How to Start a Travel Agency in 2026: Costs, Licenses, and the LLC Step
Most guides on how to start a travel agency skip the part that actually costs money. So here is the short version first. There is no national travel agent license in the United States. Four states register travel sellers today, California, Florida, Hawaii and Washington, and Maryland becomes the fifth on October 1, 2026. Everything else you need to start a travel agency, the LLC, the EIN, the business bank account, is a business decision rather than a permission slip.
This guide covers what a travel agency actually does, the seven steps to set one up, what it costs in real dollars, which states require a Seller of Travel registration, and how the home based route works when you are starting on the side.
Key Takeaways
- No national license exists for travel agents, so no course or certificate is required to sell travel.
- Four states register sellers of travel today, and Maryland joins them on October 1, 2026.
- Registration attaches to the agency that takes the customer's money, which is why host agency advisors are usually covered by the host.
- Forming an LLC costs $50 to $200 in the five regulated states, and in most of them the state registration costs more than the LLC.
- An EIN is free from the IRS and takes a few minutes.
Travel Agent or Travel Agency: Which One Are You Starting?
The same search returns two different answers because it is really two different questions. One is a job. The other is a company. The rules only attach to the company, which is why two people who both set out to start a travel agency get told opposite things about licensing.
What Does a Travel Agency Do?
A travel agency plans and books travel for other people and is paid by the supplier, not the traveler. Hotels, cruise lines and tour operators pay a commission, commonly around 10 percent of the commissionable value, which the agency keeps or splits with the advisor who made the booking. Suppliers generally pay between 5 and 20 percent depending on the product.
What Is an Independent Travel Agent?
The word independent here means self-employed, not unaffiliated. These advisors run their own business and book through a host agency rather than working as an employee of a storefront agency. They set their own hours, choose their own clients, use the host's booking credentials, and split commission under a contract.
Both routes use the same travel agency business model: you get paid by suppliers after your client travels. The difference is whose name is on the accreditation, and that is what decides your paperwork.
How to Start a Travel Agency in Seven Steps
These are the seven steps to start a travel agency, and the order matters, because step three changes what steps four to seven look like.
1. Choose your model. Join a host agency, buy a travel franchise, or go fully independent. Almost everyone new starts with a host, because the host already holds the booking accreditation that suppliers pay commission against.
How to Become a Travel Agent for Cruises and Other Niches
Cruise selling is a niche, not a separate license. You pick it the way you pick any niche, then book cruise suppliers through your host agency's accreditation. Cruise lines and tour operators run their own free training programs, and none of them replace a state registration where one applies.
2. Pick your name. Suppliers need an agency name for their records before you can sell. If you trade under a name that is not your legal entity name, that is a DBA, and a DBA does not create a separate business. Sue the trading name and you have sued the company behind it.
3. Choose your entity. An LLC is not required to sell travel. Most independent advisors begin as sole proprietors, and that is legal in every state. The reason most owners eventually form an LLC is liability: a missed connection on a honeymoon becomes a claim against the business rather than against your house.
4. Appoint a registered agent. Every state requires an LLC to name a registered agent with a physical address in the formation state to receive legal notices.
5. Get an EIN. An EIN is free from the IRS and takes a few minutes. A single-member LLC with no employees can use the owner's Social Security number instead, though most banks ask for an EIN.
6. Open a business bank account. Client deposits and personal money in one account is the fastest way to lose the protection the LLC was formed for. A separate business bank account keeps that line clean.
7. Handle registration and insurance. This is the step covered below, and the one most guides reduce to "check your state." Newly formed companies may also have a beneficial ownership report to file with FinCEN, and those rules have changed repeatedly, so confirm the current position at FinCEN before you file.
Ready to take step three? Form your travel agency LLC with FormationHub and we will handle the state filing while you get on with selling travel.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Travel Agency?
