What is a resale certificate called in Kentucky?

Kentucky calls it the Resale Certificate (Form 51A105). The buyer fills in and signs the Kentucky Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Resale certificate · Kentucky

How to Use the Kentucky Resale Certificate

The short answer. The Kentucky Resale Certificate (Form 51A105) is the document a business gives a supplier to buy goods for resale without paying Kentucky sales tax. The buyer fills in and signs the Kentucky Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller. Kentucky accepts only the 3 documents it lists, set out below.

Resale Certificates in Kentucky at a Glance

What Kentucky calls it	Resale Certificate (Form 51A105)
How you get it	The buyer fills it in
Documents accepted	Only the documents the state lists
Blank form	Download it from the state
Who may give one	Depends on the circumstances
MTC uniform certificate	Accepted
Streamlined Sales Tax certificate	Accepted
How long it lasts	Depends on the circumstances
Blanket certificate	Allowed
What protects the seller	Obtaining a fully completed certificate
Seller keeps it for	At least 4 years (the state's general sales tax records period)
Law	Kentucky statute and regulation, 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 Kentucky

Whether a buyer must hold a Kentucky sales and use tax permit to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. A buyer that must register in Kentucky needs a Kentucky sales and use tax permit number on the certificate. A nonresident buyer that is not required to register in Kentucky may instead use the Streamlined certificate (Form 51A260), or Form 51A105 with a note on its face that it is a nonresident purchaser not required to register in Kentucky.

The buyer fills in and signs the Kentucky Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Which Documents Are Accepted

Kentucky accepts only these documents:

Kentucky Resale Certificate, Form 51A105
the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption, Revenue Form 51A260
the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Exemption/Resale Certificate, Multijurisdiction

Kentucky accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate.

Kentucky accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.

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

How Long It Lasts

How long the Kentucky Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. A blanket certificate stays good for later purchases as long as the character of the buyer's business does not change and the purchases are the kind the buyer usually buys for resale. A single purchase certificate covers only that one purchase.

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

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under Kentucky's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must get the fully completed certificate within 90 days after the sale and keep it on file. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, solicited buyers to claim an exemption unlawfully, or accepted an exemption based on who the buyer is for goods picked up at its own location in a state whose certificate says that exemption is not available. A seller that missed the 90 days is still relieved if, within 120 days of a Department of Revenue request, it gets the certificate or other information showing the sale was not taxable, unless it knew or had reason to know the information was materially false.

The state's general sales tax records period is at least 4 years.

Worth Knowing in Kentucky

Kentucky's resale certificate cannot be used to buy accommodations, sewer services or admissions. Contractors and others registered under a consumer number in the 900,000 series may not issue one for any purchase.

More for Kentucky Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: Kentucky calls it the Resale Certificate (Form 51A105). The buyer fills in and signs the Kentucky Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.
: Whether a buyer must hold a Kentucky sales and use tax permit to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. A buyer that must register in Kentucky needs a Kentucky sales and use tax permit number on the certificate. A nonresident buyer that is not required to register in Kentucky may instead use the Streamlined certificate (Form 51A260), or Form 51A105 with a note on its face that it is a nonresident purchaser not required to register in Kentucky.
: Kentucky accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate. Kentucky accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.
: How long the Kentucky Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. A blanket certificate stays good for later purchases as long as the character of the buyer's business does not change and the purchases are the kind the buyer usually buys for resale. A single purchase certificate covers only that one purchase. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under Kentucky's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must get the fully completed certificate within 90 days after the sale and keep it on file. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, solicited buyers to claim an exemption unlawfully, or accepted an exemption based on who the buyer is for goods picked up at its own location in a state whose certificate says that exemption is not available. A seller that missed the 90 days is still relieved if, within 120 days of a Department of Revenue request, it gets the certificate or other information showing the sale was not taxable, unless it knew or had reason to know the information was materially false. The state's general sales tax records period is at least 4 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 Kentucky 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.

apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52085KRS 139.270 Resale certificate and certificates of exemption
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49181KRS 139.720 Records required to be kept
apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/103/031/111/103 KAR 31:111 Sales and purchases for resale
revenue.ky.gov/Forms/51A105%20(1-23).pdfForm 51A105 Resale Certificate (1-23)
mtc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Unif-Resale-Cert-revised-10-14-22.pdfMTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate, Multijurisdiction (rev. 10-14-22)
streamlinedsalestax.org/Shared-Pages/State-DetailStreamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, State Detail (member states)
Law on resale certificates in Kentucky: KRS 139.270
Law on resale certificates in Kentucky: 103 KAR 31:111
What the certificate must contain: 103 KAR 31:111, Sections 1 and 3

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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.