What a Vendor Agreement Template Should Cover
A vendor agreement sets the rules for everyone selling, sampling or exhibiting at your event. At a farmers market or craft fair it may be a one-page set of terms vendors accept when they are approved; at a trade show it is usually called an exhibitor agreement and sits alongside the exhibitor manual. Either way, a vendor agreement template has to settle the same questions before move-in day.
| Clause | What it settles | Typical detail |
|---|---|---|
| Space | What the vendor is renting | Space number or size, commonly 10x10 ft, with tent, table, corner or inline |
| Fees | What the vendor pays | Space fee, application or jury fee, utilities, extra tables, late fees |
| Deposits and refunds | When money is due and when it comes back | Deposit on acceptance, balance date, refund schedule by date |
| Setup and teardown | When vendors arrive and must leave | Load-in windows, vehicle rules, no early breakdown |
| Insurance | What coverage vendors carry | Liability amount, additional insured, certificate deadline |
| Permits and sales tax | Who handles licenses and tax | Health or food permits, sales tax registration, displaying permits |
| Conduct and rules | How vendors behave and what they sell | Approved products, no subletting, noise, signage, code of conduct |
| Cancellation | What happens if either side cancels, or weather intervenes | Vendor and organizer cancellation, rain or shine policy |
If you collect applications first, link the agreement from your vendor application form so vendors see the refund schedule and insurance requirement before they apply, then accept the terms when they are approved.
Space, Fees, Deposits and Refunds
Define the space precisely: its size, what is included (a table, chairs, power, a tent pad) and that the organizer may reassign it if layout or safety requires. Vendors accept a move more easily when the agreement said it could happen. Then set out when money is due and when it comes back.
| When the vendor cancels | Refund | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Before [DATE] | Space fee refunded minus a [AMOUNT] processing fee | Application or jury fee is non-refundable |
| [DATE] to [DATE] | [PERCENT] of the space fee refunded | Space may be offered to the waitlist |
| After [DATE] | No refund | Any unpaid balance is still due |
| No-show on event day | No refund | May affect acceptance at future events |
- Due dates for the deposit and the balance, and what happens to the space if the balance is late
- Utilities and extras priced separately, such as power by amperage, extra tables or a corner premium
- No subletting or sharing a space without the organizer's written approval
- Accepted payment methods, and any card processing fees passed on
Setup, Teardown and Vendor Conduct
- Load-in: the arrival window, where vehicles unload, and when vehicles must be off the site or floor
- Ready time: when the space must be set and staffed, commonly before gates or doors open
- Hours: vendors stay open and staffed for the full event hours
- Teardown: no breakdown before close, and the time the space must be clear and clean
- Safety: tents weighted to the organizer's standard, cords taped, fire lanes and exits kept clear, no open flame without approval
- Products: only the products approved in the application, with the organizer's right to have others removed
- Conduct: courtesy to attendees, staff and other vendors, no selling in the aisles, agreed limits on noise and music
At a trade show, most of these details live in the exhibitor manual, and the agreement simply requires exhibitors to follow it. Our exhibitor manual template covers move-in, freight, booth rules and deadlines.
Insurance, Permits and Sales Tax
Many venues require vendors to carry general liability insurance, and the agreement should say how much, whether the organizer and venue must be named as additional insured, and when the certificate is due. Our guide to the vendor certificate of insurance explains what to ask for and how to check it.
