No state currently issues a dedicated florist license. To open a florist shop, you need a general business license from your city or county, a sales tax registration from your state, and, if you plan to sell live plants, a nursery stock dealer license from your state’s department of agriculture. Louisiana was the last state to require a florist-specific credential with a written exam, and its legislature repealed that requirement in 2024. Everything else on the checklist is the ordinary machinery of starting a retail business: picking a legal entity, getting a tax ID, and complying with local zoning.
Cut Flowers or Live Plants: The Question That Decides Your Permits
Before anything else, figure out what you actually plan to sell. A shop that sells bouquets, corsages, centerpieces, and other arrangements made from cut stems faces a far shorter licensing checklist than one selling potted orchids, bedding annuals, or perennial shrubs. Michigan’s nursery licensing rules, for example, explicitly exempt businesses that sell only cut flowers, annual flowers, and non-hardy plants.
If your inventory includes anything with roots that a customer could plant outdoors, you’re likely regulated as a nursery stock dealer and need a permit from your state’s agriculture department. If you stick to cut flowers, ribbons, and vases, you can usually skip the agriculture side entirely and focus on the general business registrations below.
Register the Business
Choose a Legal Structure
Most florists operate as sole proprietorships, LLCs, or corporations. A sole proprietorship is the simplest and in most states requires no formal filing, but it offers no personal liability protection. An LLC or corporation requires formation documents filed with your secretary of state, typically costing between $50 and $500 depending on the state. Your choice determines how you’re taxed, what you’re personally on the hook for, and which forms you’ll file going forward.
Register a DBA If You Need One
If you’ll operate under any name other than your own legal name, you need to register a “doing business as” (DBA) name, sometimes called a fictitious business name. Most states require this before you can open a business bank account or hold permits under your trade name. Filing goes through your county clerk or secretary of state and costs between $10 and $100.
Get an EIN
An Employer Identification Number is a federal tax ID from the IRS. You need one if you’ll hire employees, operate as a partnership or corporation, or pay excise taxes. Sole proprietors with no employees can legally use their Social Security Number instead, though many prefer an EIN to keep their personal number off business paperwork. The IRS issues EINs for free through its online application, and you receive the number immediately.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
Register for Sales Tax
Every state that collects sales tax requires retailers to register for a seller’s permit, sales tax license, or similar credential before making taxable sales. Floral arrangements, including the flowers, vase, ribbon, and delivery charges, are generally taxable. You collect sales tax at the rate where the arrangement is delivered, not where your shop sits. Registration is usually free through your state’s department of revenue.
Once you’re registered, you can give a resale certificate to your flower suppliers to buy inventory tax-free, since you’ll collect sales tax from the end customer. Items that become part of the arrangement (flowers, cards, ribbons) qualify. Supplies you use but don’t resell, like floral foam, cleaning products, or tools, are taxable purchases to your business.
Nursery Stock Dealer License
If your business sells live plants, your state’s department of agriculture almost certainly requires a nursery stock dealer license. These permits exist to prevent the spread of invasive pests and plant diseases and to let inspectors monitor what’s being sold and where it came from.
Applications are similar across states. You’ll provide your business name, the physical address of each sales location, a contact person for regulatory communications, and a list of the plant material you sell (potted tropicals, bedding annuals, perennial shrubs, and so on). Annual fees generally range from $25 to $150 depending on the state and scale of operation. If you propagate plants on-site, you’ll need a grower permit instead, which tends to cost more and involves acreage-based fees plus mandatory facility inspections.
Expect periodic inspections once you hold the license. Inspectors check for pests, disease, and compliance with plant health standards. Keeping organized purchase records that trace your inventory back to approved growers makes these visits routine. Most jurisdictions also require you to display your business license and any agricultural permits where customers and inspectors can see them.
If you sell only cut flowers, most states exempt you from nursery stock licensing entirely. This is where aspiring florists often over-prepare: a shop selling bouquets, corsages, and centerpieces made from cut stems typically needs nothing on the agriculture side beyond the general business and sales tax registrations.
Local Business License and Zoning
Most cities and counties require a general business operating license or occupational tax certificate before you open. This is the baseline permit that says your municipality knows you exist and you’re authorized to do business at a specific address. Fees vary widely. The process usually involves an application at your city clerk’s or business licensing office, an annual fee, and confirmation that your location is zoned for retail.
Home-Based Florist Operations
Running a florist business from home adds a layer of zoning rules. Most residential zones allow home occupations but impose restrictions to keep the neighborhood residential in character. Common rules include capping the business at a small percentage of your home’s livable space (often 20 percent or less), prohibiting exterior signage beyond one small sign, banning on-site employees who don’t live in the home, and restricting customer traffic and deliveries. Storing bulk floral supplies in garages or yards may also be prohibited.
