Florida Sales Tax Exemption Certificates

Florida sales and use tax applies to most retail sales, but two Department-issued documents let specific purchases happen tax-free. They are not interchangeable, and the Department documents them separately: the Annual Resale Certificate belongs to a dealer registered to collect Florida sales tax and covers goods bought for resale. The Consumer's Certificate of Exemption belongs to a governmental entity or a qualifying nonprofit organization and covers that entity's own purchases, paid with its own funds.

The two certificates, compared

Feature	Annual Resale Certificate (DR-13)	Consumer's Certificate of Exemption (DR-14)
Who holds it	A dealer registered to collect Florida sales tax	A qualifying governmental entity or nonprofit organization
Covers	Purchases made for resale, re-rental, or incorporation into goods produced for sale	Purchases made for the entity's own use, paid with its own funds
How you get it	Issued automatically with registration — no separate application	Apply with Form DR-5, choosing one exemption category and its required documentation
Governing law	General dealer registration, s. 212.18, F.S.; Department brochure GT-800060	ss. 212.08(6), 212.08(7) and 213.12(2), F.S.; Rule 12A-1.097, F.A.C.
Valid for	One calendar year — expires every December 31	Five years
Renewal	Reissued automatically each November to active dealers	Department reviews it about 60 days before expiration; may request confirmation or documentation
Signature	Not required — presenting the certificate is itself the declaration	Required on Form DR-5, under penalty of perjury

The Annual Resale Certificate (Form DR-13)

A registered dealer does not apply for this certificate separately. After the Department approves a Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1), it issues a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) together with a Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13). It allows tax-exempt purchases or rentals of property or services for:

resale or re-rental as tangible personal property, or re-rental as transient rental property;
resale of services;
incorporation into, and sale as part of, the repair of tangible personal property; and
incorporation as a material, ingredient or component part of property being produced for sale by manufacturing, compounding or processing.

Signature requirements were discontinued — presenting the certificate or the certificate number to a seller is itself the buyer's declaration that the purchase will be resold. Certificates are issued only to dealers whose registration status is active; a dealer on inactive status, or one with only a use-tax account, does not receive one. A business filing on a consolidated basis (an 80-code account number) may use the certificate for either the consolidated number or the individual location, and a selling dealer may accept either copy.

It expires every December 31

A new certificate for the following calendar year becomes available each November — on the Department's website for electronic and paper filers alike, and by mail with the annual coupon book for paper filers — and is reissued automatically as long as the dealer stays active. A certificate issued to a new business location beginning in mid-October runs from its issue date through the end of the following calendar year. Dealers can download or print their current certificate at any time at floridarevenue.com/taxes/printcertificate.

When not to use it

The certificate does not cover goods or services that will be used rather than resold, used before they are sold or rented, or bought for the business's own operations or personal use. The Department's brochure gives worked examples: a restaurant can buy take-out containers and napkins tax-free but not its dishes or cleaning supplies; a car dealer can buy tires and parts tax-free but not its shop tools or loaner vehicles. Service providers — attorneys, accountants, doctors, dentists, daycare centers — are treated as end users of what they buy and generally do not qualify for the resale exemption at all. If goods bought for resale end up used instead, the buyer owes use tax and surtax on them.

Verifying a customer's certificate, for sellers

A seller documents each tax-exempt sale for resale using one of three methods:

Keep a copy: Accept a paper or electronic copy of the customer's current Annual Resale Certificate and keep it on file for three years.
Get a transaction authorization number: For a single sale: call 877-357-3725, use the online tool at floridarevenue.com/taxes/certificates, or the free FL Tax mobile app (iPhone, iPad and Android). Each returns a pass/fail response and, if the certificate is valid, a transaction authorization number good for that purchase only — you do not need to keep a copy of the certificate itself if you keep this number.
Annual vendor authorization: For a regular customer, get one authorization number per calendar year covering that customer's resale purchases, also at floridarevenue.com/taxes/certificates, including a batch-upload option for verifying many customers at once (results retrievable 24 hours after submission).

Misuse is a felony, not a paperwork slip

Florida law provides criminal and civil penalties for intentional misuse. Under s. 212.085, Florida Statutes, using a certificate or signing a written exemption claim to evade tax that is actually due carries a mandatory 200% penalty on top of the tax owed, and resale fraud is a third-degree felony. As a seller, you should not accept a certificate for goods a business of that type would not plausibly resell — the Department's own example is a car dealership's resale certificate presented to buy office supplies. A selling dealer who reasonably accepted a copy of a valid-looking certificate is not held liable for tax if the buyer's registration later turns out to have been inactive at the time of sale.

