Tamberly wrote: “I want to sell locally by word of mouth and at various local craft fairs. I make homemade crafts and upcycled items.”
Hi Tamberly, congratulations on your new homemade craft business in Modesto! Sewing at home keeps costs low, and holiday fairs deliver crowds of gift buyers in a single weekend. The California seller's permit comes first here, because it is what lets you collect sales tax and buy inventory wholesale. Here is what we will cover: how to structure your homemade craft business, the tax IDs it needs, and the licenses that let you open in Modesto, then a quick recap.
Word of mouth and craft fairs are how many California makers start, and both put you squarely in retail: a California seller's permit is needed even when sales are cash on a folding table, and fair organizers commonly ask to see it before they assign a booth. Upcycled pieces are taxable when you sell them, and the permit lets you buy any new materials meant for resale with a resale certificate. Keep a tally of each fair's sales, since you report them together, and carry a small card reader so no buyer walks away over change. If you grow, add a trade name registration and an LLC.
By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a homemade craft business it is NAICS 314999 (All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills). That makes 6 items on your list.
Tip: Keep a simple inventory list so you know which items sell out at fairs and which to retire.
To recap: Your homemade craft business in Modesto, CA needs a sales tax permit, an LLC, a DBA if you use a brand name, an EIN, a business license, and children's product safety certification. Handle these early and the business starts on solid ground.
We can file your seller's permit and the other registrations for you: start here.
99% of new businesses are required to get a(n) , Modesto business tax id registration (business license).
 Businesses with an trade firm name other than the owner's legal name are required to get a(n) Stanislaus County  DBA ( doing business as ) fictitious business name. Â
  You may also need a resale license if you selling touchable items.  (A.K.A CA seller's permit, state id, wholesale, resale, reseller certificate).
   In addition you will need a federal and a state EIN if you will hire employees. I.e., a CA Federal Tax Id Number and a(n) CA  State Employer Tax Number Â
   Instead of filing an Assumed Trade Firm business name ("DBA" Doing Business As) in Modesto, set up a coporation in CA  or set up a(n) CA LLCÂ
Cheree wrote: “I will sell crafts and cold drinks at the local pool rec center. I will resell towels, sunscreen, hair ties and goggles from a store, and make my own earrings, small home decor signs and hand painted flowerpots with flowers inside.”
Hi Cheree, Sunshine Things sounds like a promising venture. Sewing at home keeps costs low, and holiday fairs deliver crowds of gift buyers in a single weekend. The New Mexico gross receipts tax registration (CRS number) comes first here, because it is what lets you collect sales tax and buy inventory wholesale. In this answer you will find the business structure, the tax registrations, and the local and industry licenses for Sunshine Things, plus a short recap at the end.
New Mexico handles this through a gross receipts registration, which is the closest thing to a seller's permit, and it covers everything on your table: the towels, goggles, hair ties, sunscreen, cold drinks, and your own earrings, signs and painted flowerpots. Buying resale goods at a regular store means you pay tax on them, so once registered, buy from wholesale suppliers with a resale certificate instead. A pool is a managed space, so you will need permission from whoever runs the rec center, and they may have rules about food and drink. The clink of ice in the cooler is the sound of your first sale.
Tip: Research children's product safety and tracking label rules before selling items meant for babies.
To recap: Sunshine Things in Rio Rancho, NM needs a sales tax permit, an LLC, a DBA, an EIN, a business license, and children's product safety certification. With the paperwork done, the fun part begins: serving your first customers.
Here's How to Get Your CA Seller's Permit and Other permits and Registrations You May Need.
CA Seller's Permit, LLC, DBA, Licenses & Tax IDs Requirements:
Start with a Connecticut sales and use tax permit. A thrift and consignment shop sells taxable goods to the public, so you must collect sales tax, and consigned items count as your sales too.
• Trade name: a DBA if you operate under a shop name as a sole proprietor, though an LLC would separate the shop's debts from your own. • EIN: useful for banking and required once you hire anyone. • Local business license and zoning approval for the Bridgeport storefront, plus any certificate of occupancy for the space. • Written consignment agreements with each seller, spelling out the split and the holding period. • Employer accounts for unemployment and withholding if you add staff.
