Florida does something no other big state does with resale certificates, and it catches resellers off guard every January. Your certificate expires. Not your registration, not your permit, but the certificate itself, on December 31, every single year.
The good news is that Florida also does the easiest thing of any state: you don't apply for the certificate separately, and you don't fill it out yourself. Register with the Florida Department of Revenue and the state issues your Annual Resale Certificate automatically, then renews it each year as long as your account stays active. You just have to remember to download the new one.
Here's the full process, the renewal cycle, and the verification rules that make Florida distinctive on the supplier side.
What Florida Issues You (Two Documents, One Expires)
When your registration is approved, Florida sends you two things.
The Certificate of Registration, Form DR-11, is your authorization to collect and remit Florida sales tax. It doesn't expire as long as your account stays active and in good standing.
The Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax, Form DR-13, is what you give suppliers to buy inventory tax-free. This is the one that expires every December 31 and is automatically renewed for active registered dealers.
That split is the thing to internalize. Your registration continues; your certificate is dated for a calendar year. A supplier who checks the date on a certificate you handed them last year will see an expired document, and they're entitled to start charging you sales tax until you provide the current one.
The general logic of permit-versus-certificate is covered in our guide to ; Florida is simply the state where the distinction is most visible.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a Florida resale certificate?
Register with the Florida Department of Revenue using Form DR-1, the Florida Business Tax Application. When your registration is approved, the state automatically issues both your Certificate of Registration (DR-11) and your Annual Resale Certificate (DR-13). There's no separate application for the certificate itself.
Does the Florida resale certificate expire?
Yes, every December 31. Unlike most states, Florida's resale certificate is issued for a single calendar year. It renews automatically for active registered dealers, but you have to download the new certificate and provide it to your suppliers, since the expired one will no longer be accepted.
When can I get next year's certificate?
Certificates for the following calendar year become available on the Department of Revenue's website in November. Downloading it in November and forwarding it to your suppliers before January avoids being charged sales tax on early-year orders.
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The B2B SupplierHub Team
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Step 1: Register With the Florida Department of Revenue
Register using the Florida Business Tax Application, Form DR-1, most easily completed online through the Florida Department of Revenue website. A paper DR-1 is available if you don't have internet access.
You'll generally need your business's legal name and structure, your EIN or Social Security number if you're a sole proprietor, your business and mailing addresses, your business activity description, and the date you began or will begin taxable activity in Florida.
If you're weighing whether to register with an EIN or an SSN, our comparison of EIN vs. resale certificate covers what distributors expect to see.
Out-of-state resellers should note that Florida registration isn't only for Florida-based businesses. If you have nexus in Florida, including storing inventory in a Florida warehouse, you're generally required to register, and that registration is what gives you a Florida resale certificate to buy that inventory tax-free.
Once approved, both the DR-11 and the DR-13 follow. You don't submit a separate certificate application.
Step 2: Download and Print Your Certificate
Your Annual Resale Certificate is available to download and print from the Department of Revenue's website using your tax account information, at floridarevenue.com/taxes/printcertificate. Paper filers also receive it with their annual coupon book or paper return.
Print it, save a PDF, and keep it somewhere you can send it from quickly. Distributor account applications frequently ask for it as an attachment, and having the current year's copy ready is the difference between an account that opens this week and one that waits on you.
The certificate shows your business name, your Annual Resale Certificate number, and the calendar year it covers. That year is what suppliers look at.
Step 3: Give It to Suppliers (and Understand How They Verify It)
Hand the certificate, or your certificate number, to each supplier you buy from for resale. As with every state, it goes to the supplier and not back to the Department of Revenue.
Florida is unusual in giving sellers three distinct ways to document a tax-exempt resale sale, and knowing them explains what your distributors are doing when they ask for things.
A supplier can obtain a copy of your current Annual Resale Certificate, paper or electronic, and keep it on file. Florida directs sellers to retain those copies for three years.
Alternatively, a supplier can obtain a transaction authorization number for a specific sale using your certificate number, in which case they don't need to keep a copy of your certificate for that transaction. There's also a vendor authorization number option for ongoing customer relationships.
Verification runs through the Department of Revenue, including by phone at 877-FL-RESALE. If a Florida distributor asks for your certificate number and then puts you on hold, this is what's happening, and it's a sign they're handling their compliance properly.
The Renewal Cycle: What to Do Every November
This is the part worth putting in your calendar.
Certificates for the following calendar year become available on the Department's website in November. For active registered dealers, renewal is automatic in the sense that a new certificate is issued without you applying, but nothing arrives at your suppliers by itself. The action item is yours: download the new certificate, and send it to every distributor who has your old one on file.
Sellers who skip this discover the problem the same way every year. An order placed in early January comes back with sales tax added because the supplier's certificate on file expired on December 31. Sorting it out afterward is more work than a fifteen-minute November task.
A practical habit: keep a short list of every supplier you've given a certificate to, and treat sending the new one as a single annual chore alongside downloading it.
Using the Certificate Correctly
The certificate covers property and services you'll resell or re-rent in the regular course of business. It does not cover things your business consumes: office equipment, supplies, fixtures, or anything you'll use rather than sell. The classic example Florida itself uses is that a restaurant can't buy kitchen equipment tax-free even though that equipment helps produce what it sells.
Florida provides for both civil and criminal penalties for fraudulent use of an Annual Resale Certificate, and the state takes the distinction between resale and use seriously. The safe test is simple: if the item is going out the door to a customer, it's resale; if it stays with your business, it isn't.
Keep your records. Florida's guidance directs sellers to retain resale certificate copies for three years, which is shorter than the four years Texas and California require and worth noting if you operate across states.
This is general information about Florida procedure, not legal or tax advice for your situation. Rules change, and specifics vary by business structure and activity, so confirm with the Florida Department of Revenue or a tax professional before relying on it.
Certificate in Hand? Now Find Distributors Worth Sending It To
Once your DR-13 is downloaded, the question becomes which suppliers deserve it. B2B Supplier Hub answers that before you fill in a single application, search any product by UPC, MPN, name, or brand and see every verified distributor in the network carrying it, with exact wholesale cost, live stock depth, and the date each listing was verified, free and unlimited.
Get the certificate sorted in November, then spend January buying from suppliers whose numbers actually work.
Can out-of-state resellers get a Florida resale certificate?
Yes, and they may be required to register. If you have nexus in Florida, such as storing inventory in a Florida warehouse, you generally must register with the Department of Revenue, which gives you both the registration and the Annual Resale Certificate. Florida sellers may also accept the MTC Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate from out-of-state purchasers, though the Florida seller still has to verify the exemption through the Department.
Where do I print my Florida resale certificate?
From the Department of Revenue's website using your tax account information, at floridarevenue.com/taxes/printcertificate. Paper filers also receive a copy with their annual coupon book or paper return.
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