Do You Need a Business License to Sell at a Craft Fair?

When you check in at your first craft fair, what will the organizer ask to see?

The short answer: the permit a craft fair checks is a state sales tax permit. In many states that tax what you sell, including Texas and California, you need one even for a single weekend. Whether you also need a business license is usually a city or county question, so ask both where you run your business and where the fair is held.

California calls the sales tax permit a seller's permit, and in both states covered below it costs nothing to apply. Business license rules vary city by city; the Seattle example below shows one.

The one the fair checks: your sales tax permit

A sales tax permit lets you collect sales tax from customers and send it to the state. States that tax the goods you sell generally expect you to register before you start selling at an event, and a folding table in a church hall counts as a store. (The Texas and California rules in this post are as of September 2026.)

The Texas Comptroller spells it out. Sellers at fairs, festivals, markets and shows "must have a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit" if they sell taxable items, take orders for them, or use the event to promote them (Texas Comptroller, Fairs, Festivals, Markets and Shows (opens in new tab)). The same page closes the loophole most first-timers hope for: the occasional-sale exemption does not apply if you are "engaged in business selling taxable items (including artists or craftsmen who make items for sale)." There is no fee to apply.

California says the same thing more bluntly: "You are required to have a permit if you are selling, even temporarily, new or handcrafted items" (CDTFA, Temporary Sellers (opens in new tab)). If you sell at a location for less than 90 days, that's a free temporary seller's permit. If you already hold a regular seller's permit, you register a sub-permit for each temporary location instead.

Now for why the organizer cares. In Texas, promoters must collect and remit tax on sales by sellers "who do not have an active Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit and whose sales do not qualify for tax exemption" (Texas Comptroller (opens in new tab)). In other words, your missing permit becomes their tax bill. In California, sellers must give the operator, in writing, their business name, mailing address, phone number, driver license or state ID number, a description of what they sell, and their seller's permit number (CDTFA Publication 111, Sellers and Vendors (opens in new tab)). That's why the vendor packet asks for it.

Two more things catch people out. The permit belongs to the state where the fair is held, not the state where you live: Texas says out-of-state sellers at these events "must have a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit" (Texas Comptroller (opens in new tab)). And if you make food, a separate layer applies on top of sales tax. Start with your state's rules on the cottage food law hub.

The business license: a city and county question

A general business license is a different document from a different office. The SBA puts it this way: the licenses and permits you need "from the state, county, or city will depend on your business activities and business location," and it lists retail among the activities "commonly regulated at the local level" (SBA, Apply for licenses and permits (opens in new tab)). There is no national answer, and there often isn't even a statewide one.

Seattle shows how much local rules can differ. From January 1, 2026, anyone whose gross income from business in the city is $4,000 a year or less, and who "does not maintain a place of business within the City," is not required to get a Seattle business license tax certificate (Seattle Director's Rule 5-002 (opens in new tab)). A potter who drives in from outside the city for one fair and takes $1,500 is under that line. A potter with a place of business in the city doesn't qualify for this threshold, because it only covers sellers without one. If you work from home in Seattle, don't assume you're exempt: check the rule, or ask the city, whether a home studio counts as a place of business.

So call two offices, not one: the city or county where you run your business, and the one where the fair is held.

Before your first craft fair booth: a permit checklist

1. Check whether the state where the fair is held taxes what you sell, on its revenue department's website. Texas and California both treat handcrafted goods as taxable sales, but food and some other categories have their own rules.
2. Read the vendor packet for what the organizer collects, so you know which numbers and forms to have ready.
3. Register for the sales tax permit in the fair's state before the fair, and have the number ready when the organizer asks. In California, the permit is a temporary seller's permit, which you can get up to 90 days before the event (CDTFA, Temporary Sellers (opens in new tab)), or a sub-permit if you already hold a regular one. With the number in hand, California sellers can give the organizer form CDTFA-410-D (opens in new tab) (PDF), the state's seller certification to the event operator.
4. Ask the city or county where you run your business, and the one where the fair is held, whether you need a business license or a temporary vendor license.
5. Record each event's sales separately. One lump total for the season won't fill in the return: Texas sellers collect tax based on the location of each event, and California has you register each temporary location and report the sales made there (Texas Comptroller (opens in new tab); CDTFA Publication 111 (opens in new tab)).
6. Close the location afterward if the fair's state requires it. California asks you to notify it when you stop selling at a registered location (CDTFA Publication 111 (opens in new tab)).

Step five is the one that bites in January. If each fair is set up as its own sales location in Ardent Seller, the weekend's sales stay filed under that event instead of dissolving into the season's total, and the Market & Event Performance report lists each event day's sales, with a total per location, without anyone rebuilding them from receipts.

None of this paperwork is hard. What makes it stressful is not knowing which office to ask. The sales tax permit is the one the fair checks. The business license is the one your city or county usually decides.

Related reading

• How Much Inventory for Your First Craft Fair — once the permit is sorted, the next question is how much stock to bring to a first craft fair with no sales history to go on.
• Sales Tax Nexus for Sellers — the fair permit covers sales at the booth; sales tax nexus for online sellers decides where you owe tax when you ship.
• Do You Need an LLC to Sell Handmade? — the other paperwork question new sellers ask, and why an LLC is neither a license nor a permit.

Free resources

One free download that pairs well with this post:

• Craft Seller Startup Checklist — puts the sales tax permit and local license in order with the other setup steps (entity, EIN, banking, insurance), so the fair paperwork isn't the only thing you've checked.

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This article is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Sales tax permit, business license, and event vendor requirements vary by state, county, and city and change frequently. Consult your state tax agency, your local licensing office, a qualified CPA, or an attorney before making decisions that affect your business.