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
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.