New Jersey Form ST-3 is the Resale Certificate that a registered New Jersey business gives to a seller so the business can buy inventory, parts, or materials without paying the 6.625% New Jersey Sales Tax — because the buyer plans to resell those items in the regular course of business. The form is not filed with the state. The buyer hands it to the seller, and the seller keeps it on file as proof of why no sales tax was charged.
That single piece of paper carries real weight. According to the New Jersey Division of Taxation, New Jersey collects more than $11 billion in sales and use tax each year, and audits routinely flag missing, incomplete, or invalid resale certificates as the top reason a “tax-free” purchase gets reassessed with tax, interest, and penalties under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-14. One bad ST-3 can convert a $50,000 wholesale order into a $50,000 taxable sale on audit.
Here is what this guide covers:
- 📝 How to fill out every field on the current ST-3 (Rev. 3/17), line by line, in plain English
- 🧾 Three full filled-out examples — a clothing boutique, an online Amazon reseller, and a general contractor
- ⚖️ The statutes, penalties, and audit risks behind each box, including the $100 misuse penalty
- 📬 How to deliver, accept, retain, and validate ST-3 certificates as both a buyer and a seller
- ❓ Twelve plus FAQs that answer the field-level questions filers ask most
What the Form Is and Who Must File It
New Jersey Form ST-3 is the Resale Certificate issued under the New Jersey Sales and Use Tax Act, N.J.S.A. 54:32B-1 et seq. The form lets a purchaser tell a seller that the goods or taxable services being bought are for resale, lease, or rental, not for the buyer’s own use. When the seller accepts a properly completed ST-3 in good faith, the seller is relieved of the duty to collect sales tax on that sale, and the responsibility for any tax shifts to the buyer if the goods are later used instead of resold.
The form is not filed with the New Jersey Division of Taxation. The buyer signs it, dates it, and gives it to the seller. The seller then keeps it for at least four years under the recordkeeping rules in N.J.A.C. 18:24-2, so the certificate can be produced if the seller is audited.
Who must use it? Any New Jersey business that holds a valid Certificate of Authority (Form CA-1) issued after registering with the New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services through the NJ-REG business registration portal. That includes wholesalers, retailers, online sellers, contractors who actually resell materials (rare — see the contractor section below), restaurants buying ingredients, and service providers who resell taxable services. Out-of-state buyers cannot use ST-3. They must use the Form ST-3NR Resale Certificate for Non-NJ Vendors or the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (ST-SST) instead. The current revision of ST-3 carries the date 3/17 in the lower-left corner; if your copy says anything older, replace it before issuing it to a vendor.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Filling out ST-3 takes about three minutes once you have your paperwork in front of you. The hard part is gathering the right numbers. New Jersey expects every entry to match what the state already has on file in its Premier Business Services database, and a single typo can void the certificate during an audit.
Pull these items together first:
- Your New Jersey Certificate of Authority (CA-1). This is the wall certificate you received after registering through NJ-REG. The 12-digit New Jersey Taxpayer ID printed on it is the number you write in the seller’s information block. Without an active CA, you cannot legally issue ST-3.
- Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or Social Security Number. Sole proprietors without employees may use an SSN, but an FEIN is strongly preferred to avoid identity exposure.
- Your exact registered legal business name. This must match the name on your Certificate of Authority — not a DBA, not a shortened version.
- Your registered business address. Use the address on file with the Division of Revenue, not a shipping address or home address unless those match.
- A clear description of your business. Think one short sentence: “Retail sale of women’s clothing and accessories.” Vague answers like “retail” get certificates rejected on audit.
- A clear description of the property or service being purchased. “Inventory for resale” alone is not enough; name the category (e.g., “women’s apparel, handbags, and jewelry held for resale”).
- The seller’s name and address. Get this from the seller’s invoice or quote so the certificate matches their records exactly.
- Authorized signer information. The signer must be an owner, partner, corporate officer, LLC member or manager, or someone with written authority. Title goes on the form.
- The date of issuance. Use today’s date in MM/DD/YYYY format.
