What is a resale certificate called in Rhode Island?

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

Resale certificate · Rhode Island

How to Use the Rhode Island Resale Certificate

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

Resale Certificates in Rhode Island at a Glance

What Rhode Island calls it	Rhode Island 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	A written statement accepted in place of a number (buyers not required to register in Rhode Island)
MTC uniform certificate	Accepted, with conditions
Streamlined Sales Tax certificate	Accepted
How long it lasts	Does not expire, with conditions
Blanket certificate	Allowed
What protects the seller	Obtaining a fully completed certificate
Seller keeps it for	At least 3 years (the state's general sales tax records period)
Law	Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island

A buyer that is not required to register in Rhode Island may give the Rhode Island Resale Certificate with a written statement in place of a registration number. If you are not required to hold a Rhode Island permit, for example because you make no sales in Rhode Island, write a notation saying so on the certificate in place of the permit number.

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

Which Documents Are Accepted

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

The Multistate Tax Commission lists Rhode Island among the states that accept its uniform resale certificate, with conditions. The Commission's notes for Rhode Island say: Rhode Island accepts it only for items you will resell in the same form, and not for any other exemption.

Rhode Island accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.

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

How Long It Lasts

The Rhode Island Resale Certificate does not expire. This applies to a certificate that gives a general description of the kind of property you buy for resale. A certificate that lists particular items is for a single purchase.

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

For Sellers Who Accept One

Under Rhode Island's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller is protected only absent fraud or collusion.

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

Worth Knowing in Rhode Island

Flea market vendors may not issue a resale certificate. A vendor holding an annual or quarterly Flea Market Vendor's Permit gives the seller a copy of that permit instead, and 30 day permit holders cannot buy tax free for resale.

More for Rhode Island Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: Rhode Island calls it the Rhode Island Resale Certificate. The buyer fills in and signs the Rhode Island Resale Certificate and gives it to the seller.
: A buyer that is not required to register in Rhode Island may give the Rhode Island Resale Certificate with a written statement in place of a registration number. If you are not required to hold a Rhode Island permit, for example because you make no sales in Rhode Island, write a notation saying so on the certificate in place of the permit number.
: The Multistate Tax Commission lists Rhode Island among the states that accept its uniform resale certificate, with conditions. The Commission's notes for Rhode Island say: Rhode Island accepts it only for items you will resell in the same form, and not for any other exemption. Rhode Island accepts the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption.
: The Rhode Island Resale Certificate does not expire. This applies to a certificate that gives a general description of the kind of property you buy for resale. A certificate that lists particular items is for a single purchase. One blanket certificate may cover repeat purchases from the same seller.
: Under Rhode Island's law, a seller that obtains a fully completed certificate is relieved of liability for the tax on that sale. The seller is protected only absent fraud or collusion. 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 Rhode Island 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.

rules.sos.ri.gov/Regulations/Part/280-20-70-41280-RICR-20-70-41 Resale, Certificates, Wholesalers, Distributors, and Replacement Parts
tax.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur541/files/forms/1997/excise/resale.pdfRhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-18/44-18-25.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-18-25
rules.sos.ri.gov/Regulations/part/280-20-70-12280-RICR-20-70-12 Record Requirements
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-19/44-19-27.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-19-27
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), note 26
streamlinedsalestax.org/docs/default-source/forms/exemption-certificateb926a7ab4a0d43e1ad4fe8eb19e79cbb.pdf?sfvrsn=857843d_5SSTGB Form F0003 Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate (Revised 12/21/2021), instructions
streamlinedsalestax.org/about-us/state-informationStreamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, State Information (member list)
Law on resale certificates in Rhode Island: R.I. Gen. Laws 44-18-25
Law on resale certificates in Rhode Island: 280-RICR-20-70-41
What the certificate must contain: 280-RICR-20-70-41.5(D)(1)

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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.