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To open an online store in the United States, choose what to sell and how to fulfill orders, establish the business appropriately for its owners and location, check permits and tax obligations, then set up payments, shipping, customer policies, and bookkeeping before launch. There is no single federal “online store license”: requirements vary with the business structure, where it operates and keeps inventory, what it sells, and where its customers are. The SBA launch checklist treats location, structure, registration, tax IDs, permits, banking, and insurance as separate decisions.
1. Decide what you will sell and how orders will be fulfilled
Start with the customer and the product, not the website. Your product, sales channel, and fulfillment model affect your costs, legal requirements, delivery promises, returns, and potential sales-tax obligations.
- Own-inventory retail: You buy or make stock, store it, and ship it yourself or through a fulfillment provider. You control more of the customer experience but take on inventory and storage risk.
- Dropshipping: A supplier ships to the customer after an order. You may avoid holding stock, but remain the seller the customer paid; supplier delays, defects, refunds, and chargebacks still affect your business.
- Print-on-demand or made-to-order: Products are produced or customized after purchase. Check production capacity, proofing, delivery estimates, and the limits of returns for personalized goods.
- Digital products or subscriptions: Downloads, software, courses, memberships, and recurring deliveries need clear access, cancellation, billing, and support processes. Tax treatment can vary by state and product.
- Marketplace or social commerce: Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, and social channels can provide reach, but impose their own fees and account rules. A marketplace’s tax collection does not automatically settle your obligations for direct sales.
- Wholesale or B2B: Selling to businesses can require different pricing, payment terms, resale documentation, and order workflows than selling to consumers.
Before committing money, answer these questions: Who is the target customer? Is the product legal to sell in the intended markets? Is it regulated, perishable, fragile, age-restricted, or safety-sensitive? Who owns inventory and handles a defective or late order? What remains from each sale after product cost, payment fees, packaging, shipping, expected refunds, and customer acquisition?
Food, supplements, cosmetics, children’s goods, alcohol, firearms, medical products, CBD or cannabis-related products, imported goods, and products containing hazardous materials can trigger requirements beyond ordinary retail. Check the rules for the particular product and jurisdictions before listing it; a general business registration is not approval to sell a regulated product.
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2. Work out the economics before ordering stock
There is no reliable universal startup-cost figure: a digital product, a home-based handmade shop, and an inventory-heavy brand have different needs. List one-time setup costs and recurring operating costs separately.
- State formation or DBA filings, local licenses, and permits.
- Domain, ecommerce subscription, payment processing, and any necessary apps or extensions.
- Samples, initial inventory, production, packaging, product photography, design, and copywriting.
- Postage, fulfillment, storage, returns, replacements, and chargebacks.
- Insurance, bookkeeping, tax tools, professional advice, and marketing.
The SBA business guide recommends estimating startup costs; expenses such as licenses, insurance, wages, and operating costs vary by location. Build a contribution-margin estimate for a typical order:
Contribution margin per order = selling price − product cost − payment fee − packaging − shipping subsidy − expected return or refund cost − variable advertising cost.
Then estimate how many orders cover monthly fixed costs:
Break-even orders = monthly fixed costs ÷ contribution margin per order.
This is a planning estimate, not a sales forecast. Include “free” shipping in the calculation: the cost is paid by the business, built into the product price, or offset by a threshold. A low advertised platform subscription may also require paid apps, higher-tier features, developer support, or separate shipping and tax software. Compare expected total cost at your likely sales volume rather than the headline monthly price.
3. Choose the business location and structure
Identify the owner’s home state or country, the actual operating address, warehouses and fulfillment locations, employee locations, and the states where inventory may be stored. These facts can matter for registration, tax, licenses, and insurance. Selling to customers in a state does not by itself mean you must form an entity there. Entity registration, foreign qualification, income-tax filing, sales-tax collection, and marketplace-facilitator rules are separate questions.
