Licenses

Farmers Market wall calendar in MS Word format. 12MB due to lots of pictures.

MS Word format. 20MB

It is very easy to sell your own fruit, vegetables, and eggs at the market.  You need to fill out three forms, bring a table and a change box, and you are set.  We will help you with the forms.

The three forms you will need:

Kuna Farmers Market	Application There is an annual fee of 5, 15, or 30 dollars depending on booth size.  There is also a weekly fee of 6% of gross sales.
Central District Health Department	Temporary Food Establishment License Application This is free, unless you sell processed food, in which case the fee is $65.
State Tax Commission	The application is free.  You need to remit 6% sales tax.  We can set you up with a temporary tax license that is good for the summer, or you can apply for a permanent tax ID from the State.  Either one is easy. Please call us for details or call Idaho State Tax Commission 800 Park Boulevard Plaza IV Boise, ID  83712 (800) 972-7660 or (208) 334-7660

With these three forms completed, a vendor may

• Sell their own produce, or produce they helped grow or pick.
• Sell up to five hundred dollars per year of flowers and plants.
• Sell eggs, provided you have less than 300 hens and sell direct to the consumer.  Otherwise, you need another license (see below).
• Fraternal, benevolent, and non-profit organizations may sell baked goods (each organization may hold three bakes sales per year).  All other vendors will need a health department license and inspection to sell prepared food of any kind.  Note, we are continuing to research the baked-goods rules.  It is possible to make occasional bake goods in the home.  Updates will be posted as we continue to research this topic.

All home-baked goods must be approved by the market manager.  Occasional cakes, cookies, breads, and fruit pie may be prepared in the home and sold at the market.  You need to register with the health department, but no license fee is charged.  The following baked goods are not allowed to be prepared in a home kitchen

• meat,
• custards,
• cream filling,
• cream frosting,
• pumpkin pie. 

This is not an exhaustive list.  It is best to stay with simple recipes that have no cream, custard, or meat.  Avoid recipes that require refrigeration of the finished product.  Otherwise, you need a license and a certified kitchen.

You may sell limited quantities of homemade jams or jellies with approval of the market manager.

You will need additional licenses if you sell produce labeled "organic", someone else’s produce, commercial eggs, meat, dairy, prepared foods, baked goods, packaged foods, more than five hundred dollars of plants or flowers, or sell by weight.  Each vendor is responsible obtaining the necessary licenses, for complying with the license requirements, and as required, for posting the licenses.

This purpose of this web page is to provide basic guidance.  We will gladly help you navigate the process.  However, we are neither legal nor government experts.  It is the responsibility of the vendor to obtain the necessary licenses.

A good place to start is the "Business Wizard" at http://www.idahobizhelp.org/

"It will give you a customized Checklist of local, state, and federal regulations that affect your business. You will also find information on licenses and permits that you might need, as well as information on registering your business in Idaho."