- A copy of your most recent ST-50 quarterly return (helpful but optional). It confirms you are still an active filer, which protects you if a seller asks for proof.
If any one of these is missing, stop and fix it before issuing the certificate. A buyer who hands a seller an ST-3 with a wrong or expired tax ID exposes both sides to assessment.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The only official source for ST-3 is the New Jersey Division of Taxation Sales Tax Forms page, where the current PDF lives next to ST-3NR, ST-4, ST-5, ST-7, and ST-8. Download the PDF directly; never use a third-party copy from a stationery site, because outdated revisions sometimes ask for fields the state no longer accepts.
You can complete ST-3 three ways. First, you can print the blank PDF and fill it in by hand using black or blue ink. Second, you can type directly into the fillable PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, then print and sign. Third, many wholesalers now accept a digitally signed PDF emailed as an attachment, which is permitted under N.J.S.A. 12A:12-7, New Jersey’s adoption of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, as long as both parties consent to electronic delivery.
The form is not filed in any portal. There is no online submission for ST-3 because it goes from buyer to seller, not from buyer to state. If a vendor tells you to “upload it to New Jersey,” they are confused — the ST-3 only lives in the seller’s records. Sellers who want to centralize certificates often use platforms like Avalara CertCapture or Vertex Exemption Certificate Manager, but those are private tools, not state systems.
A blanket ST-3 covers an indefinite number of future purchases from the same seller, so most buyers issue one ST-3 per vendor and update it only when their business name, address, or tax ID changes.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out New Jersey Form ST-3 Line by Line
The ST-3 is a one-page form with seven distinct fields plus a signature block. Every box matters. Below, each field gets its own walkthrough using the exact label printed on the official ST-3 PDF (Rev. 3/17).
Field 1: “TO” (Seller’s Name)
Plain English: This is the name of the business you are buying from — the vendor that would normally charge you sales tax.
How to answer it: Write the seller’s full legal business name exactly as it appears on the seller’s invoice or quote. Use upper- and lower-case letters as the seller writes it; do not abbreviate. If the seller is a corporation, include the “Inc.” or “LLC” suffix.
Example entry: A boutique buying from a Manhattan wholesaler enters Garment District Wholesale, LLC.
Nuance / edge case: If the seller uses a DBA different from the legal name, write the legal name first and the DBA in parentheses, like Acme Distribution Inc. (d/b/a Acme Wholesale). This protects the certificate if the seller’s records show only one of the two.
Common mistake and consequence: Filers often write the salesperson’s name instead of the business name. The certificate is then technically issued to an individual who has no sales tax permit, and the seller’s auditor will treat the sale as taxable.
Misconception: Many buyers think a single ST-3 covers any seller they later use. It does not. Each seller needs its own ST-3 with that seller’s name in the “TO” line.
Field 2: Seller’s Address (Street, City, State, Zip)
Plain English: This is the seller’s mailing address — where their invoices come from.
How to answer it: Use the address printed on the seller’s invoice, purchase order, or quote. Include street, city, state, and ZIP on the lines provided. Use the U.S. Postal Service two-letter state abbreviation.
Example entry: 247 W 38th Street, New York, NY 10018.
Nuance / edge case: If the seller uses a P.O. box for billing and a street address for shipping, use the billing address that appears on the invoice. The state cares about the entity that recorded the sale, not the warehouse that shipped it.
Common mistake and consequence: Writing the buyer’s address here. The certificate then names no real seller, and on audit the seller cannot match it to any account in their system, so the exemption fails.
Misconception: Some buyers think they can leave this blank if the seller’s name is right. New Jersey’s Sales Tax Exemption Administration publication ANJ-14 requires both name and address, and an incomplete certificate is treated as no certificate at all.
Field 3: Date
Plain English: The day you fill out and sign the certificate.
How to answer it: Write today’s date in MM/DD/YYYY format. The date should be on or before the date of the first invoice the certificate covers. New Jersey gives sellers 90 days from the sale to obtain a certificate without losing the good-faith protection, per N.J.S.A. 54:32B-12.
