How to become a travel agent and start your own agency (UK and US)
A neutral, step-by-step guide to becoming a travel agent in the UK or US, from host agencies and homeworking networks to ATOL, ABTA, IATA and CLIA.
To become a travel agent, you either join an established business that lends you its licences, supplier contracts and booking tools, or you set up your own agency and earn those things yourself. Most new agents start with the first option, which in the US means a host agency and in the UK usually means a homeworking network. Neither country asks you to pass a national exam first, but what you sell decides which licences, registrations and financial protection you need.
Most advice on this comes from networks recruiting new agents, so it tends to point one way. Both routes are laid out here side by side, with the official requirements in each country, the costs where a regulator publishes them, and the back office you need on day one.
What are the two ways to become a travel agent?
Route 1: join a host agency or homeworking network
A host agency (US) or homeworking network (UK) is an established travel business that lets independent agents sell under its name. You bring the clients. The host brings the things that take years to build: supplier contracts and commission levels, accreditation numbers, booking systems, financial protection and, often, training. In return it keeps a share of your commission, charges a monthly or annual fee, or both. Terms vary a lot, so compare the commission split, the fees, the exit terms and who owns the client list before you sign.
This route suits you if you want to start selling within weeks, work from home and keep start-up costs low.
Route 2: set up an independent agency
Here you form your own company, apply for your own identifiers and licences, sign your own supplier agreements and arrange your own consumer protection. It costs more and takes longer, and in return you keep the full commission and the brand is yours. Plenty of agents start with a host and go independent once they have a client base that justifies the overhead.
How to become a travel agent in the US
Step 1: decide whether to start with a host agency
For most new US agents a host agency is the sensible first move, mainly because of the identifiers in step 3. IATAN's financial rules, for example, expect a new or home-based business to show at least $10,000 in available or invested capital, and someone on the team needs two years of industry experience (IATAN requirements and fees). A host lets you sell under its accreditation while you build that history.
Step 2: check your state's seller of travel law
The US has no single national travel agent licence to apply for, but several states regulate "sellers of travel". The rules depend on where you are based and, in some states, on where your clients live:
California requires all sellers of travel to register with the Attorney General's office and to show the registration number in all advertising (California Attorney General).
Florida requires annual registration with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, including for sellers with no Florida location who sell to Florida residents. Registration costs $300, a surety bond of up to $25,000 may be required, and there is a $50 annual filing fee for each independent sales agent (FDACS Sellers of Travel).
Washington runs a seller of travel registration under chapter 19.138 RCW, which also sets out trust account rules (RCW 19.138).
Hawaii licenses travel agencies through the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and chapter 468L HRS includes a client trust account requirement (Hawaii DCCA travel program).
If you join a host, ask how it handles registration in your state and whether you need your own. If you go independent, check with your state attorney general or consumer affairs office before you take a single deposit.
Step 3: understand IATA, IATAN, CLIA and TRUE numbers
Suppliers want to know you are a real seller of travel before they pay you commission. Four identifiers come up again and again:
IATAN accreditation (the US "IATA number"). IATAN is IATA's US arm. To qualify you need a business licence, two years of experience on the team, errors and omissions insurance (or a signed waiver), seller of travel registration if you are in Florida, Hawaii or Washington, and the capital levels mentioned above. For an independent contractor business, the new application fee and annual service fee are $110 each (IATAN requirements and fees).
IATA TIDS code. A free industry identifier that lets suppliers such as airlines and hotel chains recognise bookings from agencies that do not issue airline tickets (IATA TIDS).
CLIA number. Cruise Lines International Association membership is how cruise lines recognise you. In North America, travel agency membership costs $429 a year and individual agent membership $139 a year (CLIA agency membership, CLIA individual membership).
TRUE code. An identifier built for independent agents so suppliers recognise them and can pay commission directly. It has been run by CCRA since 2013 (CCRA).
On a host agency you normally book under the host's numbers, so you may not need any of these on day one.
