To get a resale certificate in NJ, register your business with the state to receive a Certificate of Authority, then complete Form ST-3 and hand it to your supplier when you buy inventory. The ST-3 lets you skip New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax on items you intend to resell, because tax will be collected later when your customer buys from you.1NJ Division of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax The form itself has no filing fee. What matters is that you’re registered first and that the purchase actually qualifies.
Register Your Business First
Anyone required to collect New Jersey sales tax has to register with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services before starting business operations.2Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 54:32B-15 You do that by filing Form NJ-REG through the state’s online registration system.3NJ Division of Revenue. Getting Registered
The NJ-REG asks for your FEIN or Social Security Number, the NAICS code that describes your business, your official start date, and a mailing address for tax correspondence.3NJ Division of Revenue. Getting Registered File online and you get a printable Business Registration Certificate immediately, with a paper copy in the mail a few weeks later. When you indicate on the NJ-REG that you’ll collect sales tax, the state issues your Certificate of Authority, which is the legal permission to conduct taxable business in New Jersey.4NJ.gov. Register for Taxes Registration also produces the 12-digit New Jersey Tax ID number you’ll write on every ST-3.
Sole proprietors and general partnerships file the NJ-REG at no cost. Corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, and LLPs must first file a certificate of formation or authorization, which runs $125 for for-profit entities and $75 for domestic nonprofits.3NJ Division of Revenue. Getting Registered
Fill Out Form ST-3
Once you’re registered, download Form ST-3 from the Division of Taxation’s forms page.5NJ Division of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax Forms and Certificates The form needs:
- Your 12-digit New Jersey taxpayer identification number from the NJ-REG process.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3
- The legal name and business address of both the buyer and the seller.
- A description of the goods or services you’re buying, specific enough to line up with your business activity.
- A box checked for single-purchase or blanket certificate.
- A signature from the owner, a partner, or a corporate officer, affirming the information under penalty of perjury.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3
Be precise with the description. A vague entry can draw questions in an audit, and a mismatch between the seller’s name or address and their records may cause them to reject the form to protect themselves from tax liability.
Give the Certificate to Your Supplier
Hand the completed and signed ST-3 to your supplier at the time of purchase. The seller then verifies it’s complete and keeps a copy.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3 Most vendors want it before finalizing the sale so their books show the exempt status correctly. A vendor who accepts an obviously fraudulent or incomplete certificate can be stuck with the uncollected tax, which is why they’re careful.
Single-Purchase or Blanket
If you buy from the same supplier regularly, check the Blanket Certificate box. The seller keeps the ST-3 on file and applies it to future qualifying orders, so you don’t fill out a fresh form for each invoice. A blanket certificate stays valid as long as the business relationship is active, meaning no more than 12 months goes by between transactions. Each later invoice needs to show the purchaser’s name, address, and identification number.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3
The Division of Taxation suggests sellers refresh blanket certificates every four years to confirm buyer information, though that’s guidance, not a legal requirement.7NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Exemption Administration If the mix of what you buy from a vendor changes materially, issue a new certificate with an updated description.
What You Can Actually Buy Tax-Free
The resale exemption is narrower than it sounds. A purchase qualifies only if the item will be resold as-is, or if it will become a physical component of something you produce for sale. It also covers property that becomes a physical component of an item you’re servicing, when that service is itself taxable and the property transfers to the customer as part of the service.8Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 54:32B-2
The common mistake is using the ST-3 for things your business uses rather than sells. Office supplies, cleaning products, workspace furniture, and the equipment you run your business with are taxable, even with a valid resale certificate on file. Only inventory for sale, raw materials that go into a finished product, and items held for demonstration or display while offered for sale qualify.
Certain taxable services also fall within the exemption. The ST-3 has a section where you can indicate that services being purchased will be resold by a seller who collects tax, or that the services will be performed on personal property you hold for sale.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3 A retailer paying to alter clothing that sits in inventory could use the ST-3 for that alteration service.
Buying From Out-of-State Vendors
New Jersey is a full member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.9Streamlined Sales Tax. State Detail If you’re buying from a vendor in another member state, you can use the Streamlined Sales Tax Exemption Certificate (Form ST-SST) in place of the ST-3, and member-state sellers will accept it. You still need to put your New Jersey Tax ID on the certificate when claiming the exemption in a state where registration is required.10Streamlined Sales Tax. Exemptions
When an out-of-state seller who isn’t registered in New Jersey sells to a New Jersey buyer, the seller may accept the buyer’s home-state resale certificate, a multi-jurisdictional resale certificate, or the Streamlined certificate. That doesn’t apply if the out-of-state seller was required to be registered in New Jersey at the time of the sale, or if the buyer took delivery at a New Jersey sales location.11Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 18:24-10.5 – Exemption Certificates
What Happens If You Misuse the Certificate
Use an ST-3 for something you end up consuming instead of reselling, and you owe the tax that should have been paid, plus interest. Failing to file a required return carries a $100 penalty plus 5 percent of the tax due for each month unfiled, capped at 25 percent. Failing to pay adds another 5 percent penalty on the amount owed.
Intentional misuse is worse. Reckless or negligent failure to meet sales tax obligations is a disorderly persons offense under New Jersey law. Deliberately trying to evade sales tax is a third-degree crime carrying three to five years of imprisonment. Because you sign the ST-3 under penalty of perjury, false information on the form compounds the exposure.6NJ Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Resale Certificate – ST-3
If you buy something for resale and later pull it for business or personal use, self-assess the sales tax and remit it with your next sales tax return rather than wait for an auditor to find it.