Example entry: 05/23/2026.
Nuance / edge case: If you are issuing a blanket ST-3 to cover ongoing purchases, use the date of issuance, not the date of any single invoice. The certificate then covers all future qualifying purchases from that seller until you revoke it in writing.
Common mistake and consequence: Backdating the certificate to “fix” an old taxable invoice. Backdating is fraud, and it converts a civil penalty into a possible criminal referral under N.J.S.A. 54:52-9.
Misconception: Buyers often think a certificate “expires” after a year. New Jersey does not impose an expiration date on ST-3, but sellers may ask for a refreshed copy on their own schedule.
Field 4: “The undersigned certifies that…” — Purchaser’s Statement
This is the pre-printed certification language at the top of the certificate. There is nothing to write here, but you are agreeing to its terms when you sign at the bottom. Read it. The language commits you to three promises: that you hold a valid New Jersey Certificate of Authority, that the property or services purchased are for resale, lease, or rental in the ordinary course of business, and that you will pay use tax under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-6 on anything you end up using yourself.
Common mistake and consequence: Treating the certification as boilerplate. If you sign without holding a valid CA, you have made a false statement; the seller’s good-faith defense disappears, and the buyer faces a $100 penalty plus tax, interest, and potential fraud charges.
Misconception: Buyers think this language only matters in court. In practice, it is the language an auditor reads first to decide whether to honor the certificate.
Field 5: Description of Nature of Business of Purchaser
Plain English: A short sentence telling the seller what your business actually does.
How to answer it: Use one specific sentence naming what you sell or what service you provide. Avoid one-word answers. The description must logically connect to the items being purchased.
Example entry: Retail sale of women’s clothing, handbags, and accessories through a brick-and-mortar store and an online shop.
Nuance / edge case: If your business has multiple lines (for example, a restaurant that also sells branded merchandise), describe both. A mismatch between the nature of your business and the items purchased is the single most common audit trigger.
Common mistake and consequence: Writing simply “Retail” or “Sales.” That tells the auditor nothing, and the Sales Tax Exemption Administration guide treats vague descriptions as defective certificates, so the sale becomes taxable.
Misconception: Filers think the seller does not read this field. In an audit, this field is the first thing matched against the line items on the invoice.
Field 6: Property or Service Will Be Resold (Description)
Plain English: What you are buying and how it will be resold.
How to answer it: Name the category of items, not every SKU. Tie the description to the resale activity you described in Field 5. If the certificate is blanket, write “All items of tangible personal property purchased for resale in the ordinary course of business consistent with the nature of business stated above.”
Example entry: Women’s apparel, handbags, and costume jewelry held for resale at retail.
Nuance / edge case: Some items can be resold but are still taxable when used by the buyer first — for example, store fixtures, display mannequins, or office supplies. Those cannot go on ST-3, and an entry that lumps them in voids the certificate as to those items.
Common mistake and consequence: Buyers list “all purchases” with no link to their stated business. The auditor then disqualifies items the business is plainly consuming, like cleaning supplies or shop tools.
Misconception: A common belief is that if the buyer might one day resell the item, ST-3 covers it. The statute requires resale in the ordinary course of business, not the theoretical possibility.
Field 7: New Jersey Certificate of Authority Number
Plain English: Your 12-digit New Jersey Taxpayer ID, sometimes called your “NJ Tax ID” or “CA number.”
How to answer it: Copy the 12-digit number from your Certificate of Authority exactly, including any leading zeros. Many CAs print the number with hyphens (XXX-XXX-XXX/XXX); enter it the same way the certificate displays it.
Example entry: 123-456-789/000.
Nuance / edge case: Out-of-state buyers do not have an NJ CA number. They must use ST-3NR and provide their home-state registration number instead. Writing a Federal EIN here does not cure the problem — New Jersey wants the state tax ID.
Common mistake and consequence: Transposing two digits. The Premier Business Services lookup will show no active registration, and the seller’s auditor will treat the certificate as invalid, making the sale taxable.