There are two costs to start a travel agency, not one. Forming the LLC runs from $50 in Hawaii to $200 in Washington, and four states plus Maryland also charge a Seller of Travel registration, from $100 in California to $300 in Florida. Joining a host agency instead is usually an annual subscription, and it carries no state filing fee at all.
Here is what the state charges to form the LLC in the five states that regulate selling travel.
| State | LLC filing fee | Ongoing state fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $50 | $15 a year |
| California | $70 | $20 every two years, plus a mandatory $800 annual franchise tax |
| Maryland | $100 | $300 a year |
| Florida | $125 | $138.75 a year |
| Washington | $200 online, $180 by mail | $70 a year |
California's $800 franchise tax is the largest recurring number on that table and it is due every year regardless of profit. Florida's $125 is $100 to file plus a $25 registered agent designation. Costs in other states vary, and our LLC cost guide covers the full range.
How Much Does It Cost to Become a Travel Agent?
Becoming an agent and forming an agency cost different things. Working under a host agency costs an annual or quarterly subscription and no state filing. Setting up your own agency adds the LLC filing fee above, plus registration where the state requires it.
How Much Is a Travel Agent License?
There is no national travel agent license in the United States, so there is no single price. What exists is registration for the business itself: $100 per location in California, $300 a year in Florida, $222 in Washington, $146 to $215 in Hawaii, and $300 in Maryland once its law takes effect.
Which States Require a Seller of Travel Registration?
Four states require it today: California, Florida, Hawaii and Washington. Maryland becomes the fifth on October 1, 2026. Registration attaches to the agency that takes the customer's money, so if you sell under a host agency's accreditation, the host is the registered seller and the obligation is theirs, not yours.
| State | Register with | Cost | The detail that catches people |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Attorney General | $100 per location, annually | The fee is per business location, not per company |
| Florida | FDACS | $300 a year, plus $50 per independent sales agent | A travel agency bond of up to $25,000 is also required |
| Washington | Department of Licensing | $222 to apply, $222 to renew | The same fee applies again to every branch office |
| Hawaii | DCCA | $215 even years, $146 odd years | A client trust account at a Hawaii bank is mandatory |
| Maryland | Dept of Labor | $300 to start | New on October 1, 2026, and it reaches out of state sellers |
Florida's bond can rise to $50,000 for agencies selling vacation certificates, and the security can be waived after five consecutive compliant years. Maryland's law also requires annual proof of professional liability and errors and omissions coverage of at least $1,000,000, and it applies to sellers outside Maryland who offer travel to someone inside it.
The phrase doing the work in all five states is "agency level." If a host agency takes the client's payment under its own accreditation, the host carries the registration. The moment clients pay you directly, under your own brand, the obligation moves to you.
How to Become a Certified Travel Agent
Certification comes from industry bodies such as ASTA, CLIA and The Travel Institute, and it is never legally required. It signals training to suppliers and clients. A state registration is a legal obligation in five states, and no certificate substitutes for one. The two get marketed together, which is where much of the confusion starts.
How to Start a Travel Agency From Home
Most people start from home under a host agency, which supplies the booking accreditation and carries the agency level registration. You still choose whether to trade as yourself or as an LLC. Forming one costs a state filing fee, from $50 to $200 in the five regulated states.
How to Become a Travel Agent for Free
Free is not quite the word, but close. Host agencies charge a subscription rather than a franchise fee, and because the host holds the accreditation and the state registration, joining one avoids both the registration cost and the filing cost. An EIN is free. What is not free is going fully independent, where accreditation, insurance and registration all land on you.
One honest note on timing. Commission is paid after your client travels, not when they book. Seven bookings in January for November trips means the money arrives in November, which is why industry research puts a sustainable full-time income around three years out.
Disclaimer: FormationHub is not a law firm or an accounting firm, and this article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Filing fees, processing times, and state requirements change. Confirm the current requirements with your state's filing office or the IRS before you file, and talk to a licensed attorney or CPA about your specific situation.