Sales Tax	All vendors are required to collect six-percent Idaho sales tax and remit to the tax commission.  This includes bake sales held by churches, schools, or non-profit organizations. The permit is free. The permit must be displayed at the market. If a vendor does not have a permit on market day, the market manager will issue a temporary form.  The vendor must obtain a permanent permit before the next market day. Idaho State Tax Commission 800 Park Boulevard Plaza IV Boise, ID  83712 (800) 972-7660 or (208) 334-7660 http://tax.idaho.gov/ 334-7660
Eggs	The following information is from the Idaho Department of Agriculture, Central District Health, and the Idaho Statues. Chickens are susceptible to salmonella, a family of bacteria that can also infect their eggs.  The Department of Agriculture monitors the production and sale of eggs.  If you have under 300 hens, there is no Department of Agriculture license, inspection, or fee.  If you have under 300 hens and sell direct to the customer, then you don’t need a Department of Agriculture license, nor an inspection, and you don’t have to grade your eggs.  You do need a license from the Health Department, and you do need to write your name, address, and “ungraded eggs” on each carton. You may print this information on address labels and stick them to the cartons. And you may use used cartons.  Eggs must be stored at 45 degrees or lower.  You may keep the eggs in an ice chest at the farmers market.  You must have a thermometer.  A thermometer from the kitchen section of the supermarket is fine. If you have 300 or more hens, grade eggs, sell to distributors or retailers, then you will need a Department of Agriculture license and an inspection.  The annual license is $20 for each distribution location.  The license fee to grade eggs is $5.  The Department of Agriculture license and inspection is to ensure that if lots of chickens are raised in one place, that it is done in a healthy environment.  The Department of Agriculture license is addition to the Health Department license.  The latter is to ensure that the eggs are handled properly after they are produced. Idaho Department of Agriculture Contact: Romero Benavidas Phone: 332-8500 All ag rules are at http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/rules/idapa02/02index.htm Egg rules are http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/rules/idapa02/0211.pdf Central District Health Department Contact: Bob Jue, health inspector for Kuna Contact: Tom Schmalz, CDHD Food Program Manager Phone:375-5211 No license is needed from the Health Department as eggs are regulated by Department of Agriculture.  However, Bob says that an ice chest may be used at events under four hours in duration.  If the event goes longer, then refrigeration should be used.  Since the Kuna Farmers Market goes from 9am to 12 noon, an ice chest is acceptable.  The vendor must have a thermometer.  The eggs must be 45 degrees or cooler. Idaho Egg Law Title 37 - Food, Drugs, and Oil Chapter 15 - Eggs and Egg Products http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/37015KTOC.html
Organic Produce	To be labeled "Organic", produce must be Registered or Certified by the Idaho Department of Agriculture.  The certificate must be displayed at the market. Per Idaho Code "Organically grown food products" means food products which are produced without the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, or growth regulators for a period not less than thirty-six (36) months prior to harvest." The fees are on a sliding scale based on annual sales.  A small producer (under $5,000 per year) would pay about $50 to be "Registered".  Larger producers must be "Certified", which entails more record keeping and expense, but still under $200. Idaho Department of Agriculture Contact: Margaret Misner, Program Manger Phone: 332-8673 http://www.idahoag.us/Categories/PlantsInsects/Organic/indexOrganicHome.php Idaho Statutes http://www3.state.id.us/idstat/TOC/22011KTOC.html USDA Organics Page http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO&parentnav=LAWS_REGS&navtype=RT
Reseller of Produce	No license is required to sell your own produce, but if you sell produce that you did not help with either growing or picking, then a reseller license is needed. Idaho Department of Agriculture Fee: 125 $/year Contact: Jennifer Armga Phone: 322-8675
Bedding plants, landscape plants, fresh or cut flowers	Plants must be pest and disease-free.  A vendor can sell less than $500 per year without a license.  More than that, and a nursery license is needed.  The license is $75 per year. http://www.idahoag.us/Categories/PlantsInsects/Nursery/indexNurseryHome.php Idaho Department of Agriculture Contact: Maureen Brewer Phone: 332-8620 Maureen processes the paperwork for Nursery, Beekeeping, and Organics.
Prepared food	Central District Health regulates food safety.  Raw, unprepared fruits and vegetables, and dried herbs sold at a farmers market do not require any health department licenses or registration.  Fraternal, benevolent, and non-profit organizations, such as scout or church groups, may have three bake sales per year without any health department licenses or registration. Occasional baked goods, such as cake, cookies, bread, and fruit pie, may be made in a home kitchen.  All other prepared food, including jams and jellies, must be made in a certified kitchen and the vendor must have a letter of approval from Central District Health Department.  Cheese and meat must also be USDA inspected and certified. Central District Health Food Safety Pages http://www.phd4.state.id.us/EH/food/forms.htm The main guidance comes from the "UNICODE". http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/rules/idapa16/0219.pdf A place to start is paragraph 53 on page 8.
Scales	The use of scales is optional.  Produce can be sold by the "each", the "bag", or the "bunch" without any additional permit.  However, if produce is sold by weight, then scales must be used, and these scales must be certified by the State Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Weights and Measures.  The scales must be commercial scales, manufactured for the purpose of weighing food for sale. The inspection fee is $4.50 per year for scales under fifty pounds capacity. http://www.idahoag.us/Categories/WeightsMeasures/wmOverview.php
Meat Dairy Bees Etc.	If you sell these items, then you already know more about the rules than we do!  If you are thinking about selling these items, be sure to do your homework. Idaho Department of Agriculture regulates food production - pesticides, fertilizer, hen houses, livestock, beekeeping, etc. http://www.agri.idaho.gov/ USDA regulates packaging of meat and cheese, possibly eggs. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome Central District Health regulates the preparation and sale of food. http://www.cdhd.idaho.gov/EH/food/index.htm If food is sold by weight, then the scales must be certified. http://www.idahoag.us/Categories/WeightsMeasures/wmOverview.php And sales tax collected. http://tax.idaho.gov/