How to Fill Out Form ST-3NR: NJ Resale Certificate for Non-NJ Sellers

Form ST-3NR is New Jersey’s Resale Certificate for Non-New Jersey Sellers, and to fill it out you enter your out-of-state business information, your home-state sales tax ID (or FEIN), a description of what you sell and what you’re buying, check the box that matches your resale purpose, and sign under the perjury statement before handing the completed form to your New Jersey supplier.¹ The supplier keeps it on file and does not charge you New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax on the purchase.² Nothing gets filed with the state.

Before You Fill It Out, Confirm You Qualify

ST-3NR is only for buyers with no taxable presence in New Jersey. By signing it, you certify that your business has “no place of business, employees, independent contractors, service activities, or leased tangible personal property in New Jersey” and is not registered with the Division of Taxation.¹ If any of that describes you, use the in-state Form ST-3 instead, which requires a New Jersey tax ID.

Even without physical presence, economic nexus can disqualify you. Out-of-state sellers whose gross revenue from sales delivered into New Jersey exceeds $100,000, or who complete 200 or more separate transactions into the state, in the current or prior calendar year, must register and can no longer use ST-3NR.³

The purchase itself has to be a real resale. Under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-2(e), that means you intend to resell the item as-is, incorporate it as a physical component of a product you manufacture for sale, or transfer it to a customer while performing a taxable service.⁴ Supplies for your own office, warehouse, or personal use do not qualify, even if the rest of your business is a legitimate resale operation.

Information You Need on the Form

Download the current version from the New Jersey Division of Taxation’s sales tax forms page.⁵ You, the purchaser, complete the entire form, including the seller’s name and address at the top. The state considers a certificate “fully completed” only when every one of these items is filled in:¹

Your business’s legal name and full out-of-state address, matching your official filings.
The state or states where you hold an active sales tax permit or business registration.
Your out-of-state sales tax registration number. If your home state doesn’t issue one, use your federal employer identification number. Individual purchasers may use a driver’s license number.
Your type of business: retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, repair shop, and so on.
A description of what your business sells, services, or leases. This shows the supplier and any later auditor why the purchase fits your resale operation.
A specific description of the items you’re buying on this transaction. “Merchandise” or “various products” is too vague. Describe the actual goods: cotton fabric, automotive brake pads, wholesale candles.
The date of the transaction or the date you sign the certificate.
An authorized signature from an owner, partner, or corporate officer.

Picking the Right Exemption Box

Below the business information, three checkboxes explain why the purchase qualifies. Check the one that honestly applies:

Resale in its present form. You’ll resell the goods without changing them, like a clothing retailer stocking wholesale shirts.
Resale as a physical component of a product you produce or repair. A furniture maker buying lumber, or a mechanic buying parts, would check this one.
Lease outside New Jersey. You’ll lease the purchased property to customers in another state.

If none of the three fits what you’re actually doing with the goods, the purchase probably isn’t exempt and ST-3NR is the wrong document.

What You’re Promising When You Sign

The signature line sits above a perjury statement, so the person signing is personally certifying everything on the form. Two promises matter most. First, that your business has no taxable presence in New Jersey and is not registered with the Division of Taxation. Second, that if any item you bought tax-free ends up being used or consumed in New Jersey instead of resold, you will pay the sales and use tax directly to the state.¹ Pulling items out of resale inventory for your own use without remitting tax is the pattern auditors look for first.

Giving the Certificate to Your Supplier

The completed form goes to the New Jersey supplier, not to the state. There is no approval step. The supplier keeps it in their records as proof they were not required to collect sales tax on the sale.

Hand it over at the time of purchase if you can. New Jersey gives sellers a 90-day window from the sale date to receive a fully completed certificate; a seller who gets it within that window is relieved of liability for the uncollected tax even if the exemption later turns out to have been claimed improperly, in which case the purchaser owes the tax instead.⁶ Miss the 90 days and that automatic protection disappears.

“Fully completed” is strict. A blank field, a missing signature, or no registration number means the certificate does not trigger the seller’s protection, so expect a careful supplier to check the form before accepting it and ask you to fix anything incomplete. A half-filled certificate is treated the same as no certificate during an audit.

One Certificate for Repeat Orders

You do not need a fresh ST-3NR for every order from the same supplier. A single certificate can cover ongoing purchases of the same general type of property, provided no more than 12 months pass between transactions.⁷ Once a gap longer than 12 months opens up, the recurring relationship is considered broken and the supplier needs a new certificate before the next sale.

When you intend one form to cover a stream of orders, write the description of items purchased broadly enough to include what you typically buy, but specifically enough that an auditor can see the link to your resale business. “Electronic components for resale” works for a distributor whose orders vary month to month. “Supplies” or “stuff” does not.

If You Buy From Suppliers in Several States

ST-3NR is not the only form a New Jersey supplier can accept from an out-of-state buyer. Any of these alternatives also work:⁸

Your home state’s own resale certificate, if your state issues one.
The Uniform Sales and Use Tax Certificate (Multijurisdiction), published by the Multistate Tax Commission for buyers purchasing across many states.
The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (Form ST-SST). Check “Reason G: Resale” and enter a sales tax ID from any state.⁹

All of these carry the same 90-day acceptance window as ST-3NR. If you deal with suppliers in several states, the Multijurisdiction or Streamlined form can replace a stack of state-specific certificates with one document while still satisfying New Jersey.

1
New Jersey Division of Taxation. Form ST-3NR Resale Certificate for Non-New Jersey Sellers
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Remote Sellers
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Justia. New Jersey Code 54-32B-2 – Definitions
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax Forms and Certificates
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Exemption Administration Related to Accepting Certificates – TB-66
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – Form ST-3
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. About New Jersey Taxes – Out-of-State Sales and New Jersey Sales Tax
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New Jersey Division of Taxation. Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption