Do You Need a Business License to Sell on Amazon?

When you register, Amazon asks you to pick a business type, and one of the choices is “None, I am an individual.” Amazon’s seller registration guide says plainly that you do not need to be a company to sell.

To open the account, you provide a government ID, an email address, a chargeable credit card, a bank account, proof of your address, and your tax information. If you already have a registered business, Amazon has fields for its registration details. If you don’t, you select the individual option and move on. Either way, Amazon does not decide whether your local government requires a license.

So if your only question is “will Amazon stop me from selling without a license,” the answer is no.

Most cities and counties require some form of general business license or business tax registration, and selling on Amazon counts as running a business. That usually applies even if you work from home and even if it’s just you.

Requirements, fees, and renewal cycles vary a lot from one place to the next, so there’s no single number to quote. Start with your city or county clerk’s office, or the business licensing section of its website. Searching “[your city] business license” usually lands you on the right page.

If you run your selling business out of your house, your city may also require a home occupation permit. It’s a separate application from a general business license, and having one doesn’t mean you have the other.

Amazon doesn’t require a business license, but your state might, and the only way to know is to check your own state’s rules. Some states have a statewide business license or registration. Many leave it to the city or county. A few don’t require a general license at all.

The table below links to the official business licensing or registration page for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., so you can go straight to the source instead of guessing.

Sales tax registration trips up more sellers than any license does.

Amazon collects and remits sales tax for you as a “marketplace facilitator” in every state that has a sales tax, plus Washington, D.C., so that part is handled. But some states may still require you to register for a sales tax permit and file returns, sometimes just a “zero return,” once your inventory is stored there.

Your inventory may be in another state because FBA moves it there. When Amazon stores your products in a fulfillment center, that can create nexus, a legal connection to that state that can bring a registration or filing obligation, no matter who actually remits the tax.

Don’t assume you’re done just because Amazon handles the collecting. Check the rules in any state where your inventory sits.

People also confuse a resale certificate with a license. A resale certificate lets you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it, and it gives you no permission to run a business. If you source on Amazon, see how adding a sales tax exemption to your Amazon account works.

“Amazon letting you sell and your state letting you run a business are two different questions.”

You don’t need an LLC to sell on Amazon, and an LLC does not count as a license.

An LLC is a business structure. It separates your personal assets from your business and shapes how you’re taxed. If you file nothing, you’re a sole proprietor by default, and the law treats you and your business as the same person. Neither one is a license, and picking one doesn’t settle the license question. A sole proprietor can still need a city business license, and so can an LLC, on top of forming the company.

Choose your structure based on liability and taxes, since Amazon doesn’t ask for one.

Amazon doesn’t ask for a license, but it does eventually require insurance. Once you pass $10,000 in gross proceeds in a single month, you must carry $1 million in commercial liability coverage, and you have 30 days to get it in place.

Starting November 2, 2026, sellers with listings in 11 enhanced-safety categories must carry that coverage no matter how much they sell. Amazon emails the sellers it believes need coverage, and they have 45 days to submit proof before those listings can be deactivated.

This requirement has a firm deadline and real consequences, and it’s separate from any business license. I break down who needs it, when, and how to keep the cost reasonable in Amazon’s liability insurance requirements.

People lump these in with licensing, but they cover something else.

Some Amazon categories are “gated,” which means you need Amazon’s approval to sell in them. Getting “ungated” is Amazon’s permission to list a brand or category. It is not a government license, and it doesn’t mean the brand authorized you either.

Separately, some products carry their own regulatory requirements. Supplements, food, cosmetics, and similar items can bring FDA or other rules into play. That’s product compliance, which is a separate subject from whether your business needs a license to exist.

You can sell on Amazon’s US marketplace without a US business license. You’ll provide your tax information during setup, and your own country’s rules still apply to you. If you’re an international seller, talk to someone who knows your local requirements, because those don’t go away just because your customers are in the US.

Amazon: no.

Your city, county, or state: often yes for a general business license, and often a sales tax registration in states where your inventory is stored.

The safest move takes a phone call and a few minutes with the table above. Ask your city or county clerk two things: does my selling business need a general business license here, and do I need a home occupation permit to run it from my house? Then check the sales tax registration rules for any state holding your FBA inventory.

Skipping this because “Amazon doesn’t require it” is how sellers end up paying back fees and penalties later for something a short check would have caught.