Secondhand dealer rules sometimes apply to jewelry or electronics, so ask us before stocking those.
In Mississippi you would register for a sales tax permit. That registration is what lets you hand wholesalers a resale certificate, so you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it, and it also obliges you to collect tax on sales to Mississippi customers.
As a sole proprietor you can run under your own name, or file a DBA if you want a brand name on your website and invoices. Many wholesalers also ask for an EIN, which keeps your Social Security number off paperwork. Check whether your town wants a local privilege or business license even for a home-based online shop. If you will sell into other states in volume, you may owe sales tax registration there too. An LLC is optional but worth considering once sales grow, and we can file every piece of this for you.
Your cosmetology license covers the services you perform, but selling products is a separate matter. In Ohio you need a vendor's license, since you will be collecting sales tax on every bottle and tool sold to a client.
That same vendor's license lets you buy product from distributors using a resale certificate, so you stop paying tax at the wholesale counter. If you work from a salon booth, ask the owner whether sales run through their register or yours, because that decides whose license is used. Add an EIN, and an LLC or DBA if you want a brand name on your invoices. Your contractor license does not figure into retail, so unless you sell in a store you lease, a local business license is the only other piece. We can file the vendor's license and EIN for you.
Depending on what type of permit, account or license you are applying for, specific information will be required in the registration application process.
The following is a checklist of general information that you may need before you begin:
Social Security Number(s) (corporate officers excluded)Driver License(s) or State Identification number(s) Note: Other forms of acceptable identifications may include, but not limited to are U.S. passport, U.S. military ID, Consular Identification cards, or Visa (E-2)
In addition, if you are applying for other permits, accounts, or licenses, you may also need to provide the following information:
First decide on a business structure Homemade Crafts as a Sole Proprietor, LLC/Corp, or Partnership.
✔ Step 2 All Homemade Crafts Businesses need a , Business tax registration also called an occupation business License ✔ Step 3 Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Homemade Crafts merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit. ✔ Step 4 All Homemade Crafts Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name ✔ Step 5 Hiring Homemade Crafts Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
Selling/Leasing or if wanting to buy or sell Homemade Crafts merchandise, food, equipment requires a Seller's Permit.
All Homemade Crafts Businesses Using a DBA doing business as name need a DBA Fictitious Business Name
Hiring Homemade Crafts Workers Requires a Federal EIN and a State Tax Number EIN
As of 11/12/2026 8:45:23 AM, you can obtain your MODESTO seller's permit here at $39 plus any tax you may have to pay in advance. To set up your reseller license is inexpensive but starting your business may cost you about (figures vary depending on area and type of business ) $19282.95 or $8895350.88 depending on your start up money. Getting a license in MODESTO STANISLAUS MODESTO, 95350 You will have many potential clients in this city. In fact, as much as 52862 but about 20514 are families in this area in CA. In addition, getting a 209/559 cell phone area code may help increase the idea that you operate from the city because you can text your clients as a local vendor (remember, everyone is texting these days). You can lease a space to operate your business from but if buying a house, the prices are (about $ 95350 119000 avergage value) , which you can use as a home operated business as well.
Your actual location in MODESTO will be your business address. E.g., your business location could be 886 MODESTO Road/Avenue or 88TH Way/Ct or MODESTO, CA . Operating from a 95350 P.O. Box location purported as your business mailing address. E.g. P.O Box 75474 MODESTO,CA 95350 . However this turns out, in 1495 considering demographics is intelligent. For example,
before iinvesting in getting a wholesale license there, there are about 39339, Whites, 10468 Hispanics, and 1928 Blacks in the 95350 area. Another important consideration is that of the residents' income in the wingspan of your business location. Each family here earns about $37671 per household and has about 2.95 residents per family. However, is the weather nice? Consider that the altitude is 86 feet, and you getting a seller's license in 8 time zone.