Sell at a craft fair, Christmas market or other market

Usually you need no street trading licence of your own

Usually you do not need your own street trading consent or licence to take a stall at an organised market or fair. Under Schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, a market or fair whose right to be held comes from a grant or from an Act or order is not street trading, and the organiser sets your terms. Whether a particular Christmas market or craft fair holds its right on that basis is a question of fact. Ask the organiser which permission the market trades under before you pay for a pitch.

You do need your own consent or licence if you set up your own stall on a street, or on land the public can enter without payment, in an area where the council has adopted the street trading rules. The market organiser's permission does not cover food, alcohol, the goods you sell or how you take payment. Those rules apply to your stall whoever runs the market.

Which nations this guide covers

This guide covers England and Wales, with a section on Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own street trading law and is not covered here. Where the rules differ, there is a section for each nation below.

It is a closer look at the street trading and markets section of the local authority licensing guide.

Work through these steps before the market opens

Start early if you sell food. You must register before you trade, and the notice period is in the food section below.

England, outside London

Councils decide whether to adopt Schedule 4 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. If a council has adopted it, the council names the streets where trading needs a licence or a consent and the streets where trading is banned. A council can also set up its own market under section 50 of the Food Act 1984, and the council then sets your pitch terms. A charter or other market held under a grant is outside Schedule 4, and its operator sets pitch terms. The table shows how a licence and a consent differ.

London

London boroughs license street trading under Part III of the London Local Authorities Act 1990, not Schedule 4. Rules, fees and the types of licence differ by borough. Ask your borough's licensing team before you trade on a street. A market organiser's permission may be enough for a pitch inside an established market, but the borough can confirm this.

Wales

Schedule 4 applies in Wales on the same adoptive terms as in England, so the sections above apply. The main difference for a stall is food. In Wales, displaying your food hygiene rating is a legal duty under section 7 of the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013. In England it is voluntary. Alcohol licensing and consumer law are the same as in England.

Scotland

Scotland uses a different Act. The person who runs a private market such as a craft fair usually needs a market operator's licence, and a stallholder may need a street trader's licence, where the council has resolved to require them. Scotland has no Temporary Event Notices. Alcohol at an event needs an occasional licence from the licensing board. The Scotland alcohol licensing guide covers this.

Pedlars

A pedlar's certificate does not cover a stall. For a fixed pitch, you need the stall permission described above.

Food stalls

A food stall must be registered with a council before it trades. The Food Standards Agency treats a stall, marquee, van or trailer as movable or temporary premises. This guide covers stall-level rules only. If you cook in a home kitchen, the registration detail for that is in Can I sell cakes and food I make at home? If you sell from a vehicle, read Run a food truck, burger van or coffee van.

Food you pack before the customer orders, such as boxed cakes or pots of soup, has stricter labelling rules than loose food.

Mulled wine and other alcohol

If you sell alcohol, including mulled wine, a premises licence for the market site or a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) must cover the sale. Ask the organiser first, because a market that already has a premises licence may let you sell under it. England and Wales only: Scotland has no TENs.

Insurance

Councils and organisers commonly ask to see public liability insurance before they give you a pitch. It is usually a condition of the pitch, and no statutory requirement for a stall was found. Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement once you employ staff, with exceptions for close family members.

Goods you make and sell

Whatever you make, you must not sell products you know or should know are unsafe. Keep records of where your materials and bought-in goods came from. If you make soap, balms, bath bombs or lip products, extra cosmetics rules apply before you sell.

Payments, prices and customer rights

Consumer law applies at a stall in the same way as in a shop. Since 6 April 2025 (status: in force), Part 4 Chapter 1 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has covered unfair commercial practices, such as misleading claims about how or where goods were made. It replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which were revoked from the same date (sources: SI 2025/272, regulation 2, and the revocation note on the 2008 Regulations at legislation.gov.uk).

If you organise the market yourself

Running your own market on private land adds duties of its own. You may need planning permission or rely on the temporary use rules in the General Permitted Development Order. You also need to plan fire and site safety, and you must hold the right permission for the market itself. Martyn's Law is expected to start in spring 2027, but the Security Industry Authority has not confirmed the exact date (status: announced, not yet in force). Events fall in scope only if they are open to the public, use entry checks and expect 800 people or more. Check the Security Industry Authority guidance if you run a gated or ticketed event.

Who to ask

Ask your council's licensing team first. It deals with street trading, market pitches and Temporary Event Notices. Its environmental health team handles food registration and hygiene ratings. Its Trading Standards service covers product safety, prices, weighing equipment and payment fees. Contact the market organiser as well, because they set the terms of your pitch.