Vendor Rules and Regulations
We know there are a lot of rules, regulations, and licenses that apply to farmers markets and their vendors. Knowing who to go to with questions is half the battle! On this page you’ll find where to go for all sorts of products sold at the farmers market.
At a glance:
Oregon Department Of Agriculture (ODA) licenses for dairy, meat, seafood, and nursery vendors, processed food vendors, bakeries, and scales used at market.
Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) licenses for alcohol vendors.
County health departments handle temporary licenses and food handler cards for food carts and ready-to-eat food vendors
The state of Oregon does not require any specific permit to hold a farmers market
Farm-Direct Marketing: Fruits, Veggies, Eggs, Nursery Stock, and Value-Added Food
Farm-Direct Ag Sales
Farms are allowed to sell the following agricultural products directly to customers without a license from the Oregon Department of Agriculture:
Fruits, vegetables, edible flowers and herbs that are fresh, cured, or dried as part of routine post-harvest handling
Shelled and unshelled nuts
Honey with no additives
Uncooked whole, hulled, crushed or ground grain, legumes and seeds
Uncooked parched or roasted grains
Popcorn, nuts, peppers and corn on the cob that are roasted by the farm direct marketer at the place of purchase after purchase and not sold for immediate consumption
Although farms are exempt from licensing when selling the above items, there are rules they need to follow. Learn more about the laws and required labeling with this info sheet and FAQ from the ODA.
Farm vendors should also ensure their scale is licensed to be used commercially.
Farm-Direct Processed Food & Eggs
Oregon’s Farm Direct Marketing Law allows farmers to turn what they grow into low-risk, value-added products like jams, preserves, and pickles, and sell them directly to consumers without being licensed food processors. This publication from OSU clarifies the guidelines and includes a flowchart for determining whether a product qualifies for Farm Direct sales, an overview of the requirements, and resources for more information. (English Version) (Spanish Version). The ODA also has a resource guide for producer-processed products under Farm Direct Marketing.
OFMA and Oregon RAIN held a Jams, Sauces & Pickles Workshop all about how to get more out of your farm with value added products. You can watch here and find the slides here.
Eggs are exempt from state licensing under Oregon’s Farm Direct Marketing Law. However, there are specific labeling and handling requirements in order to meet the farm-direct licensing exemption and remain legal. OSU has a resource guide for those requirements here.
Home Baking and Cottage Food Operations
Nursery Stock and Christmas Trees
In 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed a law that allows people to produce certain baked goods and confectionary items in their home kitchens and sell them directly to consumers without having to obtain a food establishment license or undergo an inspection from the Oregon Department of Agriculture. This publication from OSU answers frequently asked questions about the Home Bakery Exemption. (English Version) (Spanish Version)
OFMA and Oregon RAIN partnered to hold two workshops on home baking regulations. You can watch Redefining Homemade: Doing more in your home with domestic kitchen licensing. here, and find the slides here. You can also watch More Than a Bake Sale: Oregon Home Baking Bill here and find the slides here.
Many vendors sell nursery stock, herbaceous plants or Christmas trees in addition to or even as their main product at market. Having these items at your market can bring great value in terms of visual appeal, diversifying the product mix and increasing customer satisfaction.
Currently, anyone selling more than $250 in nursery stock in one fiscal year needs a license. For anyone selling less than $20,000 in gross sales of these items, the current license fee is a $148 flat fee, with an increasing fee scale for those with sales exceeding $20,000 annually.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is the entity responsible for regulating and licensing these sales, so all vendors should be directed to their offices for information on this topic. Their website has additional info about selling nursery stock and Christmas trees, downloadable PDF license forms, an online fee calculator and contact info for questions.
Ready-To-Eat Food, Hemp, and Liquor Licensing
Ready-to-Eat Food at Your Market
Part of a farmers market’s goal is to encourage customers to linger. We want to create community events where customers stay, look around, and buy more ingredients for cooking at home. Ready-to-eat food vendors on site help markets achieve their “lingering” goals.
Each farmers market establishes how many restaurant food vendors should be in the vendor mix. Markets need to consider how their choice affects perceptions of the market. Too many restaurants and other prepared food vendors could change the “feel” of the market to more of a street fair than an event focused on local agriculture.
