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Regcrest LLC

Guide

Resale certificates, explained state by state.

A resale certificate lets a business buy inventory without paying sales tax on it. What the document actually is depends on the state: in most you prepare it yourself and your supplier keeps it, and in a few the state issues it to you. The difference decides what there is to file, what expires, and what a supplier will accept.

§1

What is a resale certificate?

A resale certificate is the document that lets a business buy goods it intends to resell without paying sales tax on the purchase. The supplier keeps it on file as the reason tax was not charged. It normally rests on a sales tax registration you already hold, so the certificate is one step past the permit, not a substitute for it. Whether a specific purchase qualifies as resale is a determination for your CPA; preparing and filing the paperwork correctly is ours.

§2

How do you get one?

It depends on which of two shapes your state uses. In most states the certificate is a document you complete and give each supplier: Texas Form 01-339, New York ST-120, Pennsylvania REV-1220, Ohio STEC B, Arizona 5000A. Nothing is filed with the state; the supplier retains the form. In the other shape the state itself issues the credential: Florida sends every active registered dealer an Annual Resale Certificate, and Alabama's resale certificate is officially the Sales Tax License itself. There, getting the certificate means getting the registration right.

§3

What does a resale certificate look like?

In the document-shape states it is a one page form: the buyer's name and address, the registration number standing behind the claim (Texas wants the 11 digit permit number, Pennsylvania the 8 digit license ID), a statement that the property is purchased for resale, a description of what is bought, and usually a signature and date. In the issued states it is the state's own paper: Florida's DR-13 prints the certificate number and an expiration date of December 31 on its face, and Alabama's is the license you print from the My Alabama Taxes account.

§4

Seller's permit versus resale certificate

The seller's permit, sales tax license, or Certificate of Authority is your registration with the state to collect tax on what you sell. The resale certificate is the document you give a supplier when you buy inventory you will resell. California's tax agency says plainly that a copy of your permit is not a substitute for a resale certificate, and the same split holds in most states: one credential faces the state, the other faces your supplier. The exception is the issued-shape states, where the registration produces the certificate for you.

§5

How long does one last?

There is no national answer. California's certificate remains in effect until revoked in writing. Florida's expires every December 31 and reissues each November. Arizona's runs for the period written on it, with 12 months encouraged and acceptance up to 48 months only when the vendor documents the license behind it. Alabama's license renews every November to December, and an unrenewed license ends the right to buy tax exempt. The state page for your state carries the exact rule with the agency's own citation.

What the certificate looks like

In the document-shape states the certificate is one page with the same bones everywhere. This sample labels the fields; it is a layout, not any state's actual form.

Sample layout of a typical resale certificateA generic resale certificate with labeled fields: seller name, purchaser name and address, the registration or permit number, a description of the property purchased for resale, the resale statement, blanket or single purchase checkboxes, and the signature and date line.RESALE CERTIFICATE(sample layout, not a state form)SELLER / VENDOR NAMEPURCHASER NAME AND ADDRESSSALES TAX PERMIT / REGISTRATION NUMBERDESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY PURCHASED FOR RESALEI certify the property described is purchasedfor resale in the regular course of business.SINGLE PURCHASEBLANKET CERTIFICATESIGNATURE AND TITLEDATEWho you are buying from.The vendor keeps this document.Who is buying for resale.The registration behind the claim.Format and which number differby state.What is being bought.Specific enough to match invoices.The words that matter.Most states require a statementthat the purchase is for resale.One purchase, or ongoing.Some states have dropped thesignature; most still want one.
A sample layout only. Each state's own form controls, and the issued-certificate states look nothing like this: Florida and Washington mail or publish a credential instead of having the buyer complete one.

The certificate, state by state

Each row names the credential as the agency prints it and links the agency's own form or page, with the date we checked it. States not listed have not been verified yet; nothing here is compiled from somebody else's table.

