Market Vendor permits and licenses in Texas

Required for any vendor selling taxable items at a market, fair, or festival, so a craft vendor (model E) and a cooking booth (model D) almost always need it. The Texas line is specific: raw produce, eggs, and plain grocery foods are exempt, but prepared or ready-to-eat food, candy in small portions, and all crafts, soap, and art are taxable, and even cut flowers a farmer sells are taxable. A plain loaf of bread is exempt; sliced and served with a utensil it becomes taxable unless you qualify as a bakery. A farmer (model A) selling only raw produce needs no permit, and a cottage food cook (model B) needs one only if selling taxable items.

Issued by

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Fee

$0 (free). The Comptroller may require a security bond case by case if it expects tax could go delinquent.

Renewal

No expiration. You file returns monthly, quarterly, or annually by volume.

Processing

About 2 to 3 weeks after you apply online

Nothing about selling at a market requires forming an entity. A produce farmer (model A) or crafter (model E) almost always operates as a sole proprietor and skips the Secretary of State entirely, filing only a county-clerk DBA if they use a business name. A commercial maker (model C), or a growing cottage or cooking operation, is the one most likely to form an LLC for liability protection.

Issued by

Texas Secretary of State; a sole proprietor files a DBA with the county clerk instead

Fee

$300 to file an LLC Certificate of Formation (Form 205), plus $25 for an Assumed Name Certificate (Form 503) if a registered entity uses a trade name. Paying by card online adds about a 2.7 percent convenience fee.

Renewal

One-time to form. An assumed name lasts up to 10 years. A registered LLC then files a franchise tax report each year (below).

Processing

A few business days through SOSDirect, faster with an expedited fee

This applies only to a vendor that formed an entity; a sole proprietor or a partnership of individuals owes no franchise tax. Nearly every small market-vendor LLC falls under the threshold and owes nothing, but it must still file a Public Information Report every year to stay in good standing. Texas dropped the old No Tax Due Report in 2024, so the annual report is now the filing that keeps the entity alive.

Issued by

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Fee

$0 to file. Tax is owed only above the no-tax-due threshold, which is $2,650,000 in annualized revenue for the 2026 report year. A late report carries a $50 penalty even when no tax is due.

Renewal

Annual, due May 15

Processing

Immediate when you file online through Webfile

This is the home cook's path (model B), and it is unusually light in Texas. Under Health and Safety Code Chapter 437, broadened by Senate Bill 541 effective September 1, 2025, any food is allowed except meat and poultry, seafood, ice and frozen desserts, low-acid canned goods, CBD or THC products, and raw milk, capped at $150,000 in annual gross sales and indexed to inflation. You complete an accredited food handler course and label every product (your name, a home address or free DSHS registration number, the product name, allergens, and the "produced in a private residence" disclaimer). You can sell direct at farmers markets, farm stands, online with in-state delivery, and now through a registered cottage food vendor for non-refrigerated items. Refrigerated (TCS) foods such as cheesecake are newly allowed but only direct to the customer, only after a free DSHS registration, and with a production date and safe-handling line on the label.

Issued by

Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). No local government may license, permit, fee, or inspect a cottage food operation.

Fee

None. No state or local government may charge a fee or require a license, permit, or inspection, including for sampling. The optional DSHS registration, required only to sell refrigerated foods or to use an ID number on labels instead of your home address, is also free.

Renewal

None; there is no license to renew

Processing

Immediate. There is no application; you simply meet the statutory conditions.

A farmer (model A) selling whole, intact, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables needs no food permit of any kind at a Texas farmers market, and the same goes for prepackaged non-hazardous foods and cottage foods sold alongside. The exemption ends the moment produce is cut, mixed, cooked, or plated beyond a bite-size taste: a fruit cup or a fresh salsa drops into either the cottage food rules or the temporary food permit, depending on what you are doing.

Issued by

Texas Department of State Health Services (by rule, 25 TAC Chapter 229)

Fee

None

Renewal

Not applicable

Processing

Immediate; no application needed

Where a farmer or food producer does need a market-vendor permit, most often to cover egg or meat sales, state law caps the annual fee at $100 and makes a single permit cover every market in that health authority's jurisdiction for the year. It is the vehicle that prices the egg and honey market permits below, and because it is issued locally its exact amount lives on your city page.

Issued by

DSHS or the local health department with jurisdiction over the market, under Health and Safety Code Section 437.0065

Fee

Capped by state law at no more than $100 per year, with the exact amount set by whichever authority issues it. See your city page for the local figure.

Renewal

At least annual. One permit covers all of that authority's farmers markets, farm stands, and farms for the year, so you are not charged per market.

Processing

Varies by the issuing authority

A producer (model A) selling only ungraded eggs from their own flock is exempt from the Texas Department of Agriculture dealer and grading license under Agriculture Code Section 132.002. But eggs are a potentially hazardous food, so DSHS still requires a market permit to sell them. The eggs must be held at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the carton labeled "ungraded" with your name and address, and cartons may not be reused.