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| Situation | Possible starting point | Main caution |
|---|---|---|
| One owner testing a small business under their legal name | Sole proprietorship | No separate entity liability shield; local and product rules may still apply. |
| One owner seeking a state-created entity | Single-member LLC | State fees, filings, and ongoing compliance still apply; tax treatment depends on circumstances and elections. |
| Two or more owners | Multi-member LLC or partnership | Agree in writing on ownership, decisions, contributions, and distributions; tax and liability issues can be significant. |
| Business seeking investors or issuing shares | Corporation | Formal governance and tax administration are more involved. |
| Established profitable business considering payroll-tax planning | LLC or corporation with tax advice | An S-corporation election is a federal tax election, not a standalone state entity type, and is not automatically beneficial. |
A sole proprietor operating under their own legal name may not need to form an entity. An LLC or corporation generally requires state registration. An LLC can separate certain business liabilities from personal assets when properly maintained, but it does not eliminate taxes or every possible personal liability. A partnership has shared-owner and tax considerations; a corporation has separate governance requirements. The IRS explains common forms and their filing implications in its business structures guidance.
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4. Check the name, domain, and trademark separately
These four things are not interchangeable:
- Entity name: The name recorded with the state when you form an entity.
- DBA or assumed name: A name used in business that differs from the owner’s or entity’s legal name. Filing rules vary by state and locality.
- Trademark: A qualifying brand identifier protected under applicable trademark law. A federal application does not guarantee registration or resolve every conflict.
- Domain: The web address you control. Owning it does not itself grant trademark rights.
Before ordering packaging or investing in advertising, search the state business registry, marketplaces, social platforms, domain registries, and the USPTO trademark database for identical and confusingly similar names, particularly in related product categories. Consider trademark counsel if the brand is central to the business or a search reveals a potential conflict. Keep control of the domain account in the business’s name, enable account security, and track renewal dates; do not let a freelancer or agency be its sole owner.
5. Register the business and get an EIN when applicable
The filings depend on the selected structure and the place of operation. The SBA’s launch checklist covers structure, registration, tax IDs, licenses, banking, and insurance. For an LLC or corporation, check the formation state’s requirements, including a registered agent, formation documents, and any initial or annual reports. Register a DBA if required, and check whether operations in another state require foreign qualification. A sole proprietor may have fewer formation filings but can still need local permits or a tax registration.
An EIN is a federal tax identification number. The IRS says it is required in various situations, including for many employers, corporations, and partnerships; a sole proprietor without employees may not always be required to obtain one. A business might still choose to get an EIN for banking or vendor administration. It does not form an LLC, replace a state tax ID, or make the business tax-exempt. Apply through the IRS’s EIN information page; the application is free, so there is no need to pay an intermediary merely to submit it.
Open a business bank account where appropriate and keep business and personal transactions distinct. Ask the bank about its entity documents and identification requirements. The IRS’s business-starting checklist includes selecting a structure, obtaining an EIN when applicable, choosing a tax year, handling employee forms, and paying business taxes. The IRS page was reviewed or updated May 27, 2026; its starting-a-business guidance was reviewed or updated June 28, 2026.
6. Check licenses, permits, and product rules
There is no single nationwide license for an ordinary online retail store. Requirements depend on the activity, business address, storage locations, employees, and product. State, county, and city rules may apply even when sales happen online. Start with the relevant state and local government agencies and the SBA’s permit and license guidance. For regulated goods, check the responsible federal agency as well as state and local authorities before buying inventory or accepting orders.
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For example, food, alcohol, cosmetics, supplements, children’s products, health-related products, firearms, imports, and hazardous materials can each raise distinct licensing, labeling, safety, age-verification, shipping, or claims issues. Product-specific review is particularly important when the business operates from home or uses a supplier that ships across state lines.
7. Map federal, state, and local tax obligations
Federal business taxes
Depending on structure and activity, a store may need to address income tax, self-employment tax, employment taxes, estimated payments, information reporting, or excise tax on certain products. The IRS startup checklist outlines initial tax and recordkeeping steps. Keep order records, receipts, inventory records, processor statements, refunds, and tax filings organized from the first sale. An accountant can help choose an appropriate bookkeeping method and tax year, particularly where there are multiple owners, employees, or an entity-tax election.
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Sales tax is not one national system. A state may require a seller to register and collect tax when the seller has a sufficient connection, or nexus, with that state. Potential factors include a physical business presence, stored inventory, employees, economic activity or sales thresholds, and particular fulfillment arrangements. Thresholds and rules differ and can change, so determine obligations using the relevant state tax authority rather than a permanent nationwide rule of thumb.
Marketplace facilitator laws require many marketplaces to collect and remit tax on covered marketplace transactions. That does not necessarily end a seller’s duties: registration, returns, records, marketplace-sale reporting, and tax on direct website sales may still need attention. Product taxability also varies: digital goods, services, shipping, memberships, and bundled offers may receive different treatment. Resale certificates and wholesale purchases have their own conditions; a certificate is not a blanket exemption from every tax.
