Craft Fair Vendor Application Template
An application for juried craft fairs and handmade markets. Nine questions cover the maker, their craft category, the work itself, links to their portfolio and photos, booth size, and table needs, with the booth fee paid at checkout.
How to write a craft fair vendor application for a juried show
A craft fair lives or dies on its mix. Shoppers come for work they can’t find in a store, and makers come back when they aren’t sharing an aisle with five other candle booths. Your application is where you set that standard, before a single table goes up.
Write your handmade policy before you write the form
Decide what counts as handmade at your fair and put it in the form’s description in plain words. Many juried fairs allow sourced components like clasps, blanks, or fabric as long as the maker does the design and the work, and rule out anything bought finished and resold. Say whether kits, print-on-demand, and direct sales brands are allowed, because those are the applications you’ll argue about otherwise. A clear policy up front means fewer of them apply in the first place.
Jury from the work, not the paperwork
The portfolio and photo links are the heart of a juried application, so ask for current work and say what you want to see: finished pieces, a close-up of detail, and the booth display. Have two or three people review the same set and score every maker on the same few points, like quality, originality, and presentation. A shared spreadsheet is enough. Write down the reason for each decline while it’s fresh, so your decisions stay consistent and you have a real answer when a maker asks why.
Balance categories on purpose
Jewelry and bath and body products often draw more applications than anything else, and a fair that accepts every good one ends up lopsided. Set a rough cap per category before applications open, based on your floor plan and what sold well last year. The category question gives you the count, and the description tells you whether two applicants really overlap. A silversmith and a beaded-bracelet maker are both “jewelry,” but they aren’t after the same shopper.
Be clear about the fee and what comes next
State what the booth fee covers: the floor space, whether a table and chairs are included, and what electricity costs. The fee is collected when a maker applies, so say up front how you handle refunds for makers who aren’t accepted. You issue refunds from your own Stripe dashboard. Close with your jury date, when makers will hear back, and when setup starts. Makers who know the timeline stop emailing to ask, and the ones who get declined still apply next year.
Create your vendor application in three steps
Customize your questions
Add, remove, or edit questions to fit your market or event. From business details and booth requirements to permits and product images.
Set up vendor payments
Charge for booth spaces. You can create different pricing options for booth sizes or add-ons like electricity, or keep applications completely free. Payments are securely processed and handled through Stripe.
Publish and start accepting vendors
Publish your form and share it on your website, social media, email, or anywhere you recruit vendors. Vendors can apply and pay from their phone, and you can track every submission from your dashboard.
About this template
If your market needs something more specific, there is probably a closer starting point.
Browse all templatesCan I charge more for a bigger booth or a table rental?
Yes. Set a flat booth fee, or add a price to each booth size and to add-ons like a table or electricity. Makers pay the total by card through Stripe when they apply, and the money goes to your own connected Stripe account. We take no cut; Stripe’s processing fee applies.
How do I run a jury with this form?
The form asks for what a jury needs: each maker’s category, a description of their work, and links to their portfolio and photos. Publish it, share the link, and take applications until your deadline. The jury itself is yours to run: many organizers score makers in a shared spreadsheet and email the results themselves.
How do I keep resellers out of a handmade fair?
Put your handmade policy in the form description and keep the process question required. A detailed answer about how the work is made, plus a portfolio link, is hard to fake, and vague ones stand out fast. You can also add a required choice question where makers confirm everything they sell is their own work.
Do makers need a sales tax permit to sell at a craft fair?
Often, yes. Many states require vendors to hold a seller’s permit and collect sales tax, even at a one-day event, but the rules vary. Check your state’s sales tax rules before applications open, and add a short-text question for the maker’s permit number if you need it on file.