What is a resale certificate called in New Jersey?

New Jersey calls it the Sales Tax Resale Certificate (Form ST-3). The buyer fills in and signs the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Resale certificate · New Jersey

How to Use the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate

The short answer. The New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate (Form ST-3) lets a business buy goods for resale without paying New Jersey sales tax. The buyer fills in and signs the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller. New Jersey publishes a form, but any document that carries the information the state requires is accepted.

Resale Certificates in New Jersey at a Glance

What New Jersey calls it	Sales Tax Resale Certificate (Form ST-3)
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	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
Law	New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Whether a buyer must hold a New Jersey Certificate of Authority to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. Form ST-3 requires a New Jersey Certificate of Authority. A buyer not registered, and not required to register, in New Jersey uses Form ST-3NR with its other state's registration number.

The buyer fills in and signs the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Which Documents Are Accepted

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

New Jersey accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. New Jersey's own guidance lists this certificate as acceptable proof of a sale for resale when the buying retailer is located out of state (it appears in the guidance on drop shipments).

New Jersey accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.

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

How Long It Lasts

How long the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. A blanket certificate needs no renewal as long as no more than 12 months pass between purchases from that seller. The Division recommends that sellers collect an updated certificate every four years.

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

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under New Jersey's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must be registered in New Jersey and receive a fully completed certificate within 90 days after the sale. A certificate obtained later, within 120 days of a Division request, must be taken in good faith. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, or solicited purchasers to participate in the unlawful claim of an exemption.

The state says a seller should keep the certificate at least 4 years. The period runs from the date of the last sale the certificate covers.

More for New Jersey Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: New Jersey calls it the Sales Tax Resale Certificate (Form ST-3). The buyer fills in and signs the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.
: Whether a buyer must hold a New Jersey Certificate of Authority to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. Form ST-3 requires a New Jersey Certificate of Authority. A buyer not registered, and not required to register, in New Jersey uses Form ST-3NR with its other state's registration number.
: New Jersey accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. New Jersey's own guidance lists this certificate as acceptable proof of a sale for resale when the buying retailer is located out of state (it appears in the guidance on drop shipments). New Jersey accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.
: How long the New Jersey Sales Tax Resale Certificate stays valid depends on the circumstances. A blanket certificate needs no renewal as long as no more than 12 months pass between purchases from that seller. The Division recommends that sellers collect an updated certificate every four years. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under New Jersey's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must be registered in New Jersey and receive a fully completed certificate within 90 days after the sale. A certificate obtained later, within 120 days of a Division request, must be taken in good faith. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, or solicited purchasers to participate in the unlawful claim of an exemption. The state says a seller should keep the certificate at least 4 years. The period runs from the date of the last sale the certificate covers.

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 New Jersey 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.

nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/sales/st3.pdfForm ST-3, Sales Tax Resale Certificate (3-23)
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/sales/st3nr.pdfForm ST-3NR, Resale Certificate for Non-New Jersey Sellers (3-17)
nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/sales/su6.pdfTax Topic Bulletin S&U-6, Sales Tax Exemption Administration (Rev. 6/24)
pub.njleg.gov/bills/2008/PL08/123_.HTMP.L.2008, c.123, s.12 (amending N.J.S.A. 54:32B-12)
mtc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Unif-Resale-Cert-revised-10-14-22.pdfMTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate, Multijurisdiction (rev. 10-14-2022)
streamlinedsalestax.org/docs/default-source/forms/exemption-certificateb926a7ab4a0d43e1ad4fe8eb19e79cbb.pdf?sfvrsn=857843d_7Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption, SSTGB Form F0003 (rev. 12/21/2021)
streamlinedsalestax.org/Shared-Pages/State-DetailStreamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, State Information (member list)
Law on resale certificates in New Jersey: N.J.S.A. 54:32B-12(b), as amended by P.L.2008, c.123, s.12
What the certificate must contain: N.J.S.A. 54:32B-12(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.