How to Get a Retail License in Indiana: INBiz Application and Fees

To get a retail license in Indiana, you apply for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate (RRMC) through the state’s INBiz portal, pay $25 for each business location, and begin collecting Indiana’s 7% sales tax from your customers. The certificate has to be in hand before your first sale. Selling without it is a criminal offense, so this is the first box to check when you’re setting up a retail business in the state.¹

Who Needs the Certificate

Anyone selling tangible personal property to Indiana consumers needs an RRMC. Storefronts, pop-ups, market vendors, and online sellers shipping into the state all fall under the same rule. Each separate sales location requires its own certificate and its own $25 fee.¹

If you’re based outside Indiana, you still need to register once your gross revenue from sales delivered into the state passes $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. Indiana dropped its old 200-transaction threshold effective January 1, 2024, so only the dollar figure matters now.²

What to Gather Before You Apply

The application is Indiana’s Business Tax Application, Form BT-1. Pulling this material together first will save you from restarting a timed-out session.

Your legal business name, exactly as it appears on your Secretary of State formation documents.
A Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) for partnerships, corporations, and LLCs. The IRS issues these immediately online. Sole proprietors without employees may use a Social Security Number instead.³⁴
Your business entity type: sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, or other.
The physical street address of each location where you’ll make sales. This determines the local taxing jurisdiction.
A six-digit NAICS code for your industry. Retail generally sits in NAICS 44-45. The wrong code won’t block your application, but it can complicate later audits.⁵
Names and identification numbers for all owners, partners, or responsible officers. Indiana uses these to hold specific individuals accountable for collected sales tax.⁴

How to Apply Through INBiz

INBiz is Indiana’s centralized business portal, run jointly by the Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Workforce Development.⁶ Create a login, verify your identity, and open the tax registration section to start the BT-1.

The system prompts you through each field, then asks you to review your entries, sign digitally, and submit. If you’re also forming a new business entity, you can do that in the same session. Payment happens at the end.

Fees and How Long It Takes

The fee is $25 per business location.¹ Three storefronts would run $75. INBiz accepts credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks. Credit card payments through government portals often carry a convenience surcharge of 2% to 3%, so an electronic check is usually cheaper.

Online applications are typically processed within two business days.⁷ After that, you can download the electronic certificate, and the Department of Revenue also mails a physical copy to your registered address. The DOR doesn’t publish a mailing timeframe, so plan for a week or two.

Buying Inventory Tax-Free

Once you have the RRMC, you can buy resale inventory without paying the 7% sales tax. Give your supplier a completed Indiana Form ST-105, the General Sales Tax Exemption Certificate. The form asks for your Taxpayer Identification Number and location number from your RRMC, a description of what you’re buying, and a signed declaration that the goods are for resale.⁸

The exemption only covers items you’re actually going to resell. Using an ST-105 for personal purchases is fraud and can cost you the certificate. Suppliers keep the form on file to justify the tax-exempt sale, so there is a paper trail. The form cannot be used for utilities, vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, or gasoline.⁸

Filing Sales Tax Returns

Getting the certificate is only the start. Once you’re registered, Indiana requires monthly returns whether or not you made any sales. Your due date depends on how much tax you collect.

If your average monthly tax liability was $1,000 or more during the prior fiscal year (ending June 30), your return is due by the 20th of the following month.
If your average monthly liability was under $1,000, the return is due by the 30th of the following month.⁹

Months where you collected nothing still require a $0 return. Skipping filings because there was no revenue is one of the most common mistakes new retailers make, and it puts the certificate at risk.¹⁰

Renewal and Display

The RRMC is valid for two years.¹ Renewal is automatic and free as long as your returns and payments are current. If you have unfiled returns or unpaid liabilities, the department revokes the certificate instead of renewing it. A revoked certificate can be reinstated after you catch up on filings and either pay off the balance or set up a payment plan; reissue takes about seven days.¹⁰

You must display the physical certificate at each business location where you collect sales tax.⁷ Post it where customers and inspectors can see it during normal hours, and request a replacement quickly if it’s lost or damaged.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Enforcement escalates quickly in Indiana.

Making retail sales without an active RRMC is a Class B misdemeanor, whether you never applied, let the certificate lapse, or had it revoked.¹¹
Late payment of collected tax carries a 10% penalty on the unpaid amount, plus 2% interest.¹²
Late-filed returns can trigger a penalty of up to 20% of the tax due, with a $5 minimum even when no tax is owed for the period.¹⁰

The real risk is the cascade. A few missed filings lead to revocation. A revoked certificate means you can’t legally sell, can’t issue exemption certificates to suppliers, and may face criminal charges on top of back taxes. Filing every month, including zero-dollar returns, is the simplest way to avoid that spiral.

If You Close the Business

Don’t just walk away from an active certificate. Indiana requires $0 returns for any period the registration is still open.¹⁰ Contact the Department of Revenue to close your sales tax account, file a final return covering your last period of operation, and remit any remaining collected tax. That closes the loop and keeps notices from arriving months after you’ve shut the doors.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-2.5-8-1 – Registered Retail Merchants Certificate; Application; Filing Fee
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Remote Seller
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Business Tax Application Checklist
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retail Trade: NAICS 44-45
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Indiana Secretary of State. INBiz – Indiana’s One Stop Source for Your Business
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Business FAQ
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Indiana Department of Revenue. General Sales Tax Exemption Certificate Form ST-105
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Filing Deadlines
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Sales Tax
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Justia. Indiana Code Title 6 Article 2.5 Chapter 9 – Enforcement and Penalties
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Indiana Department of Revenue. Fines, Fees and Penalties