> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.zip.tax/v-6-0/api-reference/merchant/create-merchant/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.zip.tax/_mcp/server.

# Create Merchant

POST https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create
Content-Type: application/json

Available on Pro and Enterprise PlansCreates a new merchant under the authenticated account. Requires X-API-KEY header. Set merchantType to choose the compliance model. "self-managed" creates a merchant that is active immediately with no TaxCloud invite; "taxcloud" (the default) starts the TaxCloud invite process and is an Enterprise plan feature.

Reference: https://docs.zip.tax/api-reference/merchant/create-merchant

## Authentication

- `X-API-KEY` header (required) — API Key authentication via header

## Request

### Body (application/json)

This endpoint expects an object.

- `merchantName` (string, required) — Legal or trading name of the merchant business. Required; must be 1–255 characters.
- `contactFirst` (string, optional) — First name of the merchant's primary contact.
- `contactLast` (string, optional) — Last name of the merchant's primary contact.
- `contactEmail` (string, optional) — Email address of the merchant's primary contact; used for TaxCloud invitations and notifications.
- `sendTaxcloudInvite` (boolean, optional) — Sends invite to set up and connect a TaxCloud account to a merchant who does not already use TaxCloud. To connect a TaxCloud account for a merchant who already uses TaxCloud, use the "Set Merchant Credentials" function. Ignored when merchantType is 'self-managed'.
- `merchantType` (enum, optional, default: taxcloud) — The merchant's compliance model, chosen once at creation. 'taxcloud' (the default) starts the TaxCloud invite process, so TaxCloud can handle registration, filing, and remittance for the merchant; creating one requires an Enterprise plan. 'self-managed' skips the invite entirely and the merchant is active as soon as the call returns, with the merchant remaining responsible for their own compliance.
  - Allowed values: `taxcloud`, `self-managed`
- `referenceId` (string, optional) — The ID you use in your own system to identify this merchant.

## Response

### 201

Created

- `merchantId` (string, required) — UUID assigned to the newly created merchant; use it in subsequent merchant operations.
- `message` (string, required) — Human-readable description of the result.
- `status` (string, required) — Result status of the operation (e.g. 'success').

## Errors

### 400 Create Merchant Body Bad Request Error

Bad Request

- `detail` (string, optional) — A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem.
- `errors` (list of ErrorDetail, optional) — List of individual error details
- `instance` (string, optional) — A URI reference that identifies the specific occurrence of the problem.
- `status` (long, optional) — HTTP status code
- `title` (string, optional) — A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This value should not change between occurrences of the error.
- `type` (string, optional, default: about:blank) — A URI reference to human-readable documentation for the error.

### 401 Create Merchant Body Unauthorized Error

Unauthorized

- `detail` (string, optional) — A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem.
- `errors` (list of ErrorDetail, optional) — List of individual error details
- `instance` (string, optional) — A URI reference that identifies the specific occurrence of the problem.
- `status` (long, optional) — HTTP status code
- `title` (string, optional) — A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This value should not change between occurrences of the error.
- `type` (string, optional, default: about:blank) — A URI reference to human-readable documentation for the error.

### 409 Create Merchant Body Conflict Error

Conflict

- `detail` (string, optional) — A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem.
- `errors` (list of ErrorDetail, optional) — List of individual error details
- `instance` (string, optional) — A URI reference that identifies the specific occurrence of the problem.
- `status` (long, optional) — HTTP status code
- `title` (string, optional) — A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This value should not change between occurrences of the error.
- `type` (string, optional, default: about:blank) — A URI reference to human-readable documentation for the error.

### 422 Create Merchant Body Unprocessable Entity Error

Unprocessable Entity

- `detail` (string, optional) — A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem.
- `errors` (list of ErrorDetail, optional) — List of individual error details
- `instance` (string, optional) — A URI reference that identifies the specific occurrence of the problem.
- `status` (long, optional) — HTTP status code
- `title` (string, optional) — A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This value should not change between occurrences of the error.
- `type` (string, optional, default: about:blank) — A URI reference to human-readable documentation for the error.

### 500 Create Merchant Body Internal Server Error

Internal Server Error

- `detail` (string, optional) — A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem.
- `errors` (list of ErrorDetail, optional) — List of individual error details
- `instance` (string, optional) — A URI reference that identifies the specific occurrence of the problem.
- `status` (long, optional) — HTTP status code
- `title` (string, optional) — A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This value should not change between occurrences of the error.
- `type` (string, optional, default: about:blank) — A URI reference to human-readable documentation for the error.

## Types

### ErrorDetail

- `location` (string, optional) — Where the error occurred, e.g. 'body.items[3].tags' or 'path.thing-id'
- `message` (string, optional) — Error message text
- `value` (any, optional) — The value at the given location

## Examples

**Request**

```json
{
  "merchantName": "merchantName"
}
```

**Response**

```json
{
  "merchantId": "merchantId",
  "message": "message",
  "status": "status"
}
```

**SDK Code**

```python
import requests

url = "https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create"

payload = { "merchantName": "merchantName" }
headers = {
    "X-API-KEY": "<apiKey>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.json())
```

```javascript
const url = 'https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create';
const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {'X-API-KEY': '<apiKey>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: '{"merchantName":"merchantName"}'
};

try {
  const response = await fetch(url, options);
  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}
```

```go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create"

	payload := strings.NewReader("{\n  \"merchantName\": \"merchantName\"\n}")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("X-API-KEY", "<apiKey>")
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(res)
	fmt.Println(string(body))

}
```

```ruby
require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["X-API-KEY"] = '<apiKey>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"merchantName\": \"merchantName\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body
```

```java
import com.mashape.unirest.http.HttpResponse;
import com.mashape.unirest.http.Unirest;

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create")
  .header("X-API-KEY", "<apiKey>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"merchantName\": \"merchantName\"\n}")
  .asString();
```

```php
<?php
require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

$client = new \GuzzleHttp\Client();

$response = $client->request('POST', 'https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create', [
  'body' => '{
  "merchantName": "merchantName"
}',
  'headers' => [
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
    'X-API-KEY' => '<apiKey>',
  ],
]);

echo $response->getBody();
```

```csharp
using RestSharp;

var client = new RestClient("https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create");
var request = new RestRequest(Method.POST);
request.AddHeader("X-API-KEY", "<apiKey>");
request.AddHeader("Content-Type", "application/json");
request.AddParameter("application/json", "{\n  \"merchantName\": \"merchantName\"\n}", ParameterType.RequestBody);
IRestResponse response = client.Execute(request);
```

```swift
import Foundation

let headers = [
  "X-API-KEY": "<apiKey>",
  "Content-Type": "application/json"
]
let parameters = ["merchantName": "merchantName"] as [String : Any]

let postData = JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: parameters, options: [])

let request = NSMutableURLRequest(url: NSURL(string: "https://api.zip-tax.com/merchant/create")! as URL,
                                        cachePolicy: .useProtocolCachePolicy,
                                    timeoutInterval: 10.0)
request.httpMethod = "POST"
request.allHTTPHeaderFields = headers
request.httpBody = postData as Data

let session = URLSession.shared
let dataTask = session.dataTask(with: request as URLRequest, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
  if (error != nil) {
    print(error as Any)
  } else {
    let httpResponse = response as? HTTPURLResponse
    print(httpResponse)
  }
})

dataTask.resume()
```