Starting a Business on the Wind River Reservation: DOR Vendor License for Sales to Non-Members and the 2 Percent TERO Fee

October 29, 2026

Starting a Wyoming Wind River Reservation business means dealing with two governments. The Wind River Indian Reservation, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, lies largely in Fremont County. The Tribes set their own business licensing and employment rules. The State of Wyoming still has tax rules that reach sales made on the Reservation. This guide covers the state side, which is the Department of Revenue vendor licensing for sales to non-members, and the Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) fee that applies to certain road contract work.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and fees change. Confirm every figure with the agency or office named here before you rely on it, and talk with a qualified attorney or CPA about your situation.

What You Need Before You Start

• Your entity formation documents, if you are forming an LLC or corporation (see Step 2)
• A Wyoming registered agent with a physical street address in Wyoming
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• The Department of Revenue sales and use tax license application and its $60 non-refundable fee
• The Tribal business license and vendor applications. The Tribes publish separate forms for members and non-members at windriver-tero.com
• A list of your products and services, sorted into taxable and exempt categories
• A sales record system that tags each transaction by buyer type (enrolled member or non-member)

Step 1: Understand the Rule That Drives Every Sale

Under Department of Revenue Rule 011-2, Section 2-4(c), persons on the Reservation who sell or lease taxable property or services must be licensed as vendors. They must also report sales to anyone who is not an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho or Eastern Shoshone Tribes. Enrolled members buying on the Reservation owe no state tax when they give you an exemption certificate.

In practice, the buyer's enrollment status determines your tax treatment. Sales to non-members are reportable, and they are taxable when the item or service is taxable. Sales to enrolled members are exempt when you hold a signed certificate. Keep the certificate with the sales record it supports.

Step 2: Form Your Entity With the Secretary of State

Wyoming has no general state business license. Your entity is registered with the Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division, through WyoBiz (wyobiz.wyo.gov). For an LLC, the sequence is:

1. Check the name. Search the WyoBiz filing search (FilingSearch) before you file. The name must include “Limited Liability Company” or an allowed abbreviation such as “LLC.” Names beginning with the letter A must be filed on paper.
2. File Articles of Organization. The filing fee is $100. Online filings are active as soon as the filing is complete. Paper filings take up to 15 business days.
3. Reserve the name if you need time. An LLC name reservation costs $60, lasts 120 days, and is available on paper only.
4. Appoint a registered agent. The agent needs a physical Wyoming street address, including any suite number. A drop box does not qualify. A PO box is accepted only in addition to a physical address.
5. Calendar the annual report. The $60 annual report license tax is due on the first day of your anniversary month every year. You may file it up to 120 days early. If it is not paid within 60 days of the due date, the entity is subject to administrative dissolution.

If you prefer to sell under a trade name instead of forming an entity, trade name registration is optional. It is handled by mail only and requires a notarized application. The fee is $100 for a 10-year term, and the Secretary of State handles it statewide, not the county clerk.

Step 3: Get the Tribal License and Vendor Forms

The Tribes set their own licensing, and the state does not issue the Tribal license. Call the tribal offices before you make your first sale. The Tribal business license and vendor forms, including separate applications for members and non-members, are published at windriver-tero.com. The Tribal fee is not set in this guide, so ask TERO for the current amount.

When you call, ask three questions: whether the license covers non-member sales, whether it applies to online orders shipped to Reservation addresses, and what the renewal schedule looks like.

Step 4: Open Your Sales and Use Tax License

A business making taxable sales must hold a sales and use tax license from the Wyoming Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division (excise-tax-div.wyo.gov). The application is available at the Excise Tax Division's sales, use and lodging tax registration page. The application fee is $60, and it is non-refundable.

Rule 011-2 requires vendor licensing for taxable sales on the Reservation. Confirm with the Excise Tax Division that the sales and use tax license is the vendor license it expects you to hold for your activity. Ask whether a separate filing is needed for Reservation sales.

Step 5: Charge the Right Sales Tax

The Wyoming state sales tax rate is 4%. County option taxes are added on top of the state rate, and Wyoming has no city sales tax. Fremont County's rate on the Department of Revenue chart is 5% effective 2026-10-01 and 5.75% effective 2027-01-01. County rates change quarterly, so check the current chart before every filing at excise-tax-div.wyo.gov. Write the effective date next to any rate you record.