Step 4: get trained, and consider a certification
No US certification is legally required to sell travel. A recognised one still helps with suppliers and with IATAN's experience test. The Travel Institute's Certified Travel Associate (CTA) asks for a year of selling experience or a pass of at least 80% on its Travel Agent Proficiency (TAP) exam, then a proctored exam at 70% or more. The online programme is listed from $599 (The Travel Institute, CTA). Supplier training courses, many of them free, are worth doing for the destinations and cruise lines you plan to sell.
How to become a travel agent in the UK
Step 1: choose between a homeworking network and your own agency
The UK equivalent of a host agency is a homeworking network, and it's the usual way to become a travel agent from home. You sell under the network's brand, or under your own brand on its licences, and it handles ATOL, bonding and supplier deals. There is also a middle route: ABTA says over 600 businesses trade as managed branches under an existing member's ABTA number instead of holding their own membership (ABTA).
Step 2: set up the company
If you go independent, most agencies trade as a private limited company. Registering one online with Companies House costs £100 (Companies House fees). You will also need a business bank account and an accountant who understands agency accounts, because the CAA and ABTA both look closely at your figures.
Step 3: work out whether you need an ATOL licence
ATOL is the Civil Aviation Authority's protection scheme for flights and flight-inclusive packages. Anyone selling these to UK consumers must be the airline, an ATOL holder or an exempt person. Exemptions include acting as an agent for an ATOL holder, so an agent who sells another company's ATOL-protected holidays under a written agency agreement does not need a licence of their own. If you put flights together with hotels yourself and sell them as packages, you are the organiser and need your own ATOL (CAA: Do I need an ATOL). The CAA itself tells businesses to take independent advice if they are unsure.
What does an ATOL licence cost? From 1 April 2026 the CAA charges £2,606 for a new Standard ATOL plus 16.35 pence per passenger in your licence limit, or £1,538 for a new Small Business ATOL, which covers up to 500 passengers (CAA Scheme of Charges, April 2026). On top of that you pay an ATOL Protection Contribution of £2.50 for each licensable passenger, and Small Business ATOL holders make an advance APC payment of £1,250. The CAA says a decision takes around 12 weeks on average (CAA Small Business ATOL). You also have to meet the CAA's financial tests, so plan for that capital as well as the fees.
Step 4: arrange insolvency protection for packages
The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 apply to packages that don't include a flight too. A UK organiser of a package "must provide effective security" to refund payments for services not performed and to bring travellers home if the business fails (Regulation 19). The regulations allow this through bonding, insurance or holding client money in trust (Package Travel Regulations 2018). ATOL covers the flight-inclusive side; for non-flight packages you need one of the other routes, which is where ABTA bonding or a specialist insurer comes in.
Step 5: decide on ABTA membership
ABTA membership isn't a legal requirement, but many UK clients look for the logo and most members use ABTA for their financial protection. What does ABTA membership cost? ABTA charges an application fee, a joining fee once it offers you membership, and an annual subscription, all subject to VAT and non-refundable. It does not publish the amounts; you get them through its membership enquiry form. Your latest accounts must show a net current asset surplus, a net asset surplus and a share capital surplus, and members who provide package protection pay an extra annual contribution towards ABTA's bond insurance (ABTA membership costs and requirements). Whether you need protection at all depends on what you sell, and ABTA notes that accommodation-only sales may not require it.
Where do travel agents book trips?
Whichever route you take, you will book through a mix of these:
GDS. The global distribution systems used for airline ticketing and some hotel and car bookings.
Consolidators. Wholesalers that sell discounted or net airfares to agents and issue the tickets for you.
Bedbanks. Wholesale hotel inventory at net or commissionable rates, booked through an agent website.
Tour operators and cruise lines. You sell their packages and earn commission, and they carry the package responsibilities.
Direct suppliers. Boutique hotels, DMCs and local guides you contract with yourself, often for the trips that set you apart.
Every one of these sends its own confirmation email, in its own format, with its own reference numbers and deadlines. With a handful of clients that is manageable. At twenty live trips, it's where things start to slip.
What back office does a new travel agency need?
