To verify a Florida sales tax certificate, run the buyer’s Annual Resale Certificate number through the Department of Revenue’s Seller Certificate Verification tool online, call 877-357-3725, or use the FL Tax mobile app. You’ll need your own Florida sales tax number to sign in. If the certificate comes back valid, the system issues a transaction authorization number that you record on the invoice; if it comes back expired or invalid, you have to charge the full 6% state sales tax plus any local surtax.
Verification isn’t optional. Any seller who accepts a resale claim without documenting it properly is personally liable for the uncollected tax if the Department later audits the sale.
The Three Approved Ways to Verify
Florida gives sellers three methods. Any one of them satisfies the documentation requirement, and you can mix and match depending on the customer.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
Accept and Keep a Copy of the Certificate
The simplest option is to get a copy of the buyer’s current Annual Resale Certificate (Form DR-13). Paper or electronic is fine. Because every certificate expires on December 31, you need a fresh copy from that buyer each calendar year. This works well for one-off or occasional sales.
Get a Transaction Authorization Number
For a specific sale, verify the buyer’s certificate through one of these channels and record the authorization number the system returns:
- Online: the Seller Certificate Verification application on the Department of Revenue’s website. Enter your contact name and Florida sales tax number, then the buyer’s certificate number.
- Phone: 877-FL-RESALE (877-357-3725). Follow the prompts to key in the buyer’s certificate number.
- Mobile: the FL Tax app, available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows.
Each authorization number is good for one sale. If the same buyer comes back next week for another tax-exempt purchase, verify again and get a new number. Write the number on the sales invoice or purchase order. If the certificate flags as invalid or expired, collect the full state and local tax on that sale.
Batch Verification for Regular Wholesale Customers
If you sell repeatedly to the same wholesale buyers, upload a batch file of their certificate numbers through the Seller Certificate Verification site. Results come back 24 hours later, and each verified customer gets an annual vendor authorization number good for the full calendar year. Keep the annual authorization number on file and you don’t need to also keep a copy of the certificate.
Records You Need to Keep
The retention period is three years, whether you’re holding a copy of the certificate or a list of authorization numbers.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax Electronic records are acceptable, but if you keep the same records in both paper and electronic form, the Department can require you to produce the electronic version.2Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code Ann R 12-24.023 – Recordkeeping Requirements – General
One procedural note worth knowing: signatures are no longer required on the Annual Resale Certificate. A buyer presenting the certificate is enough to certify the purchase is for resale.
If the Buyer Is a Nonprofit or Government Agency
The Annual Resale Certificate applies to buyers reselling goods. Nonprofits and government buyers use different documentation, and the verification path is not the same.
A Florida 501(c)(3) that has qualified with the Department holds a Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption (Form DR-14), not a DR-13. You can accept a copy of the DR-14 or verify it through the same online tool, phone line, or app used for resale certificates.3Florida Department of Revenue. Nonprofit Organizations and Sales and Use Tax Two things differ from the resale check: the purchase has to be paid with the organization’s own funds (not an employee’s personal card), and DR-14 certificates run for five years rather than expiring each December.
Federal agencies and federal employees on official business are exempt without any certificate at all. You can request a Certificate of Exemption for your records, but the state doesn’t require one. A federal government purchase card at checkout is generally sufficient proof of the exempt nature of the sale.4GSA SmartPay. Florida Tax Information
Out-of-State Buyers Without a Florida Certificate
The online verification tool only works on Florida certificate numbers. If an out-of-state buyer wants to purchase for resale without a Florida Annual Resale Certificate, the Department of Revenue points sellers to Rule 12A-1.0015(3) of the Florida Administrative Code for the documentation that applies to those sales.1Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax Don’t try to substitute the resale-verification tool for that documentation. It won’t cover you in an audit.
What Happens If You Don’t Verify
Florida law makes the seller personally liable for the tax on any sale for resale that doesn’t strictly comply with the documentation requirements.5Justia Law. Florida Code Title XIV – 212.07 “The buyer told me it was for resale” is not a defense. Without a certificate copy or a valid authorization number, an auditor treats the sale as if no exemption applied.
The exposure adds up fast. The base penalty for unpaid sales tax is 10% of the amount due, with a $50 minimum, and statutory interest runs from the date the tax was originally due.6Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.12 If the Department finds the seller willfully failed to collect after being put on notice, the penalty rises to 100% of the uncollected amount.
Do the verification correctly and the risk shifts. A seller who followed one of the three approved documentation methods is protected; if the buyer misused the certificate, the liability moves to the buyer. That’s the practical reason to run every resale claim through the tool and record the number, even when the customer is familiar and the sale feels routine.
For context on why cooperative buyers rarely resist the check: fraudulent use of an exemption certificate carries a mandatory 200% penalty on top of the evaded tax and is a third-degree felony under Florida law.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 212.085 – Fraudulent Claim of Exemption Penalties8Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.082 Legitimate resellers know the penalties on their side of the transaction and generally hand over the certificate without pushback.