In Oregon, county health departments are in charge of licensing food carts or ready-to-eat foods (hot or cold) that are prepared on site to be consumed in the market. This category does not include baked goods and other foods prepared under a food processing license from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which are not served as ready-to-eat at market.
The 2011 legislature passed a bill supported by OFMA that allows for 90-day restaurant licenses. Before the passage of HB 2868, practices varied but restaurant vendors could not be licensed for more than 30 days and some counties insisted on licensing each market day separately. Vendors now pay a pre-operational review fee, which may not be required on an ongoing basis, in addition to the 90-day seasonal temporary restaurant license. The licenses are still good at only one location.
Restaurant licenses generally require one person physically present in the operation to hold a food handler’s certificate. Other requirements include a diagram of the booth and menu details. Food carts fall under a separate area of health law. Mobile food carts have four levels, with Level 4 allowing the most complex activities. They are also regulated by county health departments.
Generally licenses are issued after a market accepts a restaurant vendor, so there is no license to examine at first. But market managers can contact their county health inspectors if there is any question about whether a vendor is meeting his or her responsibilities.
Vendors should contact the County Health Authorities in the county that they intend to vend in for additional information and to start the application process.
Liquor Licensing
Wine, beer, cider, and spirits are important agricultural products in Oregon. Farmers markets that have these vendors next to cheese, meats, and artisan breads report good cross marketing from these pairings.
For wine, estate-grown means that it is farm-direct, but other wineries buy grapes to make their wine. If your market’s guidelines require farm-direct or you would prefer it, ask prospective wineries whether they buy none, some, or all of their grapes. Perhaps they would be willing to showcase only varieties that meet your needs.
Alcoholic beverages are regulated by the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission (OLCC). Alcohol businesses vending at Oregon farmers markets generally are able to arrange proper licensing for sampling and bottle sales without difficulty. However, they will need to allow time to complete the licensing process, especially the first time they apply for each market site. If the goal is sales by the glass, you and your vendor will need to work together and more closely with the OLCC to resolve any concerns about access of minors to alcohol.
Annual Liquor License and Service Permit
All alcohol businesses need to have an annual license which gives them permission to operate a business making, selling and/or serving alcohol. There are different specific annual licenses depending on the type of business (beer, winery, distillery, etc.). Visit the OLCC’s website for a list of the types of annual liquor licenses to determine which license is needed.
In addition, OLCC service permits are needed by your vendor and any employees they will have at market.
Special Events
Once a business has an annual license, they can apply for one of the special event licenses to be able to sell at a farmers market and offer samples:
Beer, wine, and cider vendors need a Special Event Winery (SEW) or Special Event Grower (SEG) license.
Spirits have their own version of the SEW/SEG license, called a Special Event Distillery (SED) license.
SEWs, SEGs, and SEDs cover only five dates at a time, and are good for one location only, so a vendor will need to obtain licenses multiple times a season depending on how many farmers markets they participate in and how many dates they do. The license application needs to be submitted to the OLCC office for the location the farmers market is in, so the vendor may need to work with different OLCC offices as well. (OLCC has five offices that cover the state’s 36 counties.)
Every special event license application needs to be approved by the city or county government the farmers market is located in before it can be submitted to the OLCC and the license granted. The government office or personnel that handles this is different depending on the individual city or county. Vendors should call or email the city or county general info to track this down, or check with similar vendors they are friends with for a tip!
Since special event licenses require the vendor to know exactly what days they will be at your farmers market, vendors should not be expected to have the license until after you’ve accepted them and confirmed their season dates.
Hemp-Derived Products
Here is a sample, draft policy provided by the Portland Farmers Market, illustrating how one market is complying with current ODA regulations around hemp-derived products such as CBD products. The OLCC sets all regulations around both cannabis and hemp, and their website contains more detailed information.
Learn More: OFMA Webinars
Rules and Regulations Series (2020)
This series was organized as a partnership between OFMA and Oregon RAIN, and were conducted in person by Alice Morrison in Lane County and live streamed.
Pt 1: Jams, Sauces, and Pickles | How to get more out of your farm with value-added products
Pt 2: Redefining Homemade | Doing more in your home with domestic kitchen licensing
Pt 3: More than a Bake Sale | Oregon’s Home Baking Bill
Organics, Hybrids and GMOs — Oh My! (2021)