What is a resale certificate called in Colorado?

Colorado calls it the Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption (Form DR 5002). The buyer fills in and signs the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption and gives it to the seller.

Resale certificate · Colorado

How to Use the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption

The short answer. The Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption (Form DR 5002) is for goods bought for resale. The buyer fills in and signs the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption and gives it to the seller. Colorado publishes a form, but any document that carries the information the state requires is accepted.

Resale Certificates in Colorado at a Glance

What Colorado calls it	Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption (Form DR 5002)
How you get it	The buyer fills it in
Documents accepted	The state's form, or any document with the required information
Blank form	Download it from the state
Who may give one	Another state's registration accepted (buyers located outside Colorado)
MTC uniform certificate	Accepted, with conditions
Streamlined Sales Tax certificate	Not confirmed
How long it lasts	Depends on the circumstances
Blanket certificate	Allowed
What protects the seller	Taking the checks the state sets
Seller keeps it for	At least 3 years (the state's general sales tax records period)
Law	Colorado law, cited in the sources

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who May Give a Resale Certificate in Colorado

A buyer located outside Colorado may buy for resale using a registration number issued by another state. The document it gives is its home state's resale license or exemption certificate, or Colorado's Form DR 5002 or the MTC certificate.

The buyer fills in and signs the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption and gives it to the seller.

Which Documents Are Accepted

Colorado publishes a form, but any document that carries the information the state requires is accepted.

Colorado accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. Colorado accepts it for goods bought for resale. The Commission's notes add that Colorado does not accept it for a taxable service bought for resale, and that self-collecting home-rule cities may not accept it.

We have not confirmed whether Colorado accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption; check with the Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division.

What the certificate must contain is set by Colorado law, cited in the sources.

How Long It Lasts

How long the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption stays valid depends on the circumstances. One declaration can cover repeat purchases, but the seller must re-check your sales tax license or exemption number after the expiration date recorded on it.

One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under Colorado's law, a seller that takes a resale certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale only after it takes the steps the state sets. The seller is relieved only if it verifies that your sales tax license or exemption certificate is current (online or from a physical copy it keeps), and, where something gives reason to doubt the exemption, collects documentation that resolves the doubt or charges the tax.

The state's general sales tax records period is at least 3 years.

Worth Knowing in Colorado

Colorado's home-rule cities that collect their own sales tax set their own rules and may not accept the state's documentation, so check with any such city you buy in. The seller must verify your sales tax license is current, so give them the account number and expiration date.

More for Colorado Businesses

Colorado's sales tax registration page
Sales tax nexus checker, to see where your sales may require you to register.
Colorado LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in Colorado, for selling through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Colorado calls it the Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption (Form DR 5002). The buyer fills in and signs the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption and gives it to the seller.
: A buyer located outside Colorado may buy for resale using a registration number issued by another state. The document it gives is its home state's resale license or exemption certificate, or Colorado's Form DR 5002 or the MTC certificate.
: Colorado accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. Colorado accepts it for goods bought for resale. The Commission's notes add that Colorado does not accept it for a taxable service bought for resale, and that self-collecting home-rule cities may not accept it. We have not confirmed whether Colorado accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption; check with the Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division.
: How long the Colorado Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption stays valid depends on the circumstances. One declaration can cover repeat purchases, but the seller must re-check your sales tax license or exemption number after the expiration date recorded on it. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under Colorado's law, a seller that takes a resale certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale only after it takes the steps the state sets. The seller is relieved only if it verifies that your sales tax license or exemption certificate is current (online or from a physical copy it keeps), and, where something gives reason to doubt the exemption, collects documentation that resolves the doubt or charges the tax. The state's general sales tax records period is at least 3 years.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's tax agency, or the multistate bodies' published notes, say about the certificate a buyer gives a supplier when it buys goods for resale, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own purchase qualifies: that turns on what you buy, whether you resell it, and where you are registered, and a certificate given for a purchase that does not qualify can leave the buyer owing the tax. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you give or accept one.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Colorado sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

coloradosos.gov/CCR/GenerateRulePdf.do?ruleVersionId=12500&fileName=1%20CCR%20201-41 CCR 201-4 Sales and Use Tax, Rule 39-26-105-3 Documenting Exempt Sales and Rule 39-26-102(19) (effective 04/14/2026)
tax.colorado.gov/sites/tax/files/documents/DR5002_2023.pdfDR 5002 Declaration of Wholesale or Entity Sales Tax Exemption (08/04/23)
tax.colorado.gov/sites/tax/files/documents/Sales_Tax_Guide_May_2026.pdfColorado Sales Tax Guide (Revised May 2026)
mtc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Unif-Resale-Cert-revised-10-14-22.pdfUniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate, Multijurisdiction (revised 10/14/2022), notes 5 and 6
streamlinedsalestax.org/state-details/georgiaStreamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, list of full and associate member states
Law on resale certificates in Colorado: 1 CCR 201-4, Rule 39-26-105-3 (Documenting Exempt Sales)
What the certificate must contain: 1 CCR 201-4, Rule 39-26-105-3(2)(a) and (2)(c)(i)(B)

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.