- The vendor obtains and displays every permit and license required for what they sell
- The vendor collects and pays any sales tax due
- The organizer may ask to see permits and remove a vendor who cannot produce them
- Food, alcohol and open-flame vendors may face extra requirements from the venue or fire marshal
Cancellation, Weather and Removal
- Vendor cancellation: in writing to a named contact, following the refund schedule
- Organizer cancellation: a full refund of space fees, or a credit toward a future event at the vendor's choice
- Weather: whether the event runs rain or shine, who decides to close for unsafe conditions, and what is refunded if it closes early
- Events outside either party's control: venue closure, government orders or emergencies, and what is refunded or credited
- Removal: the organizer's right to close a space and remove a vendor for serious or repeated rule breaches, without refund
Vendor Agreement Template
VENDOR AGREEMENT This agreement is between [ORGANIZER LEGAL NAME] (the Organizer) and [VENDOR BUSINESS NAME], [ADDRESS] (the Vendor), dated [DATE]. 1. Event Event: [EVENT NAME] Location: [VENUE OR SITE ADDRESS] Dates and hours: [DATES], open to the public [HOURS]. 2. Space The Organizer will provide space [SPACE NUMBER / TO BE ASSIGNED], size [e.g. 10x10 ft], including [TABLE, CHAIRS, POWER, OTHER / NOTHING]. The Organizer may reassign the space for safety or layout reasons and will provide a comparable space. The Vendor may not sublet or share the space without written approval. 3. Fees and payment Application or jury fee: [AMOUNT], non-refundable. Space fee: [AMOUNT]. Extras: [POWER, EXTRA TABLE, CORNER, OTHER: AMOUNTS]. A deposit of [AMOUNT OR PERCENT] is due on acceptance. The balance of [AMOUNT] is due by [DATE]. If the balance is not paid by that date, the Organizer may release the space. 4. Cancellation and refunds If the Vendor cancels in writing before [DATE], the space fee is refunded minus [AMOUNT]. Between [DATE] and [DATE], [PERCENT] of the space fee is refunded. After [DATE], or if the Vendor does not attend, no refund is due. If the Organizer cancels the Event, the Vendor may choose a full refund of space fees paid or a credit toward [FUTURE EVENT]. If the Event closes early because of weather or other events outside the Organizer's control, [REFUND / CREDIT / NO REFUND]. 5. Setup and teardown Load-in: [DATE AND TIME WINDOW] at [LOCATION]. Vehicles must be moved by [TIME]. The space must be set up and staffed by [TIME] and stay staffed during all event hours. Teardown may not start before [TIME]. The space must be clear and clean by [TIME]. 6. Insurance The Vendor will carry general liability insurance of at least [AMOUNT] per occurrence, naming [ORGANIZER] [and VENUE] as additional insured, and will provide a certificate of insurance by [DATE]. 7. Permits, licenses and taxes The Vendor is responsible for obtaining and displaying all permits and licenses required for its products and activities, including [HEALTH, FOOD OR FIRE PERMITS AS APPLICABLE], and for collecting and paying any sales tax due. The Organizer may ask to see these at any time. 8. Products and conduct The Vendor will sell or display only the products approved in its application: [PRODUCT CATEGORIES]. The Vendor will follow the Event rules at [LINK], the venue's rules and the Organizer's reasonable instructions, keep aisles, exits and fire lanes clear, and treat attendees, staff and other vendors with courtesy. 9. Liability The Vendor is responsible for its own staff, products, equipment and property. [INDEMNITY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AS ADVISED BY COUNSEL] 10. Removal The Organizer may close the Vendor's space and remove the Vendor without refund for a serious or repeated breach of this agreement or the Event rules. 11. General [GOVERNING LAW AND OTHER CLAUSES AS ADVISED BY COUNSEL] Signed for the Organizer: ____________________ Name: [NAME] Date: [DATE] Signed for the Vendor: ____________________ Name: [NAME] Date: [DATE]
Collecting Acceptance From Every Vendor
- 1
Publish the Terms Before Applications Open
Link the full agreement from your application and event site, so vendors know the refund schedule and insurance requirement before they pay an application fee.
- 2
Ask for Acceptance at the Point of Payment
Vendors read most carefully when they are paying. Ask them to read and accept the terms in the same step as the deposit, and keep a record of who accepted.
- 3
Collect Documents After Approval
Request the certificate of insurance and permits once a vendor is approved, with a deadline before move-in, and chase missing ones a week ahead.
- 4
Send a Pre-Event Reminder
A week before load-in, resend the setup times, space number and key rules. It answers most of the questions that would otherwise arrive on the morning of the event.
For markets and fairs that run every season, vendor fair software keeps applications, spaces, payments and terms together, so you are not matching signed PDFs to a spreadsheet of payments.
