What is a resale certificate called in Maryland?

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

Resale certificate · Maryland

How to Use the Maryland Resale Certificate

The short answer. The Maryland Resale Certificate is the document a business gives a supplier to buy goods for resale without paying Maryland sales tax. The buyer fills in and signs the Maryland Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller. Maryland publishes a form, but any document that carries the information the state requires is accepted.

Resale Certificates in Maryland at a Glance

What Maryland calls it	Resale Certificate
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	Depends on the circumstances
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	Accepting it in good faith
Seller keeps it for	4 years (the state's general sales tax records period)
Law	Maryland 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 Maryland

Whether a buyer must hold a Maryland sales and use tax license to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. A buyer must hold a Maryland sales and use tax license, with one exception: for an antique or used collectible, a buyer that states it is an out-of-state vendor not engaged in business in Maryland may give another state's registration number with a copy of that state's license, or a trader's license if its state has no sales tax (Tax-General 11-408(b)(1)(iii)2, (b)(2)).

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

Which Documents Are Accepted

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

The Multistate Tax Commission lists Maryland among the states that accept its uniform resale certificate, with conditions. The Commission's notes for Maryland say: Maryland accepts it only as a resale certificate, not as an exemption certificate, and only when it carries the buyer's Maryland sales and use tax registration number.

We have not confirmed whether Maryland accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption; check with the Comptroller of Maryland.

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

How Long It Lasts

How long the Maryland Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. We found no statute or regulation that sets an expiry. The Comptroller's suggested blanket certificate says it continues in force until revoked, as long as each order carries the buyer's Maryland registration number.

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

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under Maryland's law, a seller that takes a resale certificate in good faith is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must get the certificate before the sale is completed or, if the Comptroller mails a notice of intent to assess, within 60 days after that notice; otherwise the assessment is final. A seller may not accept a certificate if it knows or should know the sale is not for resale.

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

Worth Knowing in Maryland

A Maryland seller may not accept a resale certificate for a cash, check or credit card sale under $200 unless it delivers the goods to the buyer's retail place of business. A buyer of antiques or used collectibles that is not required to hold a Maryland license may use another state's registration number with a copy of that state's license.

More for Maryland Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: Maryland calls it the Resale Certificate. The buyer fills in and signs the Maryland Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.
: Whether a buyer must hold a Maryland sales and use tax license to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. A buyer must hold a Maryland sales and use tax license, with one exception: for an antique or used collectible, a buyer that states it is an out-of-state vendor not engaged in business in Maryland may give another state's registration number with a copy of that state's license, or a trader's license if its state has no sales tax (Tax-General 11-408(b)(1)(iii)2, (b)(2)).
: The Multistate Tax Commission lists Maryland among the states that accept its uniform resale certificate, with conditions. The Commission's notes for Maryland say: Maryland accepts it only as a resale certificate, not as an exemption certificate, and only when it carries the buyer's Maryland sales and use tax registration number. We have not confirmed whether Maryland accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption; check with the Comptroller of Maryland.
: How long the Maryland Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. We found no statute or regulation that sets an expiry. The Comptroller's suggested blanket certificate says it continues in force until revoked, as long as each order carries the buyer's Maryland registration number. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under Maryland's law, a seller that takes a resale certificate in good faith is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must get the certificate before the sale is completed or, if the Comptroller mails a notice of intent to assess, within 60 days after that notice; otherwise the assessment is final. A seller may not accept a certificate if it knows or should know the sale is not for resale. The state's general sales tax records period is 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 Maryland 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.

mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtg&section=11-408&enactments=falseMd. Code, Tax-General 11-408
regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/03.06.01.14COMAR 03.06.01.14 Resale Certificates
marylandcomptroller.gov/content/dam/mdcomp/tax/forms/misc/Sample-Resale-Certificate.pdfComptroller of Maryland, Suggested Blanket Resale Certificate
marylandtaxes.gov/forms/Business_Tax_Tips/bustip4.pdfBusiness Tax Tip #4, Resale Certificates
marylandcomptroller.gov/content/dam/mdcomp/tax/legal-publications/tips/business/bustip2.pdfBusiness Tax Tip #2, What Sales Records Do I Need to Keep?
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 Maryland: Md. Code, Tax-General 11-408
Law on resale certificates in Maryland: COMAR 03.06.01.14
What the certificate must contain: Md. Code, Tax-General 11-408(b)(1); COMAR 03.06.01.14B

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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.