Before collecting tax, establish where registration is required and register with the appropriate agency. Then distinguish marketplace transactions from direct sales, keep exemption documentation where relevant, and set filing and remittance reminders. The Streamlined Sales Tax organization provides state resources, but it does not replace checking the rules that apply to your business.
Tax settings in an ecommerce platform
Automatic calculation is a tool, not a determination that you have registered correctly or met every filing duty. In Shopify, the documented U.S. route is Shopify admin → Settings → Taxes and duties → United States tax settings. Shopify’s U.S. tax setup documentation tells merchants to determine whether they must collect tax, register with relevant agencies, and configure tax settings. Other platforms have different controls. Check product categories, business and warehouse addresses, shipping treatment, and marketplace versus direct sales, then reconcile collected amounts to platform reports and filed returns.
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You can sell through a hosted storefront, a self-hosted site, a marketplace, or a combination. The best choice depends on how much control and maintenance you want, the size and complexity of the catalog, and where you expect customers to come from.
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| Approach | Useful when | Trade-offs to assess |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted ecommerce platform | You want an integrated storefront, checkout, hosting, and relatively quick setup. | Recurring subscriptions, payment or platform fees, app costs, vendor policies, and migration work. Examples include Shopify, Wix Ecommerce, Squarespace Commerce, BigCommerce, and Square Online. |
| Self-hosted ecommerce | You want control and flexibility, especially if your business already uses WordPress. | Hosting, updates, backups, security, plugin compatibility, and troubleshooting become your responsibility. WooCommerce is a common WordPress option; the core software is not the full operating cost. |
| Marketplace-first | You want to test demand in an existing shopping environment or reach marketplace customers. | Commissions and other fees, account and product rules, adjacent competition, and less control over the customer relationship. |
| Hybrid | You want marketplace reach alongside a branded store you control. | Inventory, order, pricing, customer-service, and tax records must be coordinated across channels. |
Compare the total cost and capabilities that matter to your operation: subscription and payment fees, extra transaction fees, point-of-sale support, product and variant capacity, shipping tools, tax integrations, marketplace connections, email and customer-management features, search-engine controls, exportability, abandoned-cart options, international support, and customer service. Also check cancellation terms and how you would move products and customer data if you leave. Platform vendors’ pricing and included features change; consult their current official pages rather than relying on an old plan comparison. A marketplace can help with discovery, but it does not remove your responsibility for accurate listings, product legality, fulfillment, and customer service.
9. Set up checkout and payment processing
Choose a payment provider that supports the store’s country, currencies, billing model, and platform. Compare domestic and international card rates, fixed fees, conversion costs, dispute fees, payout timing, recurring billing, fraud controls, wallet support, and reconciliation tools. Card providers and payment services such as Stripe, PayPal, and Square publish their terms and fees on their official sites; check current details for your account and sales channel rather than assuming one provider is cheapest for every business.
Complete the provider’s business verification early. A storefront can be ready while the payment account is still under review, and providers may delay payouts, request more documentation, impose reserves, or restrict accounts under their terms. Have an appropriate alternative payment method where feasible, and understand how to issue full and partial refunds. Reconcile orders, processor fees, refunds, disputes, and payouts with the business’s accounting records.
10. Build accurate product pages and delivery operations
Use a domain and storefront you control, with a mobile-friendly layout, clear contact information, working search where useful, and a checkout customers can complete. Each product page should describe what the item is and who it is for, with relevant dimensions, ingredients or materials, specifications, variants, compatibility, included components, price, stock status, dispatch timing, delivery expectations, return terms, warranties, and safety warnings. Use your own accurate descriptions and images or material you have permission to use; supplier copy can contain claims you cannot substantiate.
Choose self-fulfillment, a third-party logistics provider (3PL), dropshipping, print-on-demand, marketplace fulfillment, or local delivery based on the product and order economics. For a 3PL, compare receiving, storage, pick-and-pack, postage, minimums, returns handling, inventory accuracy, geographic coverage, integrations, and contract terms. For shipping software, check whether your existing platform already provides adequate labels and tracking before adding another subscription.