StateCertificateFormIssuing agencyChecked
AlabamaSales Tax License (serves as the resale certificate)Alabama Department of Revenue2026-10-02
AlaskaNo statewide sales tax; no state resale certificate. Municipal sales taxes are local.Alaska Dept. of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development2026-10-02
ArizonaArizona Resale Certificate5000AArizona Department of Revenue2026-10-02
ArkansasExemption CertificateST391Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration2026-10-02
CaliforniaCalifornia Resale CertificateCDTFA-230California Department of Tax and Fee Administration2026-10-02
ConnecticutSales and Use Tax Resale Certificate (unnumbered)Connecticut Department of Revenue Services2026-10-02
DelawareNo general sales tax; no resale certificate. Delaware levies a gross receipts tax on sellers instead.Delaware Division of Revenue2026-10-02
FloridaFlorida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales TaxDR-13Florida Department of Revenue2026-10-02
GeorgiaSales Tax Certificate of ExemptionST-5Georgia Department of Revenue2026-10-02
HawaiiResale Certificate, General Form 1 (general excise tax)G-17Hawaii Department of Taxation2026-10-02
IdahoSales Tax Resale or Exemption CertificateST-101Idaho State Tax Commission2026-10-02
IllinoisCertificate of ResaleCRT-61Illinois Department of Revenue2026-10-02
IndianaGeneral Sales Tax Exemption CertificateST-105Indiana Department of Revenue2026-10-02
IowaIowa Sales/Use/Excise Tax Exemption Certificate31-014Iowa Department of Revenue2026-10-02
KansasResale Exemption CertificateST-28AKansas Department of Revenue2026-10-02
KentuckyResale Certificate51A105Kentucky Department of Revenue2026-10-02
LouisianaLouisiana Resale Certificate (issued and renewed annually through LaTAP)Louisiana Department of Revenue2026-10-02
MaineMaine Resale Certificate (issued by Maine Revenue Services to qualifying retailers)Maine Revenue Services2026-10-02
MarylandResale certificate statement (no numbered form; the buyer's signed statement with the Maryland registration number)Comptroller of Maryland2026-10-02
MichiganMichigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption3372Michigan Department of Treasury2026-10-02
MinnesotaCertificate of Exemption (resale is one exemption reason)ST3Minnesota Department of Revenue2026-10-02
MississippiNo certificate form; the sales tax permit itself is the resale credential given to suppliersMississippi Department of Revenue2026-10-02
MissouriSales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate149Missouri Department of Revenue2026-10-02
MontanaNo general sales tax; no resale certificate for Montana purposes.Montana Department of Revenue2026-10-02
NebraskaNebraska Resale or Exempt Sale Certificate13Nebraska Department of Revenue2026-10-02
New HampshireNo general sales tax; the Department does not issue resale or exemption certificates.New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration2026-10-02
New JerseyResale CertificateST-3New Jersey Division of Taxation2026-10-02
New MexicoNontaxable Transaction Certificate (NTTC), executed through the Taxpayer Access PointNew Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department2026-10-02
New YorkNew York State and Local Sales and Use Tax Resale CertificateST-120New York State Department of Taxation and Finance2026-10-02
North CarolinaStreamlined Sales and Use Tax Certificate of ExemptionE-595ENorth Carolina Department of Revenue2026-10-02
North DakotaCertificate of ResaleSFN 21950North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner2026-10-02
OhioSales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption CertificateSTEC BOhio Department of Taxation2026-10-02
TexasTexas Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate01-339Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts2026-10-02
VermontVermont Sales Tax Exemption Certificate for Purchases for ResaleS-3Vermont Department of Taxes2026-10-02
VirginiaSales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (resale)ST-10Virginia Department of Taxation2026-10-02
WashingtonReseller permit (state-issued)Washington Department of Revenue2026-10-02
West VirginiaStreamlined Certificate of ExemptionF0003West Virginia Tax Division2026-10-02
WisconsinWisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption CertificateS-211Wisconsin Department of Revenue2026-10-02
OklahomaResale documentation citing the purchaser's Sales Tax Permit (no separate numbered form)Oklahoma Tax Commission2026-10-02
OregonNo general sales tax; no resale certificate.Oregon Department of Revenue2026-10-02
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Exemption Certificate (resale is reason 3)REV-1220Pennsylvania Department of Revenue2026-10-02
South CarolinaResale CertificateST-8ASouth Carolina Department of Revenue2026-10-02
South DakotaStreamlined Certificate of Exemption2040South Dakota Department of Revenue2026-10-02
TennesseeTennessee Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Resale (issued automatically at registration)Tennessee Department of Revenue2026-10-02
ColoradoDeclaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax ExemptionDR 5002Colorado Department of Revenue2026-10-02
MassachusettsSales Tax Resale CertificateST-4Massachusetts Department of Revenue2026-10-02
NevadaResale CertificateTAX-F005Nevada Department of Taxation2026-10-02
Rhode IslandResale Certificate (unnumbered; a wholesale variant exists)Rhode Island Division of Taxation2026-10-02
WyomingExemption Certificate (Streamlined form, linked from the Excise Tax Division's site)Wyoming Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division2026-10-02

The states we have documented

Each page names the form, the agency, what the certificate rests on, and how long it lasts, checked against the agency's own material with the date of the check on the page.

Have us prepare yoursThe resale certificate serviceSales tax registration, the step before itWhat the permit behind it costs, state by state

About the provider

Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.

Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.