Agents tend to plan the licences and the marketing and leave the admin until it hurts. Have these in place before your first booking:
A booking tracker. One record per booking with the client, supplier, reference, dates, cost, sell price and status. Most agencies start in Excel.
A deadline system. Balance due dates, cancellation deadlines, ticketing time limits and option expiries. Missing one can cost you the booking or your margin.
Client confirmations and invoices. Forwarding a supplier's email exposes your net cost and the supplier's name, and it looks unprofessional. Send your own branded documents.
Payment records. What each client has paid, what you owe each supplier and when. If you hold client money in trust, these records are part of your protection.
Secure storage. Passport details and payment information need proper protection, not a shared spreadsheet.
A spreadsheet works for the first few months. It struggles once two people edit it, once a supplier changes a date, or once a client calls while the person who made the booking is on holiday. Confirmbee was built for that point: you forward a supplier confirmation email, AI drafts the booking for you to check, and it lands in a live tracker the whole team shares. Cancellation, ticketing and payment deadlines are flagged before they pass, and you send branded confirmations, invoices and quotes instead of forwarded supplier emails.
How much does it cost to start a travel agency?
Budgets vary too much for one honest number, so here are the published fees covered above:
US host agency route: host fees (if any), CLIA individual membership at $139 a year if you want your own card, training such as the CTA from $599, and state seller of travel fees where they apply, such as Florida's $300 registration.
US independent route: the above, plus IATAN at $110 to apply and $110 a year for an independent contractor business, CLIA agency membership at $429 a year, a possible Florida bond of up to $25,000, and the capital IATAN expects.
UK homeworking route: the network's fees, plus company or sole trader setup.
UK independent route: £100 to register a company, £1,538 to £2,606 or more for an ATOL application plus £2.50 per passenger in contributions, ABTA fees on application, and the capital both bodies expect to see in your accounts.
Add insurance, a website, booking tools and marketing to every scenario.
Checklist: becoming a travel agent
Pick your niche and your first ten likely clients.
Choose your route: host agency or network, or independent.
Compare at least three hosts on commission split, fees, protection and client ownership.
Form your business entity and open a business bank account.
US: check seller of travel rules in your state and your clients' states.
UK: confirm with the CAA whether you need your own ATOL, and arrange package protection.
Apply for the identifiers you need (IATAN, TIDS, CLIA, TRUE), or confirm you'll book under your host's.
Get errors and omissions or professional indemnity insurance.
Complete supplier training and, if useful, a certification such as the CTA.
Set up your tracker, deadline system, branded documents and payment records before the first sale.
FAQ
Can I become a travel agent from home?
Yes. Host agencies and homeworking networks are built for home-based agents, and you can run a small independent agency from home too. IATAN accepts home-based businesses, provided they meet its other rules, including at least $10,000 in available or invested capital (IATAN).
What is a host agency?
A host agency is an established US travel business that lets independent agents book under its accreditation numbers, supplier contracts and systems in exchange for a share of commission or a fee. The UK equivalent is usually called a homeworking network.
Do I need a licence to be a travel agent in the UK?
There is no general licence to be a travel agent. You need your own ATOL if you organise flight-inclusive packages or sell certain flights in your own name, and you need insolvency protection for any packages you organise. Selling as an agent for an ATOL holder is exempt (CAA).
How do I get an IATA number?
In the US, apply to IATAN with your business licence, proof of two years' experience, E&O insurance or a waiver, any required seller of travel registration and evidence of capital. An independent contractor business pays $110 to apply (IATAN). If you don't issue airline tickets, IATA's free TIDS code may be enough (IATA TIDS).
What is a CLIA number?
It is the identifier cruise lines use to recognise travel agencies and agents. It comes with CLIA membership, which costs $429 a year for an agency and $139 for an individual agent in North America (CLIA).
How long does it take to start a travel agency?
With a host agency or network you can be selling within weeks. Going independent takes longer: the CAA alone quotes about 12 weeks on average for an ATOL decision, and IATAN expects two years of industry experience on the team (CAA, IATAN).