Do I need a sales tax permit in Rhode Island?

Every business that makes retail sales in Rhode Island, or rents rooms in a hotel, rooming house or tourist camp, must apply to the Division of Taxation for a permit for each place of business, and must do so before it starts the business. Rhode Island calls the registration a Rhode Island permit to make sales at retail. For a seller outside Rhode Island, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Rhode Island's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · Rhode Island

How to Get a Rhode Island Permit to Make Sales at Retail

The short answer. In Rhode Island, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to Rhode Island sales tax is a Rhode Island permit to make sales at retail, issued by the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. Rhode Island charges no fee for the permit to make sales at retail.

Rhode Island Permit to Make Sales at Retail at a Glance

What Rhode Island calls it	Rhode Island Permit to Make Sales at Retail
Issued by	Rhode Island Division of Taxation
How to apply	Online or paper
Fee	Free
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Renewed every year
Several locations	One for each location
Local sales tax	Not confirmed
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$100,000 in sales or 200 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 Rhode Island Permit to Make Sales at Retail

Every business that makes retail sales in Rhode Island, or rents rooms in a hotel, rooming house or tourist camp, must apply to the Division of Taxation for a permit for each place of business, and must do so before it starts the business.

For a seller outside Rhode Island, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Rhode Island's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. You can apply online or on a paper application. Go to Rhode Island's registration page.

Rhode Island requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

Rhode Island charges no fee for the permit to make sales at retail.

Rhode Island may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Division may require a surety bond, or a cash or other security deposit of at least $100 and up to twice the tax you would normally collect in a month, to secure payment of the tax.

Does It Expire?

The permit to make sales at retail is renewed every year. Every permit expires on June 30, and you renew it each year by filing a renewal application by February 1. There is no renewal fee.

More Than One Location

A business needs a separate permit to make sales at retail for each place of business in Rhode Island.

Local Sales Taxes in Rhode Island

We have not confirmed whether any local sales tax in Rhode Island needs its own registration; check with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation.

More for Rhode Island Businesses

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

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every business that makes retail sales in Rhode Island, or rents rooms in a hotel, rooming house or tourist camp, must apply to the Division of Taxation for a permit for each place of business, and must do so before it starts the business. Rhode Island calls the registration a Rhode Island permit to make sales at retail. For a seller outside Rhode Island, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Rhode Island's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: Rhode Island charges no fee for the permit to make sales at retail. Rhode Island may require security, such as a bond or deposit. The Division may require a surety bond, or a cash or other security deposit of at least $100 and up to twice the tax you would normally collect in a month, to secure payment of the tax.
: The permit to make sales at retail is renewed every year. Every permit expires on June 30, and you renew it each year by filing a renewal application by February 1. There is no renewal fee.
: A business needs a separate permit to make sales at retail for each place of business in Rhode Island.
: We have not confirmed whether any local sales tax in Rhode Island needs its own registration; check with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation.

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 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.

webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-19/44-19-1.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-19-1 Annual permit required
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-19/44-19-2.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-19-2 Issuance of permit, display
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-19/44-19-23.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-19-23 Collection powers, surety bond
webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE44/44-18.2/44-18.2-3.htmR.I. Gen. Laws 44-18.2-3 Requirements for remote sellers
tax.ri.gov/tax-sections/sales-excise-taxes/sales-use-taxRhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales & Use Tax (FAQ)
tax.ri.gov/tax-sections/sales-excise-taxesRhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales & Excise Taxes

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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.