How to Get a Florida Sales Tax Number and Register Online

To get a Florida sales tax number, register your business with the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) before your first taxable sale. The state calls the number a Certificate of Registration, and there’s no charge when you apply online at floridarevenue.com. Most applications are processed within three business days, and approved businesses receive a welcome package with the certificate, an Annual Resale Certificate, and a new dealer guide.¹

Who Needs to Register

You need a Certificate of Registration if your business does anything that triggers Florida sales tax. Selling tangible personal property at retail is the most common trigger, and it covers physical goods like electronics, clothing, furniture, and building materials. Certain services are also taxable, including investigative and crime protection services, interior nonresidential cleaning, and nonresidential pest control.²

Selling at flea markets, craft fairs, or other temporary events counts too. There is no exemption for occasional or part-time sellers of taxable goods, so you register before that first sale like anyone else.

Out-of-state sellers can be on the hook as well. If your remote sales of tangible personal property delivered into Florida exceeded $100,000 in the previous calendar year, you’ve crossed Florida’s economic nexus threshold and must register to collect tax.³

One boundary to note: Florida repealed its sales tax on commercial real property rentals effective October 1, 2025. If renting commercial space to tenants was your only taxable activity, you no longer need an active sales tax account.⁴

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

Gather everything below before you start. The online system won’t let you save and return partway through, so a missing piece means starting over.

Your legal business name, any trade name (DBA), and the legal structure (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, partnership).
A tax identification number. Corporations, partnerships, and multi-member LLCs need a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners can use a Social Security Number.⁵
The physical address of every location where you’ll make taxable sales, plus a mailing address for correspondence.
Full names, home addresses, titles, and Social Security Numbers for all principal owners, officers, or partners.
The six-digit NAICS code that best describes your business. You can look yours up at census.gov/naics.⁶
Your best projection of average monthly or annual taxable sales. The DOR uses this figure to assign your filing frequency.
The exact date you began or will begin making taxable sales in Florida. Your first return will be due based on that date even if you had zero sales in the initial period.

Registering Online

Go to the registration page at floridarevenue.com, create a user account with a username and password, and choose the option to register a new business for Florida taxes.¹ The system runs validation on each screen, so you’ll know right away if something is missing or doesn’t match. There is no fee, and the site is available around the clock.

After you submit, the DOR usually processes new applications within three business days. Check status by logging back into your account. Once approved, you’ll receive a welcome package in the mail containing your Certificate of Registration, an Annual Resale Certificate, and a new dealer guide.¹

If You’d Rather File on Paper

Download Form DR-1 (Florida Business Tax Application) from the DOR website, complete it, and mail it to Account Management MS 1-5730, Florida Department of Revenue, 5050 W Tennessee St, Tallahassee FL 32399-0160. You can also drop it off at your nearest taxpayer service center. Paper applications carry a $5 registration fee, and processing takes longer than the online route.⁶

What You Receive After Approval

The Certificate of Registration is the document that proves you’re an authorized Florida sales tax dealer, and it carries the sales tax number you’ll use on every return. Alongside it, the DOR sends an Annual Resale Certificate. That certificate lets you buy or rent property and services tax-free when you intend to resell or re-rent them. Give a copy to your supplier, and they can sell to you without collecting sales tax on that transaction.⁷

The resale certificate expires every December 31. As long as your account stays registered and active, the DOR issues a new one each year. Certificates for the following calendar year become available on the DOR website each November. Paper filers receive theirs in the mail with the annual coupon book.⁷

One caution about using it: if you buy something tax-free with your resale certificate and then use it in the business rather than reselling it, you owe use tax on that item. The DOR treats that as a taxable use, and it comes up in audits more often than you’d expect.

Your First Obligations Once You Have the Number

The certificate is only the starting point. Once registered, you collect the correct sales tax on every taxable transaction and file Form DR-15 on a schedule the DOR assigns based on your estimated liability.⁸

Monthly if your estimated tax is more than $1,000 per year.
Quarterly for $501 to $1,000 per year.
Semiannual for $101 to $500 per year.
Annual for under $100 per year.

Whatever your frequency, returns and payments are due on the 1st of the month following the reporting period and become late after the 20th. If the 20th is a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.⁸ File a return for every period even if you made no taxable sales. Late filing triggers a penalty of 10% of the tax owed, with a $50 minimum that applies even when no tax is due.²

If your business paid $5,000 or more in sales and use tax during the most recent state fiscal year (July 1 through June 30), electronic filing and payment are mandatory. Consolidated filers must file electronically regardless of amount.⁹

Updating or Closing the Account

If you sell the business, close it, or change its legal structure, notify the DOR through your online account. Changing ownership, such as converting from a sole proprietorship to an LLC, requires a new registration; the new entity is treated as a separate taxpayer and receives its own Certificate of Registration.¹

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration
2
Florida Dept. of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication 21A01-03
4
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed Effective October 1, 2025
5
Florida Department of Revenue. DR-1N Registering Your Business
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Form DR-1 – Florida Business Tax Application
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Florida Dept. of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
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Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Return – DR-15
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Florida Department of Revenue. Taxes, Fees, Remittances, and Reports with Electronic File and Pay Requirements