Misconception: Buyers think the FEIN and the NJ CA number are interchangeable. They are not. The CA number is issued by the New Jersey Division of Revenue, not the IRS.
Field 8: Signature, Title, and Printed Name
Plain English: The block at the bottom where an authorized person signs.
How to answer it: Print the signer’s name, sign in ink (or apply a verified e-signature), enter the signer’s title, and write the date. Acceptable titles include Owner, Partner, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Member, Manager, or Authorized Officer.
Example entry: Printed name Maria Lopez, signature Maria Lopez, title Owner, date 05/23/2026.
Nuance / edge case: Employees without officer-level authority should not sign. If a bookkeeper signs, attach a written delegation from an officer. Otherwise, the seller’s good-faith defense can fail under N.J.A.C. 18:24-10.4.
Common mistake and consequence: Signing without a title, or writing “Self.” The auditor cannot verify authority, the certificate is treated as defective, and tax is assessed on the seller (who then bills the buyer).
Misconception: Filers think a typed name in the signature line is always enough. New Jersey accepts e-signatures, but only when both parties consent to electronic delivery; a plain typed name in a printed PDF is not a signature.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Below are three of the most common ST-3 fact patterns. Each follows one named filer through the form.
Example 1: Maria Lopez, Owner of Lopez Boutique LLC (Brick-and-Mortar Retailer)
Maria runs a women’s clothing boutique in Hoboken. She buys inventory from a Manhattan wholesaler and wants every order shipped tax-free.
| Form Section | What Maria Enters |
|---|---|
| TO (Seller’s Name) | Garment District Wholesale, LLC |
| Seller’s Address | 247 W 38th Street, New York, NY 10018 |
| Date | 05/23/2026 |
| Nature of Business | Retail sale of women’s clothing, handbags, and accessories through a brick-and-mortar store and an online shop. |
| Description of Property | Women’s apparel, handbags, and costume jewelry held for resale at retail. |
| NJ Certificate of Authority Number | 123-456-789/000 |
| Printed Name | Maria Lopez |
| Signature | Maria Lopez |
| Title | Owner / Managing Member |
| Type of Certificate | Blanket (covers all future qualifying purchases) |
Example 2: David Chen, Sole Proprietor of Chen Online Resale (Amazon FBA Reseller)
David buys discounted electronics from a New Jersey distributor and resells them on Amazon and eBay nationwide.
| Form Section | What David Enters |
|---|---|
| TO (Seller’s Name) | Edison Electronics Distributors, Inc. |
| Seller’s Address | 1500 Route 27, Edison, NJ 08817 |
| Date | 05/23/2026 |
| Nature of Business | Online retail sale of consumer electronics, accessories, and small appliances on Amazon and eBay marketplaces. |
| Description of Property | Consumer electronics, audio equipment, and accessories purchased for resale to retail customers. |
| NJ Certificate of Authority Number | 987-654-321/000 |
| Printed Name | David Chen |
| Signature | David Chen |
| Title | Sole Proprietor |
| Type of Certificate | Blanket |
Example 3: Janet Williams, President of Williams Contracting Inc. (Contractor Reselling Materials)
Janet’s company installs custom cabinetry. Most of her materials are not eligible for ST-3 because contractors are usually treated as the end user. But she also operates a separate retail showroom that sells the same cabinetry directly to homeowners. For showroom inventory, she may issue ST-3.
| Form Section | What Janet Enters |
|---|---|
| TO (Seller’s Name) | Northeast Cabinet Supply Corp. |
| Seller’s Address | 45 Industrial Way, Paterson, NJ 07504 |
| Date | 05/23/2026 |
| Nature of Business | Retail sale of pre-manufactured cabinetry and countertops through a showroom; installation services billed separately. |
| Description of Property | Pre-manufactured cabinets and countertops held for retail sale, not for installation contracts. |
| NJ Certificate of Authority Number | 555-222-333/000 |
| Printed Name | Janet Williams |
| Signature | Janet Williams |
| Title | President |
| Type of Certificate | Single-purchase (because most contracting materials are not for resale) |
Janet’s case shows why the New Jersey Contractor and Sales Tax bulletin S&U-3 matters: contractors who issue ST-3 on materials they will install are almost always wrong, and the resulting use-tax assessment can run into six figures.
