What a Mississippi party rental business costs to start
How much does it cost to start a party rental business in Mississippi?
The paperwork is the cheap part
Start with the number that surprises people: the state paperwork for this business costs $50, plus $25 more only if you reserve a name first.
The Certificate of Formation, form F0100, is $50. The sales tax permit is free, and the Department of Revenue states there is no fee to obtain one. The EIN from the IRS is free, and the IRS states you never have to pay for it. The LLC annual report, due April 15, is $0 on the fee schedule.
Add the optional name reservation at $25 and the full first-year state bill reaches $75. That is the whole legal floor. The money in this trade goes into equipment and cover, and the next two sections are where it goes.
$50Mississippi charges a $50 filing fee for the MS LLC Certificate of Formation, form F0100, a $25 fee for an LLC name reservation, and lists the MS LLC Annual Report, form F0108, at a $0 fee. — Mississippi Secretary of State fee schedule, retrieved 2026-09-29
$0The Mississippi Department of Revenue states there is no fee to obtain a sales tax permit, and the IRS states you never have to pay a fee for an EIN. — Mississippi Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
What the inventory costs
The inventory is the budget. Commercial-grade units are priced in the thousands, and a manufacturer's own catalog is the honest source for the floor.
Magic Jump, a bounce house manufacturer, lists a 6-by-6 mini bouncer at $795 cash price, a 15-by-15 castle at $1,649, and a 20-by-20 unit at $3,800. Those three prices bracket a realistic first fleet: one castle, one combo, one interactive piece.
The same catalog shows stock dates on some models, so ordering in winter for a spring launch is part of the cost plan, not caution. Freight, straps, stakes, a hand truck and a blower are the smaller line items that add up around the units.
Buying used is legal and common, but the manual must come with the unit, and the CPSC bulletin writes its guidance around the manufacturer's instructions. A used unit without its manual loses the anchor points, rider limits and wind numbers the bulletin defers to.
| Unit | Size | Published cash price |
|---|---|---|
| Mini bouncer | 6 ft by 6 ft | $795 |
| Castle bounce house | 15 ft by 15 ft | $1,649 |
| Jumbo 20 ft unit | 20 ft by 20 ft | $3,800 |
$795 to $3,800Manufacturer Magic Jump publishes a 6-by-6 mini bouncer at a $795 cash price, a 15-by-15 castle bounce house at $1,649, and a 20-by-20 bounce unit at $3,800, with stock dates shown on some models. — Magic Jump manufacturer catalog, retrieved 2026-09-29
The CPSC bulletin's commercial guidance instructs operators to follow the manufacturer's requirements for anchoring, maximum loads, and operation. — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29
The decal line item, if it applies
One possible line item is unlike the others, because it attaches per mechanical unit rather than to the business.
If a unit crosses into Mississippi's amusement ride program, the Department of Revenue's page prices the operating permit application at a non-refundable $100, and the application requires a certificate of insurance of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence plus proof of inspection by a certified inspector. One fee covers multiple rides listed on one application.
Most inflatable inventories do not cross that line, because the act defines an amusement ride as a mechanical device carrying passengers along a fixed or restricted course. The compliance guide reads the definition against a real inventory list, and it is the page to settle that question before this budget is final.
$100The Department of Revenue's amusement ride page sets a non-refundable $100 application fee for an operating permit, with a $1,000,000 per-occurrence certificate of insurance and proof of inspection. — Mississippi Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Mississippi's amusement ride act defines an amusement ride as a mechanical device that carries or conveys passengers along, around or over a fixed or restricted route or course. — Mississippi Department of Archives and History, enrolled House Bill 999 of 2020, retrieved 2026-09-29
Insurance, the budget line without a sticker price
General liability cover is the one cost here no agency publishes a number for, and pretending otherwise is how budgets break.
