What is a resale certificate called in Ohio?

Ohio calls it the Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate (Form STEC B). The buyer fills in and signs the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Resale certificate · Ohio

How to Use the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate

The short answer. The Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate (Form STEC B) is for goods bought for resale. The buyer fills in and signs the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate and gives it to the seller. Ohio publishes a form, but any document that carries the information the state requires is accepted.

Resale Certificates in Ohio at a Glance

What Ohio calls it	Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate (Form STEC B)
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	Not confirmed
Blanket certificate	Allowed
What protects the seller	Obtaining a fully completed certificate
Seller keeps it for	4 years
Law	Ohio 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 Ohio

Whether a buyer must hold an Ohio vendor's license to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. You list an Ohio vendor's license or other Ohio tax ID only if Ohio has issued you one. A buyer with no Ohio ID may still give a certificate.

The buyer fills in and signs the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate and gives it to the seller.

Which Documents Are Accepted

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

Ohio accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. Ohio accepts it for resale and for items incorporated into a product for sale. The Commission's notes say the buyer must mark which of those reasons applies, and that Ohio disallows a certificate that does not state the reason.

Ohio accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.

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

How Long It Lasts

We have not confirmed how long the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate stays valid; check with the Ohio Department of Taxation.

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

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under Ohio's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must obtain the fully completed certificate within 90 days of the sale, or, within 120 days after the Tax Commissioner gives written notice of intent to assess, obtain one taken in good faith or otherwise show the sale was not taxable. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, solicited buyers to claim an exemption unlawfully, or accepted a certificate claiming an exemption based on who buys or sells when the goods are received at its own Ohio location and Ohio's posted form shows that exemption is not available.

The state says a seller should keep the certificate for 4 years.

Worth Knowing in Ohio

Ohio also publishes Form STEC U for a single purchase. A certificate missing any required element, including the reason for exemption, is invalid.

More for Ohio Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: Ohio calls it the Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate (Form STEC B). The buyer fills in and signs the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate and gives it to the seller.
: Whether a buyer must hold an Ohio vendor's license to buy for resale depends on the circumstances. You list an Ohio vendor's license or other Ohio tax ID only if Ohio has issued you one. A buyer with no Ohio ID may still give a certificate.
: Ohio accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate, with conditions. Ohio accepts it for resale and for items incorporated into a product for sale. The Commission's notes say the buyer must mark which of those reasons applies, and that Ohio disallows a certificate that does not state the reason. Ohio accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.
: We have not confirmed how long the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate stays valid; check with the Ohio Department of Taxation. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under Ohio's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller must obtain the fully completed certificate within 90 days of the sale, or, within 120 days after the Tax Commissioner gives written notice of intent to assess, obtain one taken in good faith or otherwise show the sale was not taxable. The seller loses this protection if it fraudulently failed to collect the tax, solicited buyers to claim an exemption unlawfully, or accepted a certificate claiming an exemption based on who buys or sells when the goods are received at its own Ohio location and Ohio's posted form shows that exemption is not available. The state says a seller should keep the certificate for 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 Ohio 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.

dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/forms/fill-in/sales_and_use/exemption_certificates/st_stec_b_fi.pdfSTEC B Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate (Rev. 7/25)
codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5739.03Ohio Rev. Code 5739.03
codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-5703-9-03Ohio Adm. Code 5703-9-03 Exemption certificate forms
codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5739.11Ohio Rev. Code 5739.11 Records open to inspection, exemption certificate
tax.ohio.gov/business/sales-and-use-tax/exemption-certificatesSales and Use: Exemption Certificates and Statements of Exempt Sales
tax.ohio.gov/help-center/faqs/sales-and-use-exemption-certificates/sales-and-use-exemption-certificatesSales and Use: Exemption Certificates FAQ
ncdor.gov/e595e-4-2022-webfillpdf/openForm E-595E (SST Certificate of Exemption, NCDOR copy)
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/about-us/state-informationStreamlined Sales Tax Governing Board: State Information (member list)
Law on resale certificates in Ohio: Ohio Rev. Code 5739.03
Law on resale certificates in Ohio: Ohio Adm. Code 5703-9-03
What the certificate must contain: Ohio Adm. Code 5703-9-03(D)

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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.