Significance Endocytosis transports cargos inside the cell by creating spherical vesicles from the plasma membrane. This membrane remodeling requires proteins to generate force to bend the membrane inwards, overcoming the high-turgor pressure in plant cells. However, as plants create clathrin-coated vesicles without actin, the machinery to bend membranes during endocytosis is entirely unknown and appears distinct from other model systems. Here, we refine the physiological role of the plant-specific and essential endocytic TPLATE complex. We find it localizes outside of clathrin-coated vesicles and mediates membrane bending, contrasting with previous predictions. We further demonstrate that the TPLATE complex contains protein domains which have intrinsic membrane-bending activity; thus, we identify a component of the unique endocytosis membrane-bending machinery in plants.