What is published is the shape of the coverage. An insurer serving the inflatable rental market, XINSURANCE, lists commercial general liability covering injuries and property damage sustained by third parties, alongside equipment rental liability, premises liability, property coverage, commercial auto and special events coverage for bounce houses, slides, obstacle courses, mechanical bulls and supporting gear such as tables, chairs and tents.
The same insurer states that terms vary based on revenue, the number and type of inflatables, coverage limits, state requirements and claims history, and that quotes are not instant, with underwriting review first. That is the honest state of pricing in this market: an application, a review, then a number.
What the insurer will scrutinize matters as much as the price. XINSURANCE states it may write businesses with one or more commercial-grade inflatables used in a legitimate rental business, and that unsupervised rentals or customer pickup depend on underwriting review, business practices and risk controls. The insurance page covers what that means for a supervised-delivery operation.
Insurer XINSURANCE lists coverage options for inflatable businesses including commercial general liability, equipment rental liability, property coverage, commercial auto and special events coverage. — XINSURANCE inflatable and bounce house insurance page, retrieved 2026-09-29
XINSURANCE states that coverage terms vary based on revenue, the number and type of inflatables, coverage limits and claims history, and that quotes require underwriting review. — XINSURANCE inflatable and bounce house insurance page, retrieved 2026-09-29
A first-season budget that adds up
Put the lines together and a realistic first season takes shape. The table below is arithmetic on the published figures above, not a quote, and the insurance line is deliberately a placeholder, because no insurer publishes one.
The lean column is one castle, one combo-sized unit, a permit and a policy. The working column is three units, the decal program in case one unit crosses the line, and marketing spend. The equipment guide covers what to buy in what order.
| Line item | Lean start | Working start |
|---|---|---|
| LLC filing and name reservation | $75 | $75 |
| Sales tax permit and EIN | $0 | $0 |
| Commercial units | $3,300 (2 units) | $7,100 (3 units) |
| Anchoring hardware, straps, blower spares | $300 | $600 |
| Amusement decal, only if a unit qualifies | $0 | $100 |
| General liability insurance | quoted per policy | quoted per policy |
| Marketing and booking site | $200 | $800 |
$3,300 to $7,100The budget lines build on the Secretary of State's $50 formation fee, the Department of Revenue's $100 amusement permit fee, and manufacturer prices of $1,649 and $3,800. — Mississippi Secretary of State fee schedule, retrieved 2026-09-29
Where the money comes back
The units earn their price back per booking, and the arithmetic is simple enough to do before buying.
A $1,649 castle at $200 per weekend rental pays for itself in about eight booked weekends, before delivery costs and insurance. At $150 it takes eleven. Those are planning numbers, not promises, and they assume the unit stays bookable through a spring season.
The recurring state costs stay near zero: the annual report is $0 and the sales tax permit does not expire while you stay in the same business at the same location. What recurs is insurance, maintenance and your time.
The pricing page builds the quote from the unit's cost, the tax and the delivery, and the formation services page keeps the filing cost honest while you spend the real money on the fleet.
$0The Secretary of State's fee schedule lists the MS LLC Annual Report at a $0 filing fee, and the Department of Revenue states a sales tax permit does not expire. — Mississippi Secretary of State fee schedule, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
What is the cheapest legal start in Mississippi?
A $50 Certificate of Formation, a free sales tax permit, a free EIN and one commercial-grade unit. Manufacturer floor prices run from a $795 mini bouncer to a $3,800 twenty-foot unit, and insurance is quoted per policy.
Does Mississippi charge an annual franchise fee for an LLC?
The Secretary of State's fee schedule lists the MS LLC Annual Report at $0. The recurring money in this trade is insurance and equipment upkeep, not state filings.
How much is the amusement decal?
A non-refundable $100 application fee, plus a $1,000,000-per-occurrence certificate of insurance and an inspection by a certified inspector, if the unit crosses into the program. One fee can cover multiple rides on one application.
Should used equipment be part of the first budget?
It can cut the inventory line sharply. The condition is the manual, which the CPSC bulletin writes setup, anchoring and wind rules around, and a unit without it has none of those numbers.