A fourth named filer, Aisha Robinson, runs a food truck and uses ST-3 to buy paper goods and napkins for resale-with-meal — those are exempt as items transferred to the customer. A fifth, Marcus Patel, owns a print shop and uses ST-3 to buy paper and ink that become part of the finished printed product the customer takes away.
How to File the Completed Form
The ST-3 is “filed” with the seller, not the state. Three delivery channels are recognized.
By hand or by mail. Print the completed certificate, sign it in ink, and deliver one original to the seller. Keep a copy for your own files. Mail to the seller’s billing address printed on the invoice. There is no fee. Processing is immediate — the certificate is effective the moment the seller receives it. Keep proof of delivery (a certified-mail receipt or signed acknowledgment) for at least four years.
By email or PDF upload. Most modern wholesalers accept a digitally signed PDF. Use Adobe Acrobat or a service like DocuSign so the signature carries an audit trail. Many wholesale platforms — Faire, Tundra, RangeMe — have built-in upload portals; the upload still goes to the seller, not to New Jersey. Save the email confirmation.
Through a centralized exemption-certificate manager. Larger sellers use Avalara CertCapture or Vertex ECM. The buyer fills out the certificate inside the platform, and the seller pulls it on demand. Same legal effect; just a different storage location.
There is no filing fee, no payment due, and no portal at the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sellers must keep the certificate on file for at least four years after the last sale it covered, per the recordkeeping rules in ANJ-14. Buyers should also keep their own copy, plus copies of every invoice it covered, for the same four-year window.
What Happens After You File
The day you hand the seller a properly completed ST-3, three things change. First, the seller stops charging you 6.625% New Jersey Sales Tax on covered purchases. Second, the seller becomes legally protected from collecting that tax, as long as the seller accepted the certificate “in good faith” — meaning the certificate was complete on its face and the buyer’s claim looked plausible given the business described. Third, you assume the legal duty to pay use tax on anything you end up consuming yourself, reported on your quarterly ST-50 Sales and Use Tax return.
If the New Jersey Division of Taxation later audits the seller, the auditor reviews each ST-3 in the seller’s files. A defective or missing certificate flips the sale to taxable, and the seller is billed for back tax, interest, and a 5% late-payment penalty plus up to 25% in additional penalties under N.J.S.A. 54:49-4. The seller will then chase you for indemnification, because most wholesale invoices include a clause requiring the buyer to make the seller whole if a certificate fails.
If the auditor visits you, the focus shifts to whether the items on the certificate were actually resold. Anything you used yourself — fixtures, supplies, equipment — gets assessed at 6.625% use tax plus interest, plus the $100-per-misuse penalty under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-14. Repeated misuse can trigger fraud penalties up to 50% of the unpaid tax.
Most ST-3s never get scrutinized. But the ones that do tend to be the messy ones: vague descriptions, missing tax IDs, expired CAs, and signatures with no title.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Using ST-3 without an active New Jersey Certificate of Authority. The certificate is legally void from the start, and the buyer faces the $100 penalty plus tax.
- Writing a Federal EIN in the NJ Certificate of Authority Number field. The auditor cannot verify the buyer in Premier Business Services, and the certificate fails.
- Leaving the “Nature of Business” field vague (e.g., “Retail”). Vague descriptions are treated as defective under ANJ-14, making the entire sale taxable.
- Signing without a title. Without a verifiable title, the seller’s good-faith defense fails, and the seller bills the buyer for the lost tax.
- Issuing ST-3 for items the buyer will use, not resell. Use-tax assessments on shop tools, fixtures, or office supplies are the most common audit hit.
- Backdating the certificate to cover prior taxable invoices. Backdating is a false statement and can trigger criminal referral under N.J.S.A. 54:52-9.
