How to Complete New York Form DTF-950: Certificate of Sales Tax Exemption

New York Form DTF-950 is the single-purchase sales tax exemption certificate that a foreign diplomat or diplomatic mission fills out at the register when buying something tax-free in New York State. You complete and sign one at the point of sale, hand it to the vendor along with your U.S. Department of State tax exemption card, and — with the narrow exception of utility services — you do it again for the next purchase.¹

Who Can Use the Form

DTF-950 is only for accredited diplomatic missions and personnel (and eligible dependents) who hold a current tax exemption card issued by the Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions, or by the American Institute in Taiwan. The card exists to honor U.S. obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.² Businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies claiming other New York exemptions use different certificates.

There are two card categories, and they behave differently at checkout:

Mission cards (“Mission Tax Exemption – Official Purchases Only”) cover purchases for mission operations. Payment has to come from the mission by check, credit card, or wire transfer in the mission’s name. Cash and personal payment methods are not allowed.
Personal cards (“Personal Tax Exemption”) cover the personal purchases of the individual pictured on the card. Any payment method is fine, but the card cannot be loaned.

Each card carries an animal symbol that fixes the level of exemption, and the form asks you to mark which one you hold:

Owl — mission card, unrestricted.
Buffalo — mission card, restricted (minimum purchase amount, excluded categories, or both, printed on the card).
Eagle — personal card, unrestricted.
Deer — personal card, restricted, with the limits printed on the card.

Cards issued through the American Institute in Taiwan have their own box on the form. The restriction level is set by the Office of Foreign Missions on a reciprocity basis, reflecting the treatment U.S. personnel receive in the cardholder’s home country.²

How to Fill It Out at the Register

The certificate is short, but the vendor is required to reject anything incomplete, so copy the details from your exemption card exactly.¹ You’ll need:

Name of cardholder, as printed on the card.
Tax exemption number from the card.
The foreign mission you are affiliated with.
Card expiration date.
Name of the vendor where you are buying.
Total amount of the purchase.
The box for your card type (Owl, Buffalo, Eagle, Deer, or AIT).
If your card is Buffalo or Deer, the restrictions printed on the bottom of the card, written out in the space provided.
Your signature and the date, signed in the vendor’s presence at the time of purchase.

Sign the purchase invoice as well, and show your physical exemption card so the vendor can verify it. If you’re using a mission card, remember that payment has to be made in the mission’s name — cash, a personal credit card, or a personal check will disqualify the exemption even if the paperwork is otherwise correct.¹

One Certificate Per Purchase, With One Exception

A fresh DTF-950 is required for every transaction. Five visits to the same store means five certificates. The one meaningful exception is utility services covered under Tax Law section 1105(b) — electricity, gas, water, and similar — where a single certificate on file with the provider covers all future purchases from that provider.³ Non-highway diesel motor fuel also requires a separate certificate for each purchase.

What DTF-950 Cannot Be Used For

The form specifically cannot be used to buy motor fuel or diesel motor fuel tax-free, with non-highway diesel as the only exception.¹ More broadly, the Department of State’s card-based exemption program does not cover:

Motor vehicles.
Gasoline and diesel fuel, which run through a separate oil-company credit card program using Form DS-99.
Airline tickets.
Cruises.

Internet and telephone orders are also excluded, because the cardholder cannot present the physical card to the vendor at the point of sale.² For gasoline and diesel, enrollment goes through an oil company’s fleet or corporate credit card application submitted together with Form DS-99 to the Office of Foreign Missions; cash purchases at the pump are never tax-exempt, and the sales tax exemption card itself cannot be used there.⁴

If You Are the Vendor Receiving the Form

Accept the certificate only when it is complete and accurate, the card has not expired, the purchase amount clears any minimum shown on the card (minimums don’t apply to utilities), the person at the counter matches the photo on an Eagle, Deer, or AIT card, and the payer of record matches the card type — mission funds for mission cards. Record the date and the purchaser’s name, address, and tax exemption number on your invoice, and have the purchaser sign and date both the certificate and the invoice in your presence.¹ Card validity can be checked through the Office of Foreign Missions’ Tax Exemption Card Verification tool or by calling OFM during business hours.² Keep each completed certificate for at least three years after the due date of the sales tax return on which the exempt sale was reported, or the date it was filed, whichever is later, and be able to tie each certificate to the specific sale it covers.⁵

Where to Get the Form

DTF-950 is a free PDF download from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance at tax.ny.gov.¹ Because you’ll need a new one almost every time you buy something, it’s worth keeping a stack of blanks with your card. The certificate is not filed with the state — it stays with the vendor as part of their sales tax records. The form itself warns that misuse can lead to substantial civil or criminal penalties, and the Office of Foreign Missions may invalidate or recall a card and notify law enforcement in response.²

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Certificate of Sales Tax Exemption for Diplomatic Missions and Personnel Single Purchase Certificate DTF-950
2
United States Department of State. Sales Tax Exemption
3
U.S. Department of State. Certificate of Exemption for Purchases Made in New York State
4
U.S. Department of State. Gasoline Tax Exemption Program
5
Department of Taxation and Finance. Exemption Certificates for Sales Tax