How to Complete and Submit the Ohio Vendor’s License Form ST-1

To get an Ohio vendor’s license, complete Form ST-1, choose the right license type, and submit it with a $50 fee — to your county auditor if your business has a fixed location, or to the Ohio Department of Taxation if you sell at temporary locations around the state. The fastest path is registering online through OH|Tax eServices, which issues the license the moment you finish. Paper filings can take up to six weeks.¹

The license is required before your first taxable sale. Ohio law prohibits making retail sales subject to sales tax without one, which covers tangible goods like clothing, electronics, and prepared food, as well as taxable services such as landscaping and auto repair.²

Pick the Right License Type First

ST-1 asks you to choose between two licenses. The right one depends on how and where you sell.

A county vendor’s license is for any business with a fixed location — a store, restaurant, salon, repair shop, or office. It is tied to one address in one county. Two storefronts in the same county need two licenses and two $50 fees. If you move within the county, you can request a transfer from the Tax Commissioner or reapply at the new address. Move to a different county and the license does not travel with you; you apply fresh there.²

A transient vendor’s license is for sellers without a permanent storefront who work fairs, festivals, flea markets, and craft shows. One transient license covers sales anywhere in Ohio, so you don’t reapply for each event. Transient licenses are issued by the Ohio Department of Taxation directly rather than through a county auditor.

Picking the wrong type won’t get the application rejected, but it will complicate filing returns later. Choose based on whether you have a fixed physical location.

Filling Out Form ST-1

The form is short. Having your information ready before you start prevents the small errors that slow processing.

Business Identification

Enter your legal business name exactly as registered with the Ohio Secretary of State. Sole proprietors without a registered business name use their full legal name. You need either a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or your Social Security Number. The federal Privacy Act notice on the form states that an SSN is mandatory if you don’t have an FEIN.³

NAICS Code and Business Description

The form asks for a six-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and a written description of what you sell.³ If you don’t know your code, look it up on the Census Bureau’s NAICS tool or the Ohio Department of Taxation website. Examples: 722511 for restaurants, 448140 for clothing retailers, 561730 for lawn care. Pick the code that matches your primary revenue activity, not a side service.

Addresses and Start Date

You’ll provide three addresses: your primary business location, a mailing address for tax correspondence, and the site where sales actually occur. For most single-location businesses these are all the same.³

The form also asks the date you began or will begin making taxable sales in Ohio. The Department uses this to set your first filing period. If you’ve already been selling without a license, enter the real start date. Backdating won’t fix the underlying issue, and being accurate here keeps a small problem from becoming a larger one at audit.

The $50 Fee

Both the county and transient vendor’s licenses cost $50. This fee increased from $25 effective April 9, 2025, under House Bill 366, with the added $25 directed to the Organized Crime Commission Fund.⁴

It’s a one-time charge. There is no annual renewal, and the license stays valid until you close the business, transfer ownership, or the Tax Commissioner revokes it.

The fee is non-refundable. The Department of Taxation has stated it cannot refund vendor’s license application fees under any circumstances.⁴ Finalize your business structure and location before you pay. Changing counties later means a new application and another $50.

How to Submit the Application

Online Through OH|Tax eServices

The Department of Taxation recommends applying electronically rather than mailing a paper form.¹ Online registration issues your license immediately and sets up the account you’ll use later to file sales tax returns.

Create an OH|Tax eServices account at the Department of Taxation’s website, select the vendor’s license registration option, enter your business information, and pay the $50 fee electronically. Your license number is generated on the spot.⁵ Ohio requires all sales tax returns to be filed electronically anyway, so this account is one you’ll need regardless.

Paper Application by Mail

If you prefer paper, download ST-1 from the Department of Taxation’s website or pick one up at your county auditor’s office. Mail a completed county vendor’s license application and $50 payment to the county auditor where your business is located. Mail a transient vendor’s license application directly to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Paper applications can take up to six weeks to process.¹ You technically cannot make taxable sales during that wait, which is the practical case for using the online route.

When You Don’t Need ST-1

If you sell exclusively through a marketplace platform such as Amazon, Etsy, or Walmart Marketplace, the platform is treated as the seller for sales tax purposes and handles collection and remittance. You wouldn’t need your own vendor’s license for those sales. Sell through your own website, at craft fairs, or from a physical storefront alongside the marketplace, and you still need the license for those channels.

After You Receive the License

Display It

Ohio law requires you to display your vendor’s license, or a copy, prominently at every location where you make sales.² For a shop, that usually means near the register. For a transient vendor, a copy visible at the booth.

File Sales Tax Returns

Once licensed, you collect the correct sales tax rate on every taxable transaction and remit it on the schedule Ohio assigns based on your tax liability:

Monthly filers, the default for most vendors, file by the 23rd of the following month. Businesses with over $75,000 in annual tax liability must pay electronically.
Semi-annual filers, available when tax liability is under $1,200 per six-month period, file by the 23rd of the month after each semi-annual period closes.

All returns are filed electronically through OH|Tax eServices.⁶ Even a period with zero taxable sales requires a return showing $0. Skipping a period because you had no sales is a common mistake and it triggers penalty notices.

Keep Your Records

Ohio requires you to keep sales records, purchase invoices, and exemption certificates for at least four years from the later of the return’s due date or the date you filed it.⁷ That covers daily sales summaries, register tapes, exemption certificates from wholesale buyers, and records of tax-exempt sales. If you’re audited and can’t produce documentation, the auditor will estimate your liability, and those estimates rarely favor the vendor.

1
Ohio Department of Taxation. Application for Vendor’s License to Make Taxable Sales
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5739.17 – Vendor’s License
3
Ohio Department of Taxation. Application for Vendor’s License to Make Taxable Sales
4
Ohio Department of Taxation. Vendor’s License Fee Change Coming Soon
5
Ohio Department of Taxation. Register for a Vendor’s License or Seller’s Use Tax Account
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Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Rule 5703-29-18 – Records Retention Requirements