Some municipalities require a separate home occupation permit, which typically costs between $25 and $150 and may require a zoning review or neighbor notification. The biggest trap is customer pickup: if clients regularly come to your home to collect orders, some zoning codes treat that as impermissible retail activity in a residential zone. Shifting to delivery-only or meeting customers off-site can solve this, but check your local code before assuming your home setup is legal.
If You Import Flowers Directly
Most cut flowers sold in the United States are imported, primarily from Colombia, Ecuador, and the Netherlands. If you import directly rather than buying from a domestic wholesaler, you take on federal obligations that retail-only florists never touch. If you only buy from U.S. wholesalers, skip this section.
USDA and APHIS
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulates plant and plant-product imports. Requirements vary by species and country of origin. APHIS maintains the ACIR (Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements) database where you can look up what documentation your shipment needs. At minimum, incoming plant shipments must be reported through the Automated Commercial Environment system, and most require a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country’s agricultural authority confirming the plants are pest-free.2Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Plant and Plant Product Imports
Customs Documentation
Commercial floral shipments entering the U.S. require standard customs entry documentation, including CBP Form 7501 (Entry Summary) and CBP Form 5106 to establish your importer identity. Most florists who import use a licensed customs broker, which adds cost but dramatically reduces the risk of shipments being held at the port.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Entry Summary and Post Release Processes
Lacey Act Declarations
The Lacey Act requires importers to declare the genus, species, country of harvest, quantity, and value of all plant products entering the country. This applies to cut flowers and live plants alike. Penalties are steep. A false declaration can result in civil fines up to $10,000 per violation, and criminal penalties for trafficking in illegally harvested plants can reach $250,000 and five years in prison for individuals. Even unknowing violations can trigger civil forfeiture of the shipment. Most legitimate importers satisfy this requirement through their customs broker, but you’re ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the declaration.4Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). FAQ: Lacey Act Declaration Requirements
CITES-Protected Species
Some plants used in the floral trade are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Orchids are the most common example: the entire orchid family (Orchidaceae) is listed under CITES Appendix II, meaning international trade requires permits or documentation from the exporting country’s wildlife authority. A practical exception exists for cut flowers and seedlings of artificially propagated hybrid orchids, which are generally exempt. If you’re importing wild-collected specimens or species listed under the stricter Appendix I, you’ll need a CITES permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before the shipment can enter.5U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CITES Document Requirements
Hiring: Delivery Drivers and Workers’ Comp
Florists who hire delivery drivers need to classify them correctly as employees or independent contractors. Getting this wrong exposes you to back taxes, penalties, and wage claims. Under the federal economic reality test, a driver is an employee if they’re economically dependent on your business rather than operating their own independent delivery service. The Department of Labor weighs six factors, including how much control you exercise over the driver’s schedule and routes, whether the driver uses their own vehicle and serves other clients, and whether delivery is a core part of your business.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 13: Employment Relationship Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Labels don’t matter here. Calling someone an “independent contractor,” paying them on a 1099, or having them sign a contractor agreement doesn’t change their legal classification if the relationship looks like employment. Most florist delivery drivers who work set shifts, use a company vehicle, and deliver only for one shop will be employees regardless of what the paperwork says.
Many states mandate workers’ compensation coverage once you hire even one employee. Confirm your state’s threshold before your first hire.
Business Insurance
No federal law requires florists to carry business insurance, but operating without it is reckless. A customer who slips on a wet floor, an allergic reaction to a floral arrangement at a wedding, or a delivery driver accident can produce liability claims that would bankrupt a small shop. General liability insurance for a florist typically runs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per year depending on revenue, location, and coverage limits.
Beyond general liability, consider commercial property insurance to cover your inventory (flowers are perishable and expensive), a commercial auto policy if you own delivery vehicles, and workers’ compensation if you have employees. Your landlord may also require proof of liability insurance before signing a commercial lease.
Renewals and Ongoing Compliance
Licenses and permits aren’t one-time tasks. Most business licenses, sales tax registrations, and nursery stock dealer permits renew annually or biennially. Missing a renewal can mean fines or temporary suspension of your authority to sell. Most agencies send reminders, but the responsibility is yours; put the dates on your calendar.
For sales tax, you’ll file returns on a schedule set by your state (monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on volume). Failing to remit collected sales tax is treated seriously by every state because it’s considered holding government funds, and penalties accumulate quickly. If your business grows into new states through online or wire service orders, revisit your sales tax obligations in those states at least once a year.