Vendor Permits and Licenses

All participating vendors are responsible for obtaining their own business licenses from the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections and if applicable, Operating Eligibility Certificates from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Below is a breakdown of what each type of vendor ——-. 

All Vendors

• Business Income & Receipt (BIRT) Tax ID:

• https://ework.phila.gov/revenue/. Click Register for a New Account and follow the prompts. This registration is free.

• Commercial Activity License: This license links all of your businesses and the legal entity you registered for your Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT).https://eclipse.phila.gov/phillylmsprod/pub/lms/Login.aspx. You will need the Philly Tax ID for this step. Click Register for a New Activity License and follow the prompts. This registration is free.

Food Vendors

• Step 4: Apply for a Operating Eligibility Certificate (OEC) with the Health Department

  • If you think you may be interested in doing several other events in Philly, then it would be advised to go for the permanent certificate (strongly recommended): https://phillymdoevents.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/2017-permanent-special-event-vendor-application.pdf. The application fee isn't listed with this form, and I can't remember the amount since it's been so long, but it is relatively nominal.

  • If this is a one off event, then apply for the temporary license: https://phillymdoevents.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/2017-temp-special-event-vendor.pdf. This fee is $48/event.

• Step 5: Apply for your food vending license with the Department of Licenses & Inspections; you will need your OEC from the Health Department before you can do this step. You can apply for this on the city's web portal, Eclipse, now, and I'm putting together a job aide for this to help guide vendors through the process. If you want though, for a nominal fee, I can physically go down to the Municipal Services Building and handle this for you. The fee for this license is $330 for an annual permanent license, and $165/event for a temporary license.