesses need it

Farms & market gardensIf you keep laying hensMeat, poultry & egg producersFor laying hens

The rules behind this page

Last checked 9 October 2026. We check this guide regularly against Island Health, provincial and municipal sources, but regulations and laws change often and we can’t guarantee it is complete or current. Confirm with Island Health and your municipality before you apply, build or sell.

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