Sales tax in Wyoming applies to goods and to a short list of enumerated services. Taxable items and services include:

• Meals and prepared food
• Lodging
• Admissions
• Telecommunications and utilities
• Alcohol
• Repair and alteration of personal property
• Oil and gas well-site services

Intrastate freight is exempt. Food for home consumption is exempt, including most baked goods. Wyoming issues no resale certificate. Instead, a buyer gives you a signed certificate. Contractors pay tax on the materials they install, because they are the end user of those materials. The remote seller threshold is $100,000 of sales only, so it is measured by dollar volume with no transaction count.

Step 6: Handle Tobacco Separately

Cigarette sales are a special case. Under DOR Rule 011-4, cigarette sales to non-Indians on the Reservation are taxed, and sales to members are exempt. Tobacco arrangements can change the treatment. Check with the Excise Tax Division before you stock cigarettes, and ask whether a tobacco agreement applies to your business.

Step 7: Know the 2 Percent TERO Fee

The Tribal Employment Rights Office runs the Title X Tribal Employment Rights Code. A 2% fee applies to WYDOT contract work performed inside the Reservation's exterior boundaries. The fee is assessed on prime contractors and subcontractors and paid to TERO, and WYDOT reimburses it. The fee is tied to WYDOT contract work. Do not assume it applies to private jobs, and ask TERO to confirm before you price a bid.

The scope of this fee has been disputed. The mapped area changed after litigation, and the only source reviewed for this guide is a 2019 legislative report. Treat that report as background, not as a current map. Before bidding, ask TERO for the current boundary map and the current fee rules.

Contractors have additional layers to check. Wyoming has no state contractor, plumber or HVAC license. The state licenses electrical trades, and contractors are licensed city by city. Ask the city where you will work which contractor licenses it requires.

Step 8: Plan for Employees and Workers' Compensation

Wyoming workers' compensation is a monopolistic state fund run by the Department of Workforce Services (DWS). Coverage is compulsory only in listed extrahazardous industries. Sole proprietors, partners, officers and LLC members are excluded unless they elect coverage. Check with DWS whether your industry is on the list before you hire. If you have employees, also ask TERO whether Title X imposes employment requirements on your business.

Step 9: Check Local, Liquor and Food Rules

Counties issue no business licenses. Only cities and towns may issue them. Counties handle land use, building, septic and liquor matters. If you sell alcohol, retail liquor licenses are population-quota licenses issued by cities, towns and counties, so confirm availability with the Wyoming Liquor Division and the local issuing authority.

If you sell homemade food from home, Wyoming's Food Freedom Act (W.S. 11-49) allows home producers to sell food directly to informed end consumers without a state license, up to annual caps. Confirm the current caps with the Department of Agriculture, Consumer Health Services before you sell.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming Wyoming tax rules stop at the Reservation boundary. Do not make that assumption. Ask the Excise Tax Division how your sales are treated.
• Accepting a member purchase without a certificate. Without a signed exemption certificate, you cannot document why the sale was exempt.
• Using last year's county rate. Fremont County's rate changes on a published schedule. Date every rate you record.
• Relying on a drop box for your registered agent. Wyoming requires a physical street address.
• Missing the annual report. A late $60 report can lead to administrative dissolution if it remains unpaid 60 days after the due date.
• Applying the TERO fee to private jobs without checking. Confirm the scope with TERO first.
• Looking for a state contractor license. Wyoming has none for general contractors, plumbers or HVAC. Check with the city.

Fee Summary

Item	Cost or Timing	Agency
LLC Articles of Organization	$100 filing fee	Secretary of State
LLC name reservation	$60, 120 days, paper only	Secretary of State
Trade name registration	$100 for a 10-year term, mail only, notarized	Secretary of State
Annual report license tax	$60 minimum, due the first day of the anniversary month	Secretary of State
Sales and use tax license	$60 non-refundable application fee	Department of Revenue
Tribal business license and vendor fees	Check with TERO	Tribal offices
TERO fee on WYDOT contract work	2%, paid to TERO and reimbursed by WYDOT	TERO and WYDOT

Expected Results

Working through these steps in order may help you avoid the most common gaps: an unregistered entity, a missing vendor license, a sale recorded without its exemption certificate, or a TERO obligation you did not know about. This sequence is not a guarantee of approval by the Tribes or the state, and it cannot promise any particular outcome for your business. Results depend on your activity, your buyers, and the rules in force when you act.

Where to Get Help

Start with the agency that controls each piece of your setup. The Secretary of State handles entity filings, the Department of Revenue handles sales tax, and TERO and the tribal offices handle Reservation licensing. For planning help, the Wyoming SBDC Network (wyomingsbdc.org) and the SBA's Wyoming district page (sba.gov/district/wyoming) can point you to resources. For contract, tax or entity decisions, a qualified attorney or CPA should review your specific facts before you commit.