The Georgia ST-5 Certificate of Exemption is the form you complete and hand to a seller so a qualifying purchase is not charged Georgia sales tax. You fill in the purchaser and supplier information, add your Georgia Sales and Use Tax Registration Number, check the exemption category that applies, and sign as an authorized representative. The certificate goes to the seller, not to the Department of Revenue, and it stays valid until you revoke it in writing.1Department of Revenue – Georgia. ST-5 Certificate of Exemption
Who Can Use an ST-5
Before filling anything in, confirm your purchase actually qualifies. Georgia limits sales tax exemptions to specific buyers and uses under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3, and those categories are narrowly defined.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-8-3 – Exemptions From Sales and Use Taxes The most common grounds are:
- Resale — you are buying goods to resell, and you have a Georgia Sales and Use Tax Registration Number.
- Manufacturing or industrial use — raw materials, components, and packaging that become part of a finished product sold to consumers.
- Agricultural use — equipment, supplies, and materials used directly in farming or agricultural production.
- Qualifying nonprofit — organizations that fit one of the specific categories listed in the statute, purchasing for their exempt purpose.
- Government — federal, state, and local agencies buying for official use.
If your situation doesn’t fit cleanly into one of these categories, review the statute or contact the Georgia Department of Revenue before signing an ST-5. Checking a box that doesn’t match your actual use is treated as misuse, not a clerical error.
Filling Out the Form, Field by Field
Download the current version of Form ST-5 as a PDF from the Georgia Department of Revenue.1Department of Revenue – Georgia. ST-5 Certificate of Exemption Older versions circulating online can be rejected or cause problems during an audit. Every field on the form matters; a certificate that is incomplete or inconsistent with your registration records can be refused by the seller.
Purchaser and Supplier Information
Print the purchaser’s full legal name and physical address exactly as they appear on your Georgia tax registration. Any mismatch gives the seller a reason to reject the certificate. Then enter the supplier’s legal business name and address. The ST-5 ties one purchaser to one seller, so you’ll need a separate certificate for each seller you buy from on an exempt basis.
Sales and Use Tax Registration Number
The form requires your Georgia Sales and Use Tax Registration Number in the format NNN-NNNNNN (three digits, hyphen, six digits).3Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-8-38 – Dealers to Collect Sales Tax If you are an out-of-state purchaser without Georgia registration — for example, a retailer buying goods for resale into another state — you can substitute your home state’s sales tax registration number or your Federal Employer Identification Number.
Exemption Category
The middle of the form lists checkboxes for each exemption type: resale, manufacturing or industrial use, agricultural use, nonprofit, government, and other statutory categories.4Georgia Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption ST-5 Check only the one that describes your actual use of the goods.
If you are signing on behalf of a nonprofit, the items must be purchased for the organization’s exempt purpose, not for the personal benefit of employees or members. That line matters if the exemption is ever reviewed.
Signature, Title, and Date
An authorized representative — someone with legal authority to bind the purchaser — signs the form, prints their title, and dates it. The certificate states that all purchases made after the signed date qualify for the checked exemption.4Georgia Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption ST-5 Electronic signatures are accepted by the Department of Revenue as long as they comply with the department’s e-signature policy.5Department of Revenue – Georgia. Acceptance of E-Signatures, Remote Notaries, and Electronic Filings
Where the Form Goes and How Long It Lasts
You do not send the completed ST-5 to the Georgia Department of Revenue. Give it to the seller at or before the time of purchase. You can hand over a paper copy at the counter, email a scanned version, or upload it through a seller’s online portal for digital orders. Georgia requires sellers to gather the same exemption information whether the sale happens in person or online.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-8-38 – Dealers to Collect Sales Tax Once the seller has a properly completed certificate, they remove state and local sales tax from the invoice.
The ST-5 is designed as a blanket certificate. One signed form covers every qualifying purchase you make from that seller going forward. It has no expiration date and no mandatory renewal period; it remains valid until you revoke it in writing. If your business type, exemption reason, or registration number changes, provide a new certificate. Continuing to use a certificate that no longer reflects your status is a problem for both parties.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
The ST-5 is a signed representation to the state, and misusing it is treated seriously. Under O.C.G.A. § 48-1-7, using an exemption certificate you are not entitled to — or obtaining one by fraud — is a misdemeanor.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-1-7 – Fraudulent Use of Exemption Certificate On the tax side, if the Department of Revenue finds a false or fraudulent return, or a willful intent to defraud, it can add a penalty of 50% of the tax due on top of the tax itself.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 48-8-66 – Penalties for Failure to File Return or Pay in Full Interest also accrues on unpaid tax at the Federal Reserve prime rate plus 3%, reviewed each January.8Department of Revenue – Georgia. Penalty and Interest Rates
Between back tax, the 50% penalty, and compounding interest, a bad exemption claim can end up costing several times what the original tax would have been.
Drop Shipments and Out-of-State Buyers
If you’re an out-of-state retailer using a Georgia supplier to drop-ship goods to your customer in Georgia, the process has one wrinkle. Georgia will accept your home state’s sales tax registration number in place of a Georgia number when you are located outside Georgia, do not have nexus in the state, and the goods are delivered by drop shipment to your customer inside Georgia. The Multistate Tax Commission’s Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate can be used for these transactions in place of the ST-5.
If you are on the other side — a Georgia supplier receiving that certificate — verify that the out-of-state retailer holds a valid registration number and that the purchase is genuinely for resale. If the retailer isn’t registered to collect sales tax in any state, you may be unable to accept the certificate and may have to collect Georgia tax on the sale yourself.