Service §05
Resale certificates, handled in any state.
A resale certificate is what lets you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it. What it takes to get one differs in every state. We handle it at a flat fee per state, plus any state fee.
What it is
When a business buys goods it intends to resell, it can usually buy them without paying sales tax, and the resale certificate is the document that proves it. What that document is depends on the state. In some states you apply to the tax agency and the state issues a certificate. In others the certificate is a form you complete yourself and give to each supplier, and the supplier keeps it on file. Either way it normally rests on a sales tax registration you already hold, so the certificate is one step past the permit.
Who needs it
- Retailers and e-commerce sellers buying inventory from wholesalers and distributors
- Businesses whose supplier has asked for a certificate before removing sales tax from an invoice
- Sellers expanding into a state where they already hold a sales tax permit and now need to buy stock there
- CPAs and bookkeepers whose client has been charged sales tax on goods they are reselling
Whether a particular purchase qualifies to be bought for resale is a tax determination, and so is whether your business may issue a certificate at all. We do not make either call. Your CPA or sales tax advisor decides what qualifies; we prepare and file the paperwork at your direction. A certificate used for goods that were not bought for resale creates a liability for the buyer, so this is worth getting right with your advisor first.
What we do
- Send you a short form that asks only about the states on your order, already filled in from last time if you have worked with us before
- Confirm what the state requires, since some issue a certificate and others expect you to complete one for your supplier
- Prepare the certificate or the application for each state on your list
- File it with the state where the state is the one that issues it
- Deliver the finished certificate, and the account details where a state issues them
What you provide
- Company details (legal name, EIN, addresses, formation state)
- Your sales tax permit number for each state, or tell us if you do not hold one yet
- A description of what you buy for resale
- The suppliers the certificate is for, where the state expects a certificate per supplier
Price and timeline. A flat $180 per state, plus any state fee passed through at cost. One state is one unit, however many certificates it takes. Need several states at once? Send us your list and we will quote the whole project as a flat total before you decide. We submit within 2 business days of receiving complete information. How long a state takes after that varies, and where no state filing is involved you get the finished certificate straight back.
If a filing gets rejected. If a state rejects something we prepared, we correct it and refile at no extra charge, and we handle the back-and-forth with the agency until it clears. We do not decide what qualifies for resale treatment and we do not cover tax assessed on a purchase that turned out not to qualify. That determination sits with you and your advisor.
What the states actually do
The patterns below come from the states documented on this site, each one checked against the agency's own material. They are the reason this work takes a specialist rather than an afternoon.
California does not issue a resale certificate. Florida does.
Florida sends Form DR-13, the Annual Resale Certificate, with the sales tax registration. California's CDTFA publishes Publication 103 and the CDTFA-230 template, and it says it does not provide resale certificates. The purchaser completes the document and the seller keeps it. A copy of a California seller's permit is not a substitute.
A seller's permit is not a resale certificate.
CDTFA registers you to sell. The resale certificate is the form you give suppliers when buying inventory for resale. People search for a 'resale number' or 'resale license' and land on the permit. In California those are different documents, and handing over a permit copy does not do the certificate's job.
The certificate has to say the property is purchased for resale.
Regulation 1668 and Publication 103 require a signature, the purchaser's name and address, a seller's permit number or a sufficient explanation why no California permit is required, a description of the property, and the phrase 'for resale.' Labels such as 'nontaxable' or 'exempt' alone are not enough. Any document with those elements can serve, including CDTFA-230.
A California certificate lasts until it is revoked in writing.
Regulation 1668: a resale certificate remains in effect until revoked in writing. California does not run Florida's calendar-year Annual Resale Certificate model, and there is no December 31 reissue cycle on the California side. Blanket certificates may cover ongoing purchases of the described property, and each supplier keeps the certificate on file.
Using a certificate for property you will keep is a misuse, not a paperwork error.
CDTFA Publication 103: if you buy for resale and later use the property, use tax may apply. Knowingly issuing a certificate for items you will not resell can mean the tax, interest, possible permit revocation, a civil penalty of 10 percent of the tax or $500 (whichever is greater) per purchase, and in intent-to-evade cases a misdemeanor under the Revenue and Taxation Code. We prepare the certificate at your direction. We do not decide what qualifies. Ask your CPA or tax advisor for your facts.
Questions and answers
Do I need a sales tax permit before I can get a resale certificate?
Usually yes. A resale certificate normally references a sales tax registration you already hold in that state. If you do not have one yet, tell us and we will quote the registration alongside it so both happen in the right order.
Is a resale certificate the same as a sales tax permit?
No. The permit registers you to collect sales tax from your customers. The resale certificate is what lets you buy inventory without paying sales tax on it. They are separate documents and they do separate jobs.
My supplier is asking for a certificate. Can you deal with them directly?
We prepare the certificate and send it to you, and you pass it to your supplier. Suppliers keep certificates on file themselves, so the document needs to come from you as the buyer.
Can one certificate cover all my suppliers?
It depends on the state. Some accept a single blanket certificate that covers ongoing purchases, and some expect one per supplier. We tell you which applies in your state before you pay, and our fee is per state either way.
Do you decide whether something qualifies to be bought for resale?
No. That is a tax determination and it belongs to your CPA or sales tax advisor. We are a document preparation and filing service, we are not a law firm, and we do not give tax advice. You tell us what to prepare and we prepare it correctly.
Do certificates expire?
Some states set an expiry, some do not, and some suppliers ask for a refreshed copy on their own schedule. We tell you what applies in the state you are filing in, and you can come back to us for a renewal.
Can you handle several states at once?
Yes. Send us the list. We quote the whole project as one flat total before you commit, and the same senior specialist handles every state on it.
Resale certificate by state
Every state below was checked against that state's own agency material on the date shown. The account count is the number of separate agencies that state makes you deal with, which is the part that decides how long this takes.
| State | Accounts | Systems you file in | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1 | CDTFA online services (seller's permit registration); forms/publications for CDTFA-230 | 2026-08-12 |
| Ohio | 1 | Fill-in PDFs from the department's forms library; no portal filing exists for the certificate | 2026-09-30 |
| Arizona | 1 | AZTaxes.gov for the TPT license; the 5000A itself is a PDF between purchaser and vendor | 2026-09-30 |
| Alabama | 1 | My Alabama Taxes (MAT) | 2026-09-30 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | The form is a PDF between buyer and seller; the license behind it registers through myPATH | 2026-09-30 |
| Florida | 1 | Florida's taxpayer account at floridarevenue.com; certificates download from the account's print certificate page | 2026-09-30 |
| New York | 1 | The form is a PDF between purchaser and seller; the Certificate of Authority registers through New York Business Express | 2026-09-30 |
| Texas | 1 | The form is a PDF between buyer and supplier; the permit behind it registers through eSystems | 2026-09-30 |
State details verified 2026-09-30
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.