Should I register my Etsy shop as a 'business' or an 'individual' if I have a New Jersey LLC?

If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your New Jersey Certificate of Formation. A single-member New Jersey LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.

What happens if I do not complete Etsy's seller verification?

Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.

I do not live in New Jersey. Can I still use a New Jersey LLC on Etsy?

Etsy does not check where you live, only that the New Jersey entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match New Jersey's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of New Jersey's $125. Forming in New Jersey while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

Do I need a New Jersey sales-tax permit before my first sale through Etsy?

Not for your Etsy orders themselves. New Jersey charges a 6.625% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own New Jersey registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in New Jersey or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous or current calendar year.

Etsy asks for "Articles of Organization". New Jersey gave me a Certificate of Formation. Which do I upload?

Upload the Certificate of Formation. New Jersey does not issue a document called Articles of Organization; the Certificate of Formation is the same instrument under the name New Jersey uses for it, and it is what Etsy means by a formation or business-registration document.

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Etsy verification with a New Jersey LLC

What Etsy asks for at signup, and which New Jersey LLC documents satisfy each requirement.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

A New Jersey LLC is generally eligible for Etsy verification — you will need to provide your Certificate of Formation, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in New Jersey blocks approval, and nothing about it guarantees approval either: the final call is Etsy's.

Etsy requires sellers using Etsy Payments to complete identity and tax verification before receiving payouts. For a New Jersey LLC registered as a business (not a disregarded entity), Etsy collects the entity name as it appears on your Certificate of Formation, the legal address, the EIN or other taxpayer number, and verifies this information against the IRS database. Etsy also requires a government photo ID and selfie via its identity-verification partner Persona, plus a bank account linked to receive Etsy Payments disbursements.

In New Jersey the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing a Certificate of Formation, which costs $125. New Jersey does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Etsy review. Because New Jersey names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Etsy asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

New Jersey has 67,940 solo retail trade businesses with no employees, averaging $76,309 in annual receipts (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics (NES), 2023).

Not legal advice: Verification requirements change, and so do New Jersey's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Etsy, and current filing rules with the New Jersey filing office, before you file. Etsy's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and New Jersey's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Etsy requires, and how a New Jersey LLC meets each

Requirement	How your New Jersey LLC satisfies it
LLC entity name verified against IRS	Use the exact LLC name as New Jersey recorded it on your Certificate of Formation; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)	Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of New Jersey.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification	Complete the tax interview. A New Jersey LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity New Jersey LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your New Jersey filings. New Jersey names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements	Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your New Jersey Certificate of Formation.

New Jersey-specific things to watch

New Jersey names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Etsy's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records — you still upload a government ID for each owner. (The Certificate of Formation (N.J.S. 42:2C-18) requires only the name and registered agent/office, but the annual report (N.J.S. 42:2C-26) must set forth 'the name and addresses of the managing members or managers,' so management identities become public each year.)
New Jersey issues a Certificate of Formation rather than "Articles of Organization." When Etsy asks for "formation documents," upload your Certificate of Formation.
Budget for New Jersey's ongoing LLC costs before projecting your Etsy margins: LLCs classified as partnerships with more than two owners and NJ-source income owe an annual partnership filing fee of $150 per owner (capped at $250,000); LLCs electing corporate taxation are subject to the Corporation Business Tax instead. Otherwise no franchise tax beyond the $75 annual report.

New Jersey sales tax & nexus rules for Etsy sellers

New Jersey charges a 6.625% state sales-tax rate, and like every state with a sales tax it has a marketplace-facilitator law — Etsy collects and remits New Jersey sales tax on your marketplace orders for you. You still need your own New Jersey registration if you also sell off-marketplace (your own site, invoices) and either have physical presence in New Jersey — an in-state location, inventory, or employees — or cross the state's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous or current calendar year.

New Jersey taxes most tangible personal property and some services. The state is unique in that it offers a reduced 3.3125% rate (half the standard rate) in certain designated Urban Enterprise Zones. New Jersey taxes digital products including SaaS and streaming services as of 2022. Register through the NJ Division of Taxation's Business Registration portal.

How to verify your New Jersey LLC on Etsy

LLC entity name verified against IRS. Use the exact LLC name as New Jersey recorded it on your Certificate of Formation; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN). Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of New Jersey.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification. Complete the tax interview. A New Jersey LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity New Jersey LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your New Jersey filings. New Jersey names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements. Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your New Jersey Certificate of Formation.

Non-US founders with New Jersey LLCs

Non-US sellers can use Etsy Payments in supported countries, but a New Jersey LLC's seller account must be linked to a US bank account or an eligible payment method. Non-US beneficial owners of a New Jersey LLC must still complete identity verification via Persona with a valid government ID.

Frequently Asked Questions

: If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your New Jersey Certificate of Formation. A single-member New Jersey LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.
: Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.
: New Jersey charges $125 to file a Certificate of Formation, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. New Jersey does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Etsy review. Etsy charges nothing for verification itself, so the $125 filing fee and New Jersey's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a New Jersey entity.
: Etsy does not check where you live, only that the New Jersey entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match New Jersey's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of New Jersey's $125. Forming in New Jersey while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Not for your Etsy orders themselves. New Jersey charges a 6.625% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own New Jersey registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in New Jersey or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous or current calendar year.
: Upload the Certificate of Formation. New Jersey does not issue a document called Articles of Organization; the Certificate of Formation is the same instrument under the name New Jersey uses for it, and it is what Etsy means by a formation or business-registration document.