How to Apply for Form PLS709: New York Certificate of Authority

To sell taxable goods or services in New York, you need a New York Certificate of Authority from the state Department of Taxation and Finance before your first sale. Registration is free, uses Form DTF-17 (with the responsible-person questionnaire, Form DTF-17.1), and must be filed at least 20 days before you start business. The department is required by statute to issue the certificate within five days of receiving a complete application.¹

Who Has to Register

New York Tax Law Section 1101 defines “vendor” broadly. If you sell taxable tangible personal property, provide taxable services, operate a hotel, or charge admission to amusements, you need the certificate before your first transaction. That includes selling from home, selling only once a year, and operating as a temporary vendor at a fair or craft show.² Resellers register too, because the certificate is what lets you issue exemption certificates to your suppliers.¹

Out-of-State Sellers

Remote sellers with no physical presence in New York must register once, over the preceding four sales tax quarters, their gross receipts from property delivered into the state exceed $500,000 and they made more than 100 such sales. Both conditions must be met.³ The quarterly periods end on the last day of February, May, August, and November. Once you cross both thresholds, you have 30 days to file.¹

If You Sell Only Through a Marketplace

Platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are generally responsible for collecting and remitting New York sales tax on the third-party sales they facilitate.⁴ If your marketplace handles it and you sell nowhere else, you may not need your own certificate for those transactions. But the moment you also sell through your own website, a storefront, or an event booth, you need your own Certificate of Authority for those separate sales.

What to Gather Before You Start

The application has two parts, DTF-17 and DTF-17.1, and the online portal will not save a partial application. Have everything ready before you open the form. The Tax Department publishes a checklist on its registration page.²

For Form DTF-17 you will need:

Your federal Employer Identification Number. The IRS issues these instantly online. If you can’t get an EIN, the Tax Department will assign a temporary New York ID number.
The legal business name exactly as filed with the New York Department of State on your Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Organization, or partnership filing.⁵
Any DBA or trade name you use.
The physical street address where you will make sales. A P.O. Box will not work; this address prints on the certificate.
Your expected business start date.
A description of your primary business activity, which the department uses to set your initial filing frequency.

Responsible Persons

Form DTF-17.1 identifies everyone with authority over the business’s finances or tax obligations: anyone who runs daily operations, decides which bills get paid, signs checks, prepares returns, or has authority over business decisions. Certain owners, officers, partners, and LLC members count automatically regardless of day-to-day involvement.⁶

For each responsible person, gather:

Full legal name, date of birth, and home address (no P.O. Box).
Social Security number or ITIN.
Ownership percentage and profit distribution percentage.
The date the person assumed responsibility.
Answers to disclosure questions on open liens or judgments, pending criminal charges, permit revocations, government investigations, tax filing failures, and bankruptcy proceedings over the past five to seven years.

This section matters because responsible persons are personally liable for unpaid sales tax. If the business collects tax and fails to remit it, the state can pursue the individuals for the full amount.⁷

How to File

Online

The Tax Department’s preferred channel is New York Business Express at businessexpress.ny.gov. You need a NY.gov Business account; a personal NY.gov account will not work, so set the business account up first.² The portal validates entries as you go, which catches mismatched names or bad EINs before submission. Once approved, the physical certificate is mailed to your business address.⁵

By Mail

Download DTF-17 and DTF-17.1 from the Tax Department website, complete both, and send them to:

NYS Tax Department
Sales Tax Registration Unit
W A Harriman Campus
Albany, NY 12227-8600⁵

Paper takes longer because staff key the data in by hand. Whichever route you choose, the commissioner must issue the certificate within five days of receiving a complete application, at no charge.¹ Apply well ahead of your opening date so the 20-day advance rule doesn’t push it.

After Approval

Display

You must prominently display the certificate at the address it lists. Multiple locations mean a separate certificate for each site, with each one showing its own address.¹ Customers and inspectors should see it without asking. Not displaying it is itself a violation.

Filing Frequency

The Tax Department assigns your starting filing frequency. Most new vendors begin as quarterly filers. You start as an annual filer only if you indicate you do not expect to collect any sales tax (for example, registering solely to accept exemption certificates) and your primary activity is manufacturing or wholesaling.⁸

Frequency adjusts with your volume:

Annual: total sales and use tax due is $3,000 or less for the annual period.
Quarterly: the default, as long as taxable receipts stay under $300,000 in a quarter.
Part-quarterly (monthly): required once combined taxable receipts, rents, and amusement charges reach $300,000 in any quarter, effective the first month of the following quarter.⁸

Temporary Vendors and Security Deposits

If you plan to operate for less than a year, hold a short-term lease, or sell as a concessionaire at a special event, the Tax Department may require a security bond or deposit before issuing your certificate. The same can apply to any vendor with a history of late filings, improper returns, or poor recordkeeping. A bond must come from a surety authorized in New York, though other forms of security are accepted. The amount is set at the department’s discretion and can be increased later.⁹ There is no shortened permit for one-off events — temporary vendors go through the same registration.

Buying, Changing, or Closing the Business

Changes to the Certificate

The certificate is non-assignable and non-transferable. It belongs to one legal entity at one location. If you move, change the business name, or restructure ownership, notify the Tax Department and amend your registration. Changing entity type — converting a sole proprietorship into an LLC, for instance — usually means surrendering the old certificate and filing a new application.¹

Buying an Existing Business

If you are purchasing substantially all of a business’s assets, notify the Tax Department at least 10 days before paying for or taking possession of the assets, whichever comes first. File Form AU-196.10, Notification of Sale, Transfer, or Assignment in Bulk, by registered mail, certified mail with return receipt, or hand delivery to the department in Albany.¹⁰ Skipping this step means you can inherit the seller’s unpaid sales tax. You will also need to apply for your own Certificate of Authority; the seller’s certificate cannot pass to you.

Closing

When you stop doing business, surrender the certificate and file a final sales tax return within 20 days. Send the certificate with the final return to the Sales Tax Registration Unit at the Harriman Campus address in Albany.¹¹

Penalties for Operating Without One

Making taxable sales without a valid Certificate of Authority carries fines of up to $500 for the first day, plus up to $200 for each additional day, capped at $10,000.¹² These are civil penalties the Tax Department can impose administratively, without going to court. The same structure applies if you keep selling after your certificate is revoked.¹³ Without a certificate, any exemption certificates you hand suppliers are invalid, and you have no legal authority to collect sales tax from customers. Combine that with the 20-day advance filing rule, and the gap between “I should register” and “I can legally sell” is at least three weeks. Start early.

1
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law 1134 – Registration
2
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Register as a Sales Tax Vendor
3
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Registration Requirement for Businesses With No Physical Presence
4
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax Collection Requirement for Marketplace Providers
5
Department of Taxation and Finance. Instructions for Form DTF-17 Application to Register for a Sales Tax Certificate of Authority
6
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Business Contact and Responsible Person Questionnaire
7
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Application for Partial Relief From Responsible Person Liability Under the Tax Law
8
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Filing Requirements for Sales and Use Tax Returns
9
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 20 CRR-NY 533.1 – Registration Requirement
10
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Bulk Sales
11
Legal Information Institute. 20 NYCRR 533.1 – Registration Requirement
12
Legal Information Institute. 20 NYCRR 540.6 – Penalty for Conducting a Business Without Possessing a Valid Certificate of Authority
13
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 20 CRR-NY 533.1 – Registration Requirement