To get a resale certificate in Florida, register your business as a sales and use tax dealer with the Florida Department of Revenue by completing the Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1). Once your registration is approved, the department issues your Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13) automatically. There is no separate application for the certificate itself.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
Who Qualifies
The certificate is only issued to registered dealers whose sales tax account is active, meaning the business is open and collecting sales tax.2Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax If you sell or rent tangible goods or taxable services in Florida, you almost certainly need to register. A business that sells only items entirely exempt from Florida sales tax would not register as a dealer and would not receive a resale certificate.
How to Register
Registration happens through Form DR-1. You can file it online through the Department of Revenue’s registration portal at taxapps.floridarevenue.com, or submit the paper form by mail.3Florida Department of Revenue. Instructions for Completing the Florida Business Tax Application For the online version, you create a user profile first, then complete the application.
Have this information ready before you start:
- Your legal business name, any DBA name, and both mailing and physical addresses
- Your Federal Employer Identification Number, or your Social Security Number if you are a sole proprietor without an FEIN4Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Business Tax Application
- Your business entity type (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC, or other)
- Names, Social Security Numbers, driver license numbers, and contact information for all owners, officers, partners, or managing members
- A description of what you sell, the date your business started or will start, and employment details if you have employees
- Bank routing and account numbers if you plan to file and pay electronically
What You Receive After Approval
Once the Department of Revenue approves your application, it sends two documents: a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) and your Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13).2Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax The Certificate of Registration must be displayed at your place of business. The DR-13 is what you give to vendors when making tax-exempt purchases for resale.
The DR-13 arrives pre-filled with your business name, location address, and certificate number, along with an expiration date and the specific types of resale purchases it covers: resale of tangible goods, re-rental of tangible property, resale of services, re-rental of commercial or transient rental property, and incorporation of materials into products you manufacture for sale.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax You do not fill in or customize the form yourself.
Getting a New Certificate Each Year
Resale certificates expire on December 31 every year. Each November, the Department of Revenue makes the following year’s certificates available for download. Log into your sales tax account to download and print the new one. If you file paper sales tax returns, the department mails your certificate with your annual coupon book.2Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax As long as your registration stays active, you receive a new certificate each year without reapplying.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
Changes to your business name, address, or ownership can void your certificate, so update your registration with the Department of Revenue promptly when any of those details change.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
How to Use the Certificate
When you make a qualifying purchase, provide the vendor with your current resale certificate or your certificate number. The vendor can accept a paper copy, an electronic copy, or verify your certificate through the Department of Revenue’s online system or phone line, each of which generates a transaction authorization number confirming the certificate is valid.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
Your certificate must show your correct business name and be current. The address on it does not need to match the location where you make the purchase. If you operate under a DBA, a certificate with just the owner’s name is still acceptable.
What You Can and Cannot Buy Tax-Free
The resale certificate covers purchases of goods and services you intend to resell in the normal course of business. That includes inventory, raw materials, and component parts that become part of a finished product, plus items you buy to rent or re-rent to customers.
It does not cover anything your business consumes or uses internally. Office supplies, furniture, equipment, tools you keep for your own operations, and anything for personal use are all taxable. This is where most audit problems come up. Buying a printer for your office with a resale certificate is not a resale purchase, even if your business also happens to sell printers. The test is whether that specific item leaves your hands and goes to a customer.
If you buy something tax-free with your certificate and then use it in the business or keep it for personal use, you owe use tax on that purchase at the same rate as sales tax: 6 percent at the state level, plus any applicable county discretionary surtax.5Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax You report and pay use tax on your regular sales tax return.
Out-of-State Businesses
If your business is based outside Florida and you want to make tax-exempt purchases for resale from a Florida vendor, you cannot use your home state’s resale certificate. Florida has its own system. The Department of Revenue points out-of-state dealers to Rule 12A-1.0015(3) of the Florida Administrative Code, which governs documentation for sales to nonresident dealers.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax In practice, that means either registering for a Florida sales tax account to receive your own DR-13 or providing the Florida seller with alternative documentation establishing your resale intent under that rule.
Penalties for Misuse
Using a resale certificate to avoid sales tax on personal purchases or on items your business consumes is a serious violation. Under Florida law, fraudulently claiming a tax exemption through a resale certificate carries a mandatory penalty of 200 percent of the tax evaded, on top of repaying the original tax, and it is a third-degree felony.6Online Sunshine. Florida Code 212.085 – Fraudulent Claim of Exemption; Penalties A third-degree felony in Florida carries up to five years in prison.
Once you hold a resale certificate you are a registered dealer, which means you also have to file sales tax returns on schedule whether or not you made any sales. Late filing or late payment adds a penalty of 10 percent of the tax due, with a $50 minimum.7Online Sunshine. Florida Code 212.12 – Dealer’s Credit for Collecting Tax; Penalties for Noncompliance; Tax Lien Under This Chapter Keep your tax records for at least three years.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax