Seller's Permit vs Resale Certificate

A seller's permit registers your business with the state so you can collect sales tax from your customers. A resale certificate is a document you give your supplier so you can buy inventory without paying sales tax on it, because the tax will be collected when you resell. Most businesses that buy goods to resell need both, and the permit usually comes first.

Names vary. California calls the registration a seller's permit. Texas calls it a sales and use tax permit, and many states call it a sales tax license. In this guide, "seller's permit" means any of them.

What does each document do?

The permit comes with duties. Texas lists them: post the permit, collect tax on taxable sales, file returns on time even when you had no sales, and keep records (Texas Comptroller permit FAQ). The certificate has one job. It moves the tax from your purchase to your customer's purchase.

The two are not interchangeable. Texas says a customer's permit number, or a copy of the permit, is not a substitute for a resale certificate (Texas Comptroller resale FAQ).

Who issues each one?

The seller's permit always comes from the state tax agency, such as the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) or the Texas Comptroller. You apply online, and once approved you get a permit number. See our sales tax registration pages for each state's agency and process.

The resale certificate works one of two ways.

• You fill it out. Most states publish a form that the buyer completes and hands to the supplier. Texas uses Form 01-339, which tells you to give it to the supplier and not to send it to the Comptroller (Form 01-339). California offers Form CDTFA-230, but any document with the required elements counts (Regulation 1668). See our walkthrough of Texas Form 01-339.
• The state issues it. Florida issues an Annual Resale Certificate to registered dealers each year, and it expires December 31 (Florida DOR). Washington issues a reseller permit, generally valid for four years, at no cost (Washington DOR).

Either way, you usually need the permit first. Texas requires your 11-digit permit number on the certificate, or a statement that your application is pending, which is good for only 60 days (34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.285). California requires your seller's permit number, or an explanation of why you are not required to hold one (Regulation 1668).

What does each one cost?

Seller's permit fees, as of October 2026:

• California: no fee, though CDTFA may require a security deposit in some cases (Publication 73).
• Texas: no fee, though you may have to post a security bond (Texas Comptroller permit FAQ).
• Connecticut: $100 to register to collect sales and use tax (Connecticut DRS).
• Arkansas: $50, paid when you submit the application (Arkansas DFA).

Resale certificates are different. Where you fill out the form yourself, there is nothing to file and no fee to the state. Washington says there is no cost for a reseller permit (Washington DOR). Each state's resale certificate page lists its own form and rules.

What a seller must keep on file

If you sell to other businesses, the certificate protects you, not the buyer. Without one, the state treats the sale as taxable.

Texas presumes every sale is taxable unless you accept a properly completed resale or exemption certificate. You are protected if you take it in good faith, at or before the sale, and do not know the sale is not for resale. Keep it at least four years from the date of the sale. A blanket certificate covers future purchases until the buyer revokes it in writing (34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.285). The rule gives an example: a jewelry seller should know a landscaping company is not in the business of reselling jewelry.

California treats a document as a valid certificate if it has the buyer's signature, name and address, seller's permit number, a description of the property and the date (Regulation 1668). Check each buyer's permit with the state's lookup tool before you rely on it.

What happens if you misuse a resale certificate?

A resale certificate is a promise that you will resell what you bought. If you use the item yourself, you owe the tax. If you misuse the certificate on purpose, states add penalties.

• California: the tax, plus a penalty of 10 percent of the tax or $500, whichever is greater, for each purchase made for personal gain or to evade tax (Rev. & Tax. Code 6094.5). CDTFA notes that your permit can also be revoked (Publication 103).
• Florida: the tax, plus a mandatory penalty of 200 percent of the tax, and a third-degree felony for a fraudulent claim (Fla. Stat. 212.085).
• Texas: a crime graded by the tax avoided, from a Class C misdemeanor under $20 to a second-degree felony at $20,000 or more (Tex. Tax Code 151.707).
• Washington: a penalty of 50 percent of the tax due on the improper purchase, on top of the tax and interest (RCW 82.32.291).

Can you use one certificate in many states?

Two multistate forms exist. Neither works everywhere.

The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate lists 37 states plus Alaska's remote seller commission as accepting it, many with conditions in its footnotes (MTC certificate, rev. October 14, 2022). Florida, for example, also requires the seller to get an authorization number using your Florida resale certificate number. States not on the list include Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

The Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) Certificate of Exemption covers resale and other exemptions (SST certificate). It fits the 23 full member states and Tennessee, an associate member (SST state information). Texas accepts the MTC form but says the SST certificate may not be accepted as a resale certificate (34 Tex. Admin. Code 3.285).

What to do next

1. Find out whether your sales create a duty to register. Our guide on when you need a sales tax permit covers physical presence and economic nexus.
2. Register in each state where you must collect. The registration checklist lists what the application asks for.
3. Give each supplier the right certificate for its state, such as the Texas or California form.

eRegister prepares and files sales tax permit applications if you would rather not do it yourself; see sales tax registration.

This guide is general information, not tax advice. For a specific transaction, check with the state.