Virginia Resale Certificate: Form ST-10, the Exemption Forms by Number and the ST-4 Certificate
Virginia has no separate resale license or permit. If your business is registered for sales tax, you buy goods for resale without paying sales tax by giving your supplier a signed Form ST-10, the Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption. The supplier keeps the form. Nothing is filed with the state. Your own proof of registration is the sales tax certificate, Form ST-4, which you receive when you register. For the registration steps and current rates, see Virginia sales tax registration and rates.
This guide explains what the ST-10 says, how to complete it, how the other exemption certificates are numbered, and how registration works. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Virginia Tax is the authority on your account and your obligations. A CPA or attorney should review your situation before you rely on any certificate, especially if you have a complex business structure, multistate sales or an audit in progress.
Why Virginia has no resale license
Many searches for a virginia resale license are really searches for sales tax registration. Virginia charges sales tax on retail sales, so a business that sells taxable goods registers with Virginia Tax and collects the tax from customers. Registration gives the business its account number and its ST-4. When the business buys inventory it will resell, it does not pay sales tax to the supplier. It gives the supplier an ST-10 instead. That form is the only document involved, and the state issues no separate card for it.
Do not confuse the resale certificate with a local license. The Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) is a local license tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq., administered by each city, county or town. Not every locality levies a general license, so check with your local Commissioner of the Revenue. The state does not issue one. The Virginia business taxes guide covers the broader tax picture.
How to get a resale certificate in Virginia
You do not apply for an ST-10. You complete it yourself and give it to each supplier. The full sequence looks like this:
- Register your business for sales tax with Virginia Tax online. Keep the ST-4 you receive.
- Confirm which exemption applies to each purchase. Resale, taxable lease or rental, and packaging use the ST-10. Other purchases may need a different form from the table below.
- Complete the ST-10 with your supplier's name, your business details and your sales tax account number, check the correct reason and have an authorized person sign.
- Give the signed form to the supplier before or at the time of purchase, and keep a copy for your records.
How Form ST-10 works
The ST-10 is the Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption for a Virginia dealer. You name the supplier, then provide your own name, sales tax account number, trade name (if you use one), address and kind of business. You check one box and an authorized person signs. That person is an officer of a corporation, a partner, a member of an unincorporated association, or the sole proprietor.
The form offers three reasons:
- Tangible personal property for resale. This covers goods you will resell. You cannot use this box to buy cigarettes for resale.
- Property bought for future taxable lease or rental. This includes a simultaneous purchase and taxable leaseback.
- Packaging materials. This covers containers, labels, sacks, cans, boxes, drums or bags that are sold with a product and become the buyer's property.
The certificate stays in effect until the Department of Taxation revokes it in writing. A supplier needs only one properly executed certificate on file for you, not a new form with every order. A contractor who uses or consumes materials on a construction job may not use the ST-10 for those materials.
Supplies and equipment your business uses itself are not bought for resale. Office supplies, equipment, cleaning products and similar items are taxable when you buy them, even if the business is registered. Do not sign an ST-10 for them.
Exemption forms by number
Virginia uses several exemption certificates. Each one is tied to a specific kind of exemption, so match the form to the purchase before you sign. The exemption depends on how the item is used, not only on what it is.
| Form | What it covers |
|---|---|
| ST-10 | Resale, property for future taxable lease or rental, and packaging materials |
| ST-11, ST-11A and ST-11B | Commercial and industrial exemptions. The form depends on the exemption, for example agricultural commodity processing or semiconductor manufacturing. |
| ST-12 | Government purchases |
| ST-13 | Medical and prescription items |
| NP-1 | Nonprofit organizations. Virginia Tax issues this certificate on application. Nonprofits do not use ST-13 for this purpose. |
| ST-15 | Residential heating fuels |
| ST-16 | Commercial watermen |
| ST-17 | Forest product harvesting |
| ST-18 | Agricultural buyers |
Before you rely on any form in this table, check the sales and use tax exemption information on the Virginia Tax website at tax.virginia.gov/sales-and-use-tax. If you are unsure whether your purchase qualifies, ask Virginia Tax before you buy. Using the wrong form is the most common way a valid exemption turns into a tax bill later.
How to register for sales tax
Register online through Virginia Tax at tax.virginia.gov. Have the following information ready:
- Legal name and business addresses
- Entity type
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
- Start date of the business activity
- Contact information and responsible party details, including the Social Security number of the responsible party
- A NAICS code for the business
Registration issues an account number for each tax you are registered for, along with your ST-4. Keep the account number somewhere easy to find, because you will write it on every ST-10 you give a supplier.
Paper Form R-1 is for cases where online registration is blocked. Virginia Tax lists reasons such as having no FEIN or SSN, reopening a closed account, or an FEIN or SSN already tied to another account. If one of these applies to you, contact Virginia Tax before you mail anything.
Sales tax rates to know
The state sales tax is 5.3% base, which combines the state and local rate. Localities in the regional tax area charge 6%, eight localities charge 6.3%, and the Historic Triangle (James City County, Williamsburg and York County) charges 7%. The grocery rate is 1%. Because the rate depends on where a sale takes place, confirm the rate for your location with Virginia Tax.
Returns and filing frequency
Sales tax returns are filed monthly or quarterly. They are not filed annually. Returns are due on the 20th, and you must file even in a period when you made no sales. Your filing frequency is assigned when you register, so confirm it with Virginia Tax if you are unsure which schedule applies to you.
Out-of-state sellers and supplier forms
A seller based outside Virginia must register with Virginia Tax when its sales into Virginia exceed $100,000 in annual gross sales or 200 transactions. Marketplace facilitator sales generally do not require the seller to collect the tax itself. Confirm how these thresholds apply to your sales with Virginia Tax.
If a supplier is located outside Virginia, it may ask you to use its own state's exemption form rather than the ST-10. Ask the supplier which form it accepts before you place the order. Do not assume a Virginia form will be accepted everywhere, and do not assume an out-of-state form will be accepted in Virginia without checking.
Misuse of certificates and record keeping
A certificate covers only the purchases it describes. If you use an ST-10 to buy items that do not qualify, the tax you should have paid can come back to you with interest and penalties. Check with Virginia Tax about how misuse is treated in your situation.
Keep copies of every certificate you give and the invoices that go with each purchase. Retention periods can vary, so ask the agency how long you must keep these records. Until you have that answer, keep them rather than discard them.
Official resources
- Virginia Tax: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/
- Virginia Tax sales and use tax information: https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sales-and-use-tax
- State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office (for entity formation and assumed names): https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/
This page is informational and is not legal or tax advice. Rates, forms and rules can change, so verify current requirements with Virginia Tax before you act. For a complex business, a multistate operation or an audit, consult a qualified CPA or Virginia attorney.