The most expensive words in Vegas event planning are "our vendor didn't know." A booth stuck at the dock, a certificate of insurance rejected an hour before doors, a union steward stopping a load-in: all preventable, all common, all invisible until event day. This guide covers the three compliance areas every planner hiring outside vendors for a Las Vegas venue should understand, in plain language.
One caveat up front: every venue and every show writes its own rules. Treat this as the map, and confirm specifics with your venue or show decorator in writing.
Certificates of Insurance (COI)
Nearly every Vegas venue requires outside vendors to carry general liability insurance and prove it with a COI before load-in. The certificate typically must name the venue (and sometimes the show organizer) as additional insured, use the exact legal entity name the venue specifies, and meet the venue's minimum coverage amounts. The practical planner move: request your vendor's COI the week you book, not the week of the event. A professional vendor turns this around in a day; we send ours the same day because the template is already built. If a vendor stalls on a COI, that is your earliest and cheapest warning sign.
What a COI Actually Proves
A COI is a one-page document issued by the vendor's insurance carrier. It confirms that general liability coverage is active for a specific event date and lists the coverage amounts in plain numbers. It is not the policy itself; think of it as a receipt that proves the policy exists. Venues ask for it because it moves risk off their books: if a vendor's equipment tips, a cable trips a guest, or a rigged sign comes loose, the venue wants proof that the vendor's carrier, not the venue's, is on the hook.
A vendor who's been doing this for years still needs the paperwork in hand. We've had venues turn away crews with decades of experience because the COI on file was for the wrong date. Experience doesn't substitute for the document.
Coverage Limits Vegas Venues Typically Require
Most Las Vegas hotels and event spaces require a minimum of $1 million in general liability coverage per occurrence, according to Affordable Insurance Las Vegas. Limits commonly run $1 million per occurrence paired with a $2 million aggregate, per CoverMyConfetti's COI guide; that aggregate number matters for larger activations running multiple event days on the same policy period.
Some venues raise the bar for vendors operating powered rigs, elevated structures, or anything staged near a general session. As a rough guide to scrutiny by equipment type:
- Tabletop or floor-standing backdrop: standard COI review.
- Powered photo booth or kiosk: standard COI review, plus power drop coordination.
- Elevated signage or rigging: higher coverage limits possible, and engineering sign-off may apply.
- Anything near the general session stage: highest scrutiny; confirm directly with the show organizer.
The number that actually governs your event is whatever appears in that venue's vendor packet, not a general industry figure. Standard event insurance requirements typically include general liability coverage, a COI, and the venue named as additional insured, according to ACT Insurance, but each property sets its own dollar threshold. Confirm with the venue before you build coverage requirements into a vendor contract.
Additional Insured: Getting the Legal Entity Name Right
The COI has to list the venue as an additional insured using the venue's exact legal entity name, and this is where a surprising number of otherwise clean COIs get rejected. Writing "LVCC" when the venue's vendor packet specifies a longer formal entity name can bounce the document back for correction, sometimes the morning of load-in when there's no time left to fix it. If the show uses an official decorator or general contractor, that company may also need to appear alongside the venue.
- Request the exact additional-insured wording from the venue's vendor services contact.
- Confirm whether the show's general contractor or decorator also needs to be listed.
- Send that wording to your vendor in writing, not verbally.
- Check the returned COI character-for-character against what the venue specified.
Four Checks When the COI Lands
- The event date on the COI matches your actual event date.
- The venue name matches the wording the venue specified, exactly.
- The coverage limits meet or exceed the venue's published minimum.
- The policy period hasn't expired before your event date.
Build the COI deadline into the vendor contract itself, with a specific date attached, rather than leaving it to a verbal reminder that gets lost two weeks out.
EAC: Exhibitor-Appointed Contractors
On convention floors, vendors who are not the show's official contractor usually must be registered as an exhibitor-appointed contractor. The EAC process generally involves a form filed by a deadline before the show, the vendor's insurance on record, and sometimes a fee. Deadlines are the trap: EAC paperwork often closes weeks before move-in, and a missed deadline can mean your vendor legally cannot work your booth. When you hire, ask directly: "Do you need EAC registration for this show, and what do you need from me to file it?" A vendor who works Vegas conventions will answer in one email with the form attached.
A COI proves insurance; EAC paperwork authorizes the vendor to work the show floor at all. A vendor can hand you a flawless COI and still get turned away at the dock if the EAC form was never filed by the deadline. Ask both questions on day one.
For the filing process step by step, see our guide to setting up EAC-compliant vendors at Las Vegas convention venues. For how the rules differ building to building, see LVCC vs. Venetian Expo vs. Mandalay Bay vendor rules compared.
