Alabama · Resale certificates
Alabama resale certificate, done for you.
Alabama does it differently: the resale certificate is officially called the Sales Tax License, the department's own words. There is no separate certificate form for an Alabama business. You register through My Alabama Taxes, print the license from your account, and renew it every November to December, because a lapsed license ends the right to buy tax exempt for resale.
Last updated:
Who you are dealing with
Alabama Department of Revenue
- Handles:
- Issues the Sales Tax License, which doubles as the resale credential, and runs the annual license renewal
- System:
- My Alabama Taxes (MAT)
- Form:
- No separate resale certificate form. The Sales Tax License registers through the Business Tax Online Registration System in MAT, and a copy prints from the account with the Print tax account license link
State fee. $0. Alabama's Business Tax Online Registration System is provided at no charge to the registrant, in the department's own words, and no fee is published for the annual renewal.
Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.
When you issue a certificate
You need the Alabama Sales Tax License when suppliers ask for a resale credential on Alabama purchases, and you keep needing it: the license renews every November to December, and the department says a license that is not renewed may be cancelled, ending the business's ability to make tax exempt purchases for resale. Whether a purchase qualifies as resale is a determination for your CPA.
What comes next
Not a closure page, but the renewal is the recurring obligation: all Alabama tax account licenses, sales tax included, renew each November to December through My Alabama Taxes, and the renewal is where the department has you review and update the account details it holds.
How long it takes
Alabama does not publish a numeric turnaround for the registration. The license prints from the MAT account once issued, so the practical wait is the registration itself, not a mailed document.
What we do
We confirm what this state requires, prepare the certificate or the application at your direction, and deliver the finished document. We do not tell you a purchase is nontaxable. We do not register a payroll account. You keep the client. We never email them.
What makes Alabama harder than average
- The credential expires annually. Most states' resale documents run until revoked; Alabama cancels an unrenewed license, and with it the right to buy tax exempt for resale. The November to December window is the calendar entry that matters.
- The name misleads out-of-state eyes. Someone searching for an Alabama resale certificate form finds none, because the license is the certificate. The department's own FAQ says so in one sentence.
- Remote businesses cannot get one. Alabama does not issue sales tax licenses to businesses with no Alabama location, and its stated position is that vendors and drop shippers should accept the reseller's home state certificate instead. Which document an out-of-state reseller shows an Alabama supplier depends on where they are registered.
- The license covers a family of accounts. The same November to December renewal covers sales tax, rental tax, sellers use tax, lodgings tax, utility gross receipts tax, and simplified sellers use tax, so a business holding several Alabama accounts renews them together or watches some lapse.
How Alabama compares
Whether a state issues the certificate or has you prepare it decides everything about the paperwork. The guide sets Alabama beside the other documented states.
Questions and answers
What is Alabama's resale certificate?
The Sales Tax License. The Department of Revenue's own FAQ says a resale certificate in Alabama is officially called a Sales Tax License, and a copy prints from your My Alabama Taxes account with the Print tax account license link. There is no separate certificate form for an Alabama registrant.
Does the Alabama resale license expire?
Yes, annually. All Alabama tax account licenses must be renewed each November to December through My Alabama Taxes, and the department says an unrenewed license may be cancelled, meaning the business can no longer use it to make tax exempt purchases for resale or rental.
Can an out-of-state business get an Alabama resale certificate?
No. Alabama does not issue sales tax licenses, which it equates with resale certificates, to remote businesses with no Alabama location. Alabama's stated position is that vendors should accept the home state resale certificate of a reseller buying for resale to Alabama customers.
What does it cost to register?
Nothing from the state. Alabama's Business Tax Online Registration System is provided at no charge to the registrant, and no fee is published for the annual renewal. Our flat fee covers preparing and filing the registration or the renewal.
What do you need from me to start?
The business legal name, FEIN, and Alabama location details, what you sell, and whether the job is the first registration or the November to December renewal. We file through My Alabama Taxes and deliver the printed license. Whether a purchase qualifies for resale is your CPA's call.
Agency 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.