The FAQ

These are the three questions every new maker types into a search bar the week they decide to sell. The internet answers them badly, usually with a paragraph designed to sell you a course. Here are the answers, short and honest, grounded in the compliance and costing work you already have in your hands.

Do I need a license to sell candles from home?

In the UK, no candle-specific licence exists. You do need to register with HMRC as a sole trader or company once you start trading (HMRC, Set up as a sole trader), comply with GB CLP labelling on every unit you sell (HSE, GB CLP regulation), and keep a documented safety and formulation paper trail. In the US there is no federal candle licence, but most states require a general home-business licence and a sales-tax permit; check your state via SBA, Apply for licenses and permits. In the EU, mixtures classified under CLP must be notified to poison centres via the ECHA PCN portal before being placed on the market (ECHA, Poison Centres Notification). In Australia, register a business name with ASIC and follow the ACCC's mandatory product-safety information and labelling rules (ACCC, Product safety).

None of that is a candle license. It is the same paperwork any home business does. The label generator at /tools/clp-label-generator writes the compliant label for your selected market so you can concentrate on the wax, not the wording. If you are considering a refill programme, note that every refilled vessel counts as a new product placed on the market and needs a fresh label. Act 4's Bring the vessel back section covers that rule alongside the take-back economics.

Do I need insurance to sell candles on Etsy?

Etsy does not require you to hold product liability insurance to open a shop. Your common sense should. Public and product liability policies for small candle makers are widely quoted in the region of $76 to $152 a year in the UK through providers such as Simply Business or Direct Line for Business, and typically $318 to $635 a year in the US through craft-specific schemes such as FLIP (Foodliability Insurance Program) or ACT Insurance. Get a live quote before you plan around any specific figure. In practical terms, insurance is not optional: a single candle-in-a-house-fire claim without cover ends the business and the personal finances behind it.

Do candles actually sell well, and can I make money?

Yes and yes, with a caveat. The Etsy fee breakdown on this spread shows what an underpriced sale actually delivers after fees, ads, tax reserve, postage and COGS. That is the number that matters, not the sticker price. A candle priced at the RRP rung from Act 3 has room to make money; a $30 candle often does not once shipping and platform fees are included.

The caveat is that most candle businesses that fail do not fail on the product. They fail on the pricing. Sell at cost times two because you are shy about the number and no amount of volume will save you. Price at the RRP rung on the pricing ladder and the business has room to become viable as your conversion and repeat-order data improves. Act 4 is where that RRP number stops being a per-unit worry and starts being a per-order lever.