How to Get a Resale Certificate in Texas: Form 01-339 and Permit Steps

To get a resale certificate in Texas, first apply for a free Sales Tax Permit from the Texas Comptroller, then complete Form 01-339 and hand it to your supplier at the time of purchase. The permit application can be done online, and your permit typically arrives within two to three weeks.¹ The certificate itself is never filed with the state; it stays between you and your vendor.

Step 1: Apply for a Texas Sales Tax Permit

You cannot use a resale certificate without a valid Texas Sales Tax Permit. There is no application fee, though the Comptroller may require you to post a security bond depending on your situation.²

The fastest route is the Comptroller’s eSystems portal. Create a login, open the sales tax registration section, and enter your business details: Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number, business structure, and contact information.³ If you prefer paper, Form AP-201 can be mailed, emailed, or faxed to the Comptroller’s office. The form itself notes that sending personal information by unencrypted email or fax carries security risks, so online is the safer route.⁴

Expect two to three weeks for a complete application to be processed.¹ Incomplete applications take longer. Once approved, you receive an eleven-digit taxpayer ID number. That number goes on every resale certificate you issue.⁵

Step 2: Complete Form 01-339

The resale certificate is Form 01-339, the Texas Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate / Exemption Certification. Download it free from the Comptroller’s website.⁶ The form asks for:

Your full legal business name and physical address.
Your eleven-digit Texas Sales Tax Permit number. Out-of-state buyers enter their home-state registration number instead. Retailers based in Mexico can enter their Federal Taxpayers Registry (RFC) number and attach a copy of their Mexico registration form.
A description of the items being purchased, detailed enough to show the goods align with your resale activities.
A brief description of your business, such as “wholesale electronics” or “retail clothing.”
Your signature and the date. Signing is a legal declaration that the items are being bought for resale.

Do not rush the description fields. Vague or incomplete certificates get rejected by vendors, and a sloppy form will not protect either party during an audit. The signature block spells out what is at stake: knowingly providing a false certificate is a criminal offense that scales up to a second-degree felony based on the amount of tax evaded.⁶

Step 3: Give the Certificate to Your Vendor

Hand the completed certificate directly to your supplier at or before the time of purchase. The form is never filed with the Comptroller. Most vendors accept a paper copy or a scanned PDF, though delivery preferences vary by seller.

For suppliers you buy from regularly, you can issue a blanket certificate that covers all qualifying future purchases from that vendor, so you are not filling out a new form for every order. Keep the item description broad enough to cover your normal purchases but specific enough to be credible. If your buying pattern changes significantly, issue an updated certificate.

Who Qualifies to Use the Certificate

Texas Tax Code Section 151.006 defines a “sale for resale” as a sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service to a buyer who acquires it to resell in the normal course of business.⁷ In plain terms, you qualify if you buy goods specifically to sell them to someone else, whether in the same form or as part of another product. The same applies when you buy items solely to lease or rent them out as part of your regular business.

The test is your purpose at the moment of purchase. Supplies for your own office, warehouse, or personal use do not qualify, even if you hold a valid permit. Misusing the certificate is not a paperwork issue the Comptroller ignores. It is a criminal offense that ranges from a Class C misdemeanor to a second-degree felony depending on the amount of tax evaded.⁶

Out-of-state retailers with no physical location in Texas can still use a Texas resale certificate when buying inventory from Texas suppliers, using their home-state registration number in the permit field.⁶

Drop Shipping

Drop shipping adds a wrinkle. When your supplier ships directly to your customer, the sale between you and the supplier is still a sale for resale, but the supplier may need a resale certificate valid in the state where the goods are delivered, not just in Texas. Most states will accept your Texas registration number on their own exemption certificate form, but some require registration in the destination state before honoring the exemption. If you cannot provide the right certificate, the supplier may be legally required to charge you sales tax at the destination state’s rate.

Multistate Option

If you operate in several states, the Multistate Tax Commission’s Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate is recognized by 36 states, Texas included.⁸ One form replaces individual state certificates across participating jurisdictions.

What You Owe After the Permit Is Issued

This is the part that surprises new permit holders. Once your Sales Tax Permit is active, you are required to file sales tax returns on a schedule the Comptroller assigns you, even during periods when you made no taxable sales and owe nothing.⁹

Monthly filers: returns due on the 20th of the following month.
Quarterly filers: returns due January 20, April 20, July 20, and October 20 for the preceding quarter.
Yearly filers: returns due January 20 for the previous calendar year.

Missing a deadline triggers penalties and interest. A zero-dollar return takes a few minutes to file. Forgetting entirely creates a compliance problem that snowballs.

Records You Have to Keep

You and your vendors must keep copies of every resale certificate for at least four years, unless the Comptroller gives written permission to destroy them sooner.¹⁰ If you are audited, hold onto everything from the audit period until the matter is fully resolved, including any appeals or refund claims.

Texas Tax Code Section 151.025 requires sellers and anyone storing, using, or consuming taxable items purchased from a retailer to keep records in the form the Comptroller specifies, including gross receipts and any claimed deductions or exclusions.¹¹ If you cannot produce adequate records, the Comptroller can estimate your tax liability from the best information available, and those estimates rarely favor the taxpayer.

Penalties for Misusing the Certificate

Knowingly issuing a resale certificate for items you plan to use rather than resell is a criminal offense, with severity scaling from a Class C misdemeanor to a second-degree felony based on the tax evaded.⁶ Beyond criminal exposure, the Comptroller can assess the unpaid sales tax plus a 10 percent penalty on late-filed periods and accruing interest, all due 20 days after the Comptroller’s decision is finalized.¹¹

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Online Tax Registration Application
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Frequently Asked Questions – Permit
3
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Treasury and Financial Systems – About eSystems
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Form AP-201 Sales Tax Application
5
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Taxpayer Search
6
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Form 01-339 Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate / Exemption Certification
7
Texas.Public” Law. Texas Tax Code Section 151.006 – Sale for Resale
8
Multistate Tax Commission. Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate – Multijurisdiction
9
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales and Use Tax
10
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Sales and Use Tax Frequently Asked Questions – Records
11
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts STAR System. 202509042H