Union Labor Jurisdictions
Las Vegas convention venues operate with union labor agreements that give specific trades jurisdiction over specific work: typically material handling beyond what a vendor can hand-carry, electrical connections, and rigging. What this means for a photo booth vendor in practice: equipment that can be hand-carried in one trip is usually fine to self-carry, while palletized freight goes through the venue's material handling. Power drops at a booth space are ordered through the show, not run by your vendor. The rules exist, they are enforced, and a vendor who plans around them loads in on schedule. Ask your vendor how they handle load-in at your specific venue; the answer should reference docks, carts, and timing, not confusion.
Power feeds back into the paperwork too. Powered equipment can draw higher coverage scrutiny, and the drop has to be requested and mapped on the site plan ahead of load-in day. Confirm loading dock hours and any union labor requirements in the venue's published vendor packet rather than secondhand, and don't assume this year's rules match last year's show.
What This Means When Hiring
Compliance is not your job as a planner; verifying that your vendor treats it as their job is. Three questions cover it: Can you send a COI naming our venue this week? Do we need EAC registration, and who files what? How do you load in at this venue? We built our whole vendor vetting checklist around these, and our own answers are on the brand activation page. Since 2014 we have loaded into most of the convention properties in this city, and the paperwork is now the easy part.
The longer version, for vendor calls before anything is signed:
- Can you provide a COI naming the venue as additional insured within one business day of request?
- What are your general liability coverage limits, and do they meet or exceed this venue's published minimum?
- Are you filed as an exhibitor-appointed contractor for this show, and when does that paperwork close?
- Will your equipment be hand-carried in, or does it route through venue material handling as palletized freight?
- Do you order your own power drop through the show, or does that need to happen through us as the planner?
A vendor who answers all five without hesitation has done this before. A vendor who needs to "check on that and get back to you" on more than one is a scheduling risk you're taking on, not just an insurance risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who requests the COI, the planner or the vendor?
The vendor produces it; the planner (or venue) tells them what it must say. Forward your venue's insurance requirements to the vendor the day you book, and ask for the certificate back within the week so any coverage gaps surface early.
What happens if a vendor shows up without EAC registration?
At shows that enforce it, security or the show decorator can refuse the vendor floor access, full stop. There is rarely a same-day fix, which is why the deadline question belongs in your first vendor call rather than move-in week.
Can a photo booth vendor carry their own equipment into a convention center?
Generally yes when the equipment is hand-carriable, though each venue defines the limits: number of trips, cart types, which doors. Anything palletized or freight-shipped routes through official material handling. Your vendor should know the drill for your specific building.
Do these rules apply at hotel ballrooms too, or just convention centers?
Hotels are lighter on EAC formality but still require COIs almost universally, and larger hotel conference operations follow union jurisdiction on loading docks and power. The safe assumption for any Vegas venue: COI required, load-in rules exist, confirm both.
Does compliance add cost to the booth rental?
With a local vendor it is built in; our published $750 day rate already reflects insurance and Vegas logistics. Out-of-town vendors often quote lower and then discover these line items late, which is how a cheap quote becomes an expensive event.
What is a COI in event planning?
A certificate of insurance, or COI, is a one-page document from a vendor's insurance carrier proving active general liability coverage for a specific event date. It lists coverage limits and, when requested, names the venue as an additional insured. It is proof of coverage, not the insurance policy itself, and most Las Vegas venues require one from every outside vendor before load-in.
How much general liability insurance do Las Vegas venues require from vendors?
Most Las Vegas hotels and event spaces require a minimum of $1 million in general liability coverage per occurrence, according to Affordable Insurance Las Vegas. Some venues raise that limit for vendors running powered equipment or elevated rigs near a general session. Always confirm the exact number in the venue's published vendor packet rather than assuming a flat industry standard.
Is a COI the same as EAC approval at a Vegas convention center?
No. A COI proves insurance coverage; EAC (exhibitor-appointed contractor) approval is separate paperwork that authorizes an outside vendor to work the show floor at all. EAC deadlines often close weeks before move-in, so ask both questions on your first call with a vendor, not during move-in week.
Who should be listed as additional insured on a vendor's COI?
The venue, using its exact legal entity name, and sometimes the show organizer or general contractor for shows with an official show decorator. Get the required wording directly from the venue's vendor services team before requesting the COI, since a mismatched name can bounce the document back and delay load-in.
Hire a Vendor Who Has Done This Before
Send us your venue and show name and we will tell you exactly what paperwork applies and file our side of it. Start at corporate events, see setups in the gallery, or check your date.
