Sales tax permit · New York

How to Get a New York Certificate of Authority

The short answer. In New York, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to New York sales tax is a New York Certificate of Authority, issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. New York charges no fee for the Certificate of Authority.

New York Certificate of Authority at a Glance

What New York calls it	New York Certificate of Authority
Issued by	New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
How to apply	Not confirmed
Fee	Free
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Depends (see Renewal)
Several locations	One for each location (see Locations)
Local sales tax	Covered by the state registration
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$500,000 in sales and 100 separate transactions

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs a New York Certificate of Authority

Every person required to collect New York sales tax must file a certificate of registration with the Department at least 20 days before starting business or opening a new place of business.

For a seller outside New York, the economic nexus threshold is $500,000 in sales and 100 separate transactions in the immediately preceding four sales tax quarters (the quarters ending on the last day of February, May, August and November). Both figures must be met. New York's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Go to New York's registration page.

New York requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

New York charges no fee for the Certificate of Authority.

New York may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond or other security, in an amount it sets, when it considers this necessary to protect the tax revenue. It must notify you first, and you can ask for a hearing within five days of the notice.

Does It Expire?

A regular Certificate of Authority stays in effect until you stop doing business and file a final return, while a temporary one is good only between the dates printed on it. The law also lets the Department require every holder to reregister for a new certificate, free, but not more often than once every three years.

More Than One Location

A business needs a separate Certificate of Authority for each place of business in New York. When you register several locations as one business, each location's certificate carries the same sales tax identification number, and you must receive the certificate before you start selling at a new location.

Local Sales Taxes in New York

The county, city and school district sales and use taxes are administered by the state with the state tax, and one Certificate of Authority covers them.

More for New York Businesses

New York resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
New York LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in New York, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every person required to collect New York sales tax must file a certificate of registration with the Department at least 20 days before starting business or opening a new place of business. New York calls the registration a New York Certificate of Authority. For a seller outside New York, the economic nexus threshold is $500,000 in sales and 100 separate transactions in the immediately preceding four sales tax quarters (the quarters ending on the last day of February, May, August and November). Both figures must be met. New York's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: New York charges no fee for the Certificate of Authority. New York may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Department may require a bond or other security, in an amount it sets, when it considers this necessary to protect the tax revenue. It must notify you first, and you can ask for a hearing within five days of the notice.
: A regular Certificate of Authority stays in effect until you stop doing business and file a final return, while a temporary one is good only between the dates printed on it. The law also lets the Department require every holder to reregister for a new certificate, free, but not more often than once every three years.
: A business needs a separate Certificate of Authority for each place of business in New York. When you register several locations as one business, each location's certificate carries the same sales tax identification number, and you must receive the certificate before you start selling at a new location.
: The county, city and school district sales and use taxes are administered by the state with the state tax, and one Certificate of Authority covers them.

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 law and tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified New York 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.

nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/TAX/1134N.Y. Tax Law 1134, Registration
nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/TAX/1101N.Y. Tax Law 1101(b)(8)(iv), Definitions (vendor presumption)
nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/TAX/1137N.Y. Tax Law 1137(e), Payment of tax; bond or other security
nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/TAX/1250N.Y. Tax Law 1250, Administration and collection (local taxes)
nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/TAX/1253N.Y. Tax Law 1253, Registration (local taxes)
tax.ny.gov/bus/st/register.htmNYS DTF: Register as a sales tax vendor
tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/how_to_register_for_nys_sales_tax.htmNYS DTF: How to Register for New York State Sales Tax (TB-ST-360)
tax.ny.gov/pdf/publications/sales/pub750.pdfNYS DTF: Publication 750, A Guide to Sales Tax in New York State (11/15)

More for New York LLCs

Start and set up

Taxes, money and growth

Stay compliant

Operate in other states

Compare structures

By owner type

By profession

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.