How to Register for Sales Tax in NJ: NJ-REG, Certificate, Duties

To register for sales tax in NJ, file Form NJ-REG online through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) at njportal.com at least 15 business days before your first taxable sale. There’s no fee for the tax registration itself. Once DORES processes the application, you’ll receive a Certificate of Authority that permits you to collect New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax from customers.¹

Do You Need to Register

Any person or business doing business in New Jersey must file Form NJ-REG before conducting taxable transactions. That covers the obvious cases: keeping an office, warehouse, or retail location in the state, or employing workers who perform services here.¹

Physical presence isn’t the only trigger. A remote seller with no footprint in the state must still register if, during the current or prior calendar year, either of these is true:

Gross revenue from sales delivered into New Jersey exceeds $100,000, or
The seller completed 200 or more separate transactions delivered into New Jersey.

A remote seller who falls below both thresholds does not need to register. These thresholds remain unchanged as of 2026.²

Sellers who only work flea markets, craft fairs, or a single season are not exempt. New Jersey treats anyone regularly engaged in selling taxable goods or services as a seller under the Sales and Use Tax Act, even if sales are occasional. Casual sales of personal items you originally bought for your own use, like a yard sale, are not taxable and don’t require registration.³

Selling Only Through Amazon, eBay, or Etsy

If a marketplace facilitator handles your sales, the platform is responsible for collecting and remitting New Jersey sales tax on those transactions, regardless of whether you personally meet the economic thresholds. When all your New Jersey sales go through one or more marketplaces, you can request non-reporting status by filing Form C-6205-ST, which relieves you of filing quarterly returns for that revenue. If you also make direct sales outside a marketplace, you still need to register and file for those.⁴

What to Gather Before You File

Form NJ-REG is the universal application for New Jersey business tax registrations. Before starting, have the following ready:

Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). All general partnerships and any business with employees need one from the IRS before registering. Sole proprietors without employees can use their Social Security Number.⁵
Legal business name and any trade names. Out-of-state businesses must use the exact name on their home-state formation documents if that name is available in New Jersey; if it’s taken, you’ll register a “doing business as” name during formation.⁶
A four-digit business activity code from the state’s classification list, identifying your primary product or service.⁷
Physical business address and separate mailing address if applicable.
The date of your first taxable sales in New Jersey.
Estimated monthly gross receipts, which DORES uses to set your initial filing frequency.
Names and home addresses of all owners, officers, partners, or members. The state uses this to establish personal liability in certain delinquency situations.⁸
Date of incorporation or formation, matching your federal records.
A valid email address for filing reminders and compliance notices.

The form also prompts you to identify which taxes your business will collect or pay. If you sell taxable products or services, indicate that you’ll be collecting sales tax. Businesses with employees register for employer withholding, unemployment insurance, and other payroll taxes through the same form.⁹¹⁰

Filing NJ-REG Through the Online Portal

Registration happens at njportal.com. If you’re forming a brand-new entity (LLC, corporation, partnership, or non-profit), you must first file your Certificate of Formation or Authorization through the Business Formation service on the same site before you can complete NJ-REG. Formation filing fees are $125 for most for-profit entities and LLCs, and $75 for domestic non-profit corporations.¹¹¹²

Once your entity is in the state’s system, click “Get Started” to begin NJ-REG. The system walks you through dynamic screens keyed to your business type, prompting for the information above. Review the summary page and submit the application electronically. There’s no fee for the tax registration itself.

The portal shows a confirmation screen with a unique submission ID after you submit. Save or print it. You’ll use that ID to track application status through the same portal. Electronic filings process significantly faster than paper.

Your Certificate of Authority

After DORES processes your application, it issues a Certificate of Authority, which is your legal permit to collect New Jersey sales tax. The state mails a physical copy to the address on your registration, typically within 7 to 10 business days, and an electronic version is available through the business portal. Display the certificate at your place of business.⁹

Registration also authorizes you to issue and accept New Jersey Sales Tax Exemption Certificates, which matters if you buy or sell wholesale.¹

What Registration Commits You To

Once registered, you must file a quarterly Sales and Use Tax return (Form ST-50) even for quarters when you collected zero tax. A zero return still has to be filed; skipping a quarter triggers penalties.⁹ Returns are due by the 20th of the month following each quarter:

Q1 (January–March): April 20
Q2 (April–June): July 20
Q3 (July–September): October 20
Q4 (October–December): January 20

If a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.¹³

Some sellers also owe monthly payments during the first two months of each quarter. That applies only if both conditions are true: you collected more than $30,000 in sales and use tax statewide during the prior calendar year, and you collected more than $500 in the first or second month of the current quarter. If you don’t meet both, quarterly filing is all that’s required.¹³

One point that catches new owners: you also owe use tax at 6.625% on taxable goods you buy for your business without paying New Jersey sales tax, typically items purchased online or from out-of-state vendors and brought into the state for use here. The same ST-50 return covers both collected sales tax and use tax you owe.⁹

Penalties for Not Registering or Not Filing

Failing to register delays your ability to legally collect tax and stacks penalties on top of the tax you already owe.⁹ Once you’re registered, late or missing returns carry their own costs:

Late filing: $100 flat penalty for each month or partial month the return is late, plus 5% per month of the unpaid tax, capped at 25% of the underpayment.¹⁴
Failure to file within 30 days of a delinquency notice: the 5% monthly penalty applies to total tax liability rather than just the underpayment.¹⁴
Unpaid tax accrues interest at three percentage points above the prime rate, compounded annually at year’s end.

For LLC members and corporate officers, one exposure is worth knowing before you file. Any officer, director, partner, member, or manager involved in the business’s failure to meet its tax obligations can be held personally liable for the unpaid taxes if the entity doesn’t pay when due. The corporate structure won’t shield you from collected sales tax that was never remitted.⁸

Updating or Closing the Account Later

If you move locations, change your mailing address, or adjust seasonal operations, notify the state using Form REG-C-L (Request for Change of Registration Information). Corporations, LLCs, and LLPs use REG-C-L for address updates but must file Form REG-C-EA for changes to a registered agent or office. A change in ownership is not handled through REG-C-L: if the business is sold or the ownership structure changes, a new NJ-REG must be filed.¹⁵

Closing the account has its own steps. File a final ST-50 for the quarter operations ended, submit REG-C-L with your end date, and mail the Certificate of Authority back to DORES in Trenton with the last day of business completed on the reverse. If you submit REG-C-L online, you only need to mail the physical certificate.¹⁶ Leaving the account open means the state keeps expecting quarterly filings, and assessing penalties when they don’t arrive.

1
NJ.gov. Doing Business in New Jersey
2
NJ.gov. Remote Sellers
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NJ.gov. Flea Markets and New Jersey Sales Tax
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NJ Division of Taxation. Remote Sellers Frequently Asked Questions
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State of NJ – Division of Revenue. Getting Registered
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Business.NJ.gov. Business Names
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NJ.gov. New Jersey Business Codes
8
Justia. New Jersey Code 54 – Taxation 54:50-18 – Personal Liability for Violations or False Certification
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Business.NJ.gov. Register for Taxes
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State of New Jersey – Department of Labor. How and When to Register as an Employer
11
State of New Jersey. State of New Jersey Online Tax/Employer Registration
12
NJ.gov. State of NJ – NJ Treasury – DORES Fees
13
NJ.gov. Filing and Remitting Sales and Use Tax
14
Justia Law. New Jersey Code 54 – Taxation 54:49-4 – Late Filing Penalty
15
NJ.gov. Reg C-L / Reg C-EA Change of Registration Information
16
NJ.gov. Ending Your Tax Registration in New Jersey