Set package sizes and weights, service areas, rates or free-shipping thresholds, processing time, tracking, return-shipping responsibility, and procedures for damaged, incorrect, lost, or undeliverable parcels. “Ships in two business days” describes processing; “arrives in two business days” promises delivery. Do not confuse carrier transit estimates with the time you control.
The FTC’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule guide says that when no shipping time is stated, the rule generally requires shipment within 30 days. If a seller cannot ship as promised, covered orders require the applicable delay notice and a cancellation and refund option. Make promises you can reasonably meet and follow the rule’s procedures when delays occur.
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11. Publish customer policies and protect customer information
Before taking orders, write policies that match how the store actually operates. Make them easy to find before checkout and specific enough for a customer to understand what happens next.
- Shipping: State processing times, delivery estimates, service areas, tracking practices, and how delays or lost parcels are handled.
- Returns and refunds: Explain the return window, eligible and excluded items, condition requirements, final-sale or personalized goods, who pays return postage, restocking charges if any, refund timing, exchanges, and damaged or incorrect orders.
- Cancellations and recurring orders: Explain when an order can be changed or stopped, and how customers cancel a subscription or recurring charge.
- Warranties and guarantees: Describe the actual coverage and exclusions; avoid promising a remedy the business cannot provide.
- Privacy and terms: Explain what information is collected, why it is used, relevant sharing, choices available to customers, and the terms governing purchases.
- Contact and support: Provide a monitored way to reach the business and a process for order questions, complaints, and disputes.
Do not advertise a blanket federal 30-day return right for all online purchases. Return rights depend on applicable law, product and warranty rules, what the seller promised, and the store’s own policy. The FTC’s online shopping guidance advises consumers to review shipping, refund, and return terms. For covered delayed shipments under the mail-order rule, a seller may have to refund the payment rather than substitute store credit.
U.S. privacy requirements are not one uniform ecommerce rule. State privacy and breach-notification laws, sector-specific requirements, children’s privacy rules, and other laws may apply depending on the data, business, and customer. A generic policy does not itself establish compliance or secure customer data. Restrict account access, use strong authentication, review apps and vendors, retain information only as needed, and make a response plan for a suspected breach. Payment processing does not eliminate the merchant’s responsibility to handle data and account access carefully.
12. Market the store with supportable claims
Claims about health benefits, safety, performance, environmental effects, “Made in USA” status, discounts, scarcity, delivery, guarantees, and comparisons should be accurate and backed by a reasonable basis. Do not create fake reviews or condition an incentive on a positive review; disclose material relationships and follow the rules applicable to endorsements. The FTC’s online advertising and marketing guidance covers clear disclosures and advertising responsibilities. The Consumer Review Fairness Act guidance explains protections around honest customer reviews.
Commercial email must comply with CAN-SPAM. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM compliance guide says the law applies to commercial email, including business-to-business commercial messages, and describes requirements such as accurate identification and an opt-out method. Build an unsubscribe process and honor requests rather than treating a privacy policy as a substitute for compliant marketing practices.
13. Test the full order journey before launch
Test from a customer’s phone as well as a computer. Use test mode or a properly controlled low-value order where available, and confirm that the payment, tax, inventory, email, fulfillment, and refund steps work together. Do not test by charging a customer-facing live card without understanding the provider’s test and refund procedures.
- Successful payment and a declined payment.
- Coupon or promotion, product variants, and an out-of-stock item.
- Different shipping zones and delivery options.
- Relevant taxable and non-taxable product scenarios, with tax settings checked against your registrations.
- Order confirmation and shipping confirmation emails, including links and contact details.
- Full refund, partial refund, and cancellation.
- Mobile checkout and the entire path from product page to confirmation.
- Inventory update, tracking details, and a delayed or failed fulfillment procedure.
Before accepting public orders, confirm that registrations and permits have been reviewed, the payment account is approved, the products and claims are supportable, and the shipping and return policies are visible. Make sure the support inbox is monitored and that the business can reconcile an order to its payout and tax records.
14. Keep the business compliant after launch
Opening the store is the start of an operating cycle, not a one-time website project. Reconcile orders and payouts, record fees and refunds, monitor chargebacks, review inventory and supplier performance, and save tax and exemption records. File required federal, state, and local returns on schedule; renew registrations, permits, insurance, and the domain as applicable. Review shipping performance, product claims, processor notices, platform policy changes, account access, and backups.
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Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