Issued by

Texas Department of Agriculture (egg dealer licensing) and DSHS (point-of-sale food permitting)

Fee

No TDA egg dealer or grading license is needed to sell your own ungraded eggs. A DSHS-side market permit still applies, either the capped farmer permit above or a temporary food permit; see those entries for amounts.

Renewal

Matches the market permit you use to cover the egg sales

Processing

Matches the underlying farmer or temporary food permit

A beekeeper (model A) selling raw honey from their own hives is treated as a farm and is exempt from licensing as a DSHS food manufacturer for that activity. The statewide honey labeling law still applies at any scale: only pure honey may be labeled "honey," and hive or comb imagery is reserved for pure honey. A "Texas honey" or "local honey" claim carries a Texas-sourcing requirement, so confirm the current rule with DSHS or the Texas Department of Agriculture before using it. Mislabeling honey is a Class B misdemeanor.

Issued by

Texas DSHS (farm exemption) with labeling enforced under Agriculture Code Chapter 131

Fee

None for the exemption itself. At a market the capped farmer permit above may apply if the local authority requires one.

Renewal

Not applicable to the exemption

Processing

Immediate for the exemption

A commercial maker (model C) who manufactures, packages, or holds food for resale or retail self-service holds this DSHS license under 25 TAC Section 229.182, the same license a sauce, salsa, or pickle maker needs. For a commercial acidified-foods producer it sits on top of the federal canning chain (FDA canning registration, scheduled process, process authority) that lives on the vertical, not in place of it. There is no minimum sales threshold to trigger it; the $100 tier exists for the smallest producers.

Issued by

Texas Department of State Health Services

Fee

A 2-year license scaled to gross annual sales of manufactured food: $100 under $10,000, $150 up to $25,000, $250 up to $100,000, $560 up to $200,000, $900 up to $1 million, $1,120 up to $10 million, and $1,680 at $10 million or more. A late renewal adds a $100 delinquency fee.

Renewal

Every 2 years

Processing

Budget several weeks for review, longer if a facility inspection is required

A cooking or serving booth (model D), and any worker handling unpackaged food, needs this within 30 days of starting. A cottage food operator (model B) also completes the same course before selling. Worth knowing: DSHS's own farmers-market guidance says a temporary food vendor in DSHS's direct jurisdiction does not need the card, but a local health authority running a market elsewhere may require it, so check the jurisdiction of your specific market.

Issued by

Accredited training providers licensed by Texas DSHS. The provider issues the certificate; DSHS accredits the programs.

Fee

Provider-set, commonly $5 to $15 per person for an accredited online course. Confirm the current price with your provider.

Renewal

Every 2 years

Processing

Same day. Most accredited online courses finish in a couple of hours.

For a market vendor this applies narrowly. A temporary food booth (model D) in DSHS's jurisdiction generally does not need a certified manager, but a cooking demonstration at a farmers market must be supervised by one unless it qualifies for the bona fide educational exemption from the temporary food permit. A fuller bricks-and-mortar retail food operation does need a certified manager on staff under the Texas Food Establishment Rules.

Issued by

Accredited examination providers (ANSI-CFP accredited or DSHS approved); DSHS sets the standards

Fee

Provider-set for the course and exam; DSHS lists no single statewide flat fee. Confirm current pricing with a provider.

Renewal

Every 5 years

Processing

Course and exam can usually be completed in a single day

A booth that cooks, samples beyond a bite-size taste, or serves potentially hazardous food for immediate eating (model D) needs this permit, and it also covers a vendor selling eggs, meat, poultry, or fish at a market. It is not required to sell whole uncut produce, prepackaged non-hazardous food, or cottage food, nor for bite-size sampling or a bona fide educational cooking demonstration. The requirement is statewide, but because a local authority issues and prices it at most markets, the amount lives on your city page.

Issued by

DSHS in areas with no local health authority; otherwise the city, county, or public health district with jurisdiction over the market

Fee

Where DSHS issues it directly, $52 for a single-event permit (one booth, up to 14 consecutive days) or $200 for a multiple-event permit valid 2 years. Where a city, county, or health district has jurisdiction, which covers most markets, the fee is set locally with no statewide flat amount; confirm with that health department. See your city page.

Renewal

A single-event permit lasts 14 days; a multiple-event permit lasts 2 years

Processing

DSHS wants the application at least 30 days ahead when it is the issuer; local jurisdictions often need less, commonly 5 to 10 business days, but it varies

Any vendor selling goods by weight, a farmer weighing produce by the pound, a beekeeper selling honey by weight, or a crafter selling soap by weight (models A and E), must register each commercial scale with the Texas Department of Agriculture, not a local office. The registration certificate is posted where customers can see it. Scales used only to weigh taxable ready-to-eat food are exempt, but weighing raw produce or honey is not, so most by-weight market sellers are in scope.

Issued by

Texas Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures

Fee

An annual per-device fee set by Texas Department of Agriculture rule rather than fixed in statute. TDA does not publish the exact figure, so confirm the current amount with TDA Weights and Measures at 512-463-7698 before budgeting.

Renewal

Annual

Processing

A two-step process: a licensed technician installs and calibrates the device and reports it to TDA, then you submit the registration and fee