The Consumer's Certificate of Exemption (Form DR-14)

This certificate is not automatic. A governmental entity or a qualifying nonprofit organization applies with Application for a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption (Form DR-5), checking exactly one of the categories the Department recognizes under ss. 212.08(6), 212.08(7) and 213.12(2), Florida Statutes, and providing the documentation that category requires. The categories, as listed on Form DR-5, are:

Political subdivisions — the federal government, and a state, county, municipality or other political subdivision;
State tax-supported schools, colleges and universities;
501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations generally, verified against the IRS determination letter;
Religious institutions — a place of worship, a free-transportation provider for church members, or a governing/administrative office;
Veterans' organizations holding 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(19) status, and their auxiliaries or posts;
Parent-teacher organizations or associations tied to a K–12 school;
State- or federally-chartered credit unions;
Nonprofit fair associations permitted under Chapter 616, F.S.;
Volunteer fire departments;
Nonprofit water systems holding 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(12) status;
Nonprofit cooperative hospital laundries;
Community cemeteries donated to, and operated for, the community;
Certified library cooperatives;
The Florida Retired Educators Association and its chapters; and
Nonprofit corporations benefiting minors' character, sportsmanship, or educational or cultural development.

Each category also defines what counts as exempt for that entity — for example, a municipality's or school district's exemption can extend to a PTO/PTA, a REACT group, a neighborhood crime watch group, a youth organization, or a public-library fundraising group it purchases on behalf of, as long as that group supplies the funds. Applications are mailed with supporting documentation to Account Management-Exemptions, Florida Department of Revenue, PO Box 6480, Tallahassee FL 32314-6480; questions go to 850-717-6628 or exemptions@floridarevenue.com.

Paying with personal funds breaks the exemption

The purchase must be made with the entity's own funds. When an authorized representative pays personally — even planning to be reimbursed later — the purchase is subject to tax. The Department makes one stated exception, for federal employees.

It's valid for five years

The Department reviews each certificate about 60 days before it expires. If available records show the entity is still actively engaged in its exempt activity, a new certificate is issued automatically. If the Department can't determine that, or if the entity is located outside Florida, it writes asking for confirmation or for the same documentation the original category required; not responding lets the certificate expire without renewal. Sellers verify a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption the same way they verify a resale certificate — at floridarevenue.com/taxes/certificates or through the FL Tax app.

Common mix-ups

A resale certificate is not a general tax exemption. It only covers goods genuinely bought to resell, re-rent, or incorporate into something sold — not the buyer's own supplies or equipment.
The two certificates are not interchangeable. A private business cannot use a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption, and a nonprofit that also sells taxable goods still has to register separately and gets its own Annual Resale Certificate for what it buys to resell.
Personal payment breaks a governmental exemption even when the entity reimburses it later — except for federal employees.
Neither certificate substitutes for registration. The Annual Resale Certificate is issued only after a business registers as a dealer (Form DR-1); it is not a way around registering.
A transaction authorization number covers one sale. Verifying a customer once does not clear every future purchase — a seller needs a fresh authorization for each sale, or the annual vendor authorization option for a repeat customer.

Common questions

What is Florida's Annual Resale Certificate used for?

It lets a dealer registered to collect Florida sales tax buy or rent property or services tax-exempt when those purchases will be resold, re-rented, or incorporated into something sold, under Form DR-13. It is not a general exemption for the business's own supplies or equipment.

How do I verify a customer's Annual Resale Certificate?

Call 877-357-3725, use the online tool at floridarevenue.com/taxes/certificates, or the free FL Tax mobile app. Each gives a pass/fail response and, if the certificate is valid, a transaction authorization number good for that sale.

Does the Annual Resale Certificate expire?

Yes, every December 31. A new certificate for the following calendar year is made available each November and reissued automatically to active, registered dealers.

Who can get a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption?

A defined list of governmental entities and nonprofit categories set out in ss. 212.08(6), 212.08(7) and 213.12(2), Florida Statutes — including political subdivisions, schools, religious institutions, veterans' organizations, credit unions, volunteer fire departments and 501(c)(3) organizations generally — after applying with Form DR-5.

What happens if a resale or exemption certificate is misused?

Under s. 212.085, Florida Statutes, using a certificate to evade tax that is actually due carries a mandatory 200% penalty on top of the tax owed, and resale fraud is a third-degree felony.

Sources

GT-800060 (R. 10/25), Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax — https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/brochure/gt800060.pdf
Florida Dept. of Revenue — Sales Tax Exemption Certificates — https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/businesses/Pages/sales_cex.aspx
Form DR-5 (R. 10/25), Application for a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption, Instructions — https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/dr5.pdf
s. 212.085, Florida Statutes — fraudulent claim of exemption — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/212.085
s. 212.08, Florida Statutes — exemptions — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/212.08
Florida Dept. of Revenue — Certificate Verification System — https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/certificates