- Using an out-of-state ID on ST-3 instead of switching to ST-3NR. Non-New Jersey buyers must use the ST-3NR form, not ST-3.
- Issuing one ST-3 to cover multiple sellers. Each seller needs its own certificate naming that seller in the “TO” line.
- Forgetting to mark the certificate as blanket vs. single-purchase. Sellers may treat an ambiguous certificate as covering only one invoice, surprising the buyer with tax on the next order.
- Failing to update the certificate after a name, ownership, or address change. A stale ST-3 attached to a now-different entity is worthless on audit.
- Letting an employee without officer authority sign. The seller’s good-faith defense collapses, and the buyer must indemnify the seller.
- Throwing the certificate away after one purchase. Buyers should keep their copies for four years to defend their own purchases on audit.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do verify your Certificate of Authority is active before issuing ST-3, because an inactive CA voids the certificate from day one.
- Do match every word of your registered name to what New Jersey has on file, because mismatches trigger automatic rejection.
- Do describe both your business and the items in plain, specific language, because vague descriptions are the top audit failure mode.
- Do issue blanket certificates for ongoing relationships, because they cut paperwork and reduce missed certificates on later invoices.
- Do keep a digital copy of every ST-3 you issue, because you may need to defend purchases years later on audit.
- Do refresh ST-3s every few years even though New Jersey does not require it, because most sellers want updated copies for their own audit prep.
- Don’t sign ST-3 unless you actually intend to resell the items, because the $100-per-misuse penalty stacks fast.
- Don’t use ST-3 for items consumed in your business, because use tax plus interest applies and is rarely worth the risk.
- Don’t accept a vendor’s pre-filled ST-3 without checking every field, because errors stay your responsibility as the buyer.
- Don’t backdate, alter, or “white out” any field, because alterations void the certificate and may trigger fraud penalties.
- Don’t rely on a verbal exemption, because only a written, signed certificate protects the seller and you.
- Don’t assume New Jersey accepts a multi-state certificate without ST-SST or ST-3NR, because the wrong form is no form.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
| Approach | Why It Works (or Doesn’t) |
|---|---|
| Pro — Filing ST-3 yourself | The form is one page and free, so most small businesses handle it without help. |
| Pro — Speed | A self-issued ST-3 takes minutes; a CPA-prepared one waits in a queue. |
| Pro — No fee | New Jersey charges nothing for ST-3, and self-prep avoids professional fees. |
| Pro — Direct knowledge | You know your inventory and business better than any outside preparer. |
| Pro — Repeatable templates | Once one ST-3 is right, the rest are copy-paste with the seller name swapped. |
| Con — Self-prep error risk | Most audit failures come from self-prepared certificates with vague descriptions. |
| Con — Misclassification trap | Contractors especially get ST-3 wrong, with six-figure use-tax exposure. |
| Con — No safety net | A CPA carries E&O insurance; you don’t. |
| Con — Multi-state confusion | Pros know when to switch to ST-3NR or ST-SST; self-filers often don’t. |
| Con — Audit defense | When an auditor calls, a tax pro answers; a sole proprietor often panics. |
Related New Jersey Exemption Certificates
| Form | When to Use It |
|---|---|
| ST-3 | New Jersey buyer, items for resale |
| ST-3NR | Out-of-state buyer, items for resale |
| ST-4 | Exempt-use purchases (manufacturing equipment, R&D, farm) |
| ST-5 | Qualified exempt organizations (charities, churches) |
| ST-SST | Streamlined Sales Tax multi-state certificate |
| ST-7 | Farmer’s exemption |
A Quick Note for Sellers Accepting ST-3
If you are the seller, your job is to accept the certificate “in good faith.” That means three checks. First, look at the face of the certificate — every field filled, signed, dated, and titled. Second, glance at the buyer’s stated business and the items on the invoice — do they line up? A florist asking for resale exemption on power tools is a red flag. Third, if anything looks off, run the buyer’s NJ CA number through Premier Business Services to confirm it is active. Keep the certificate for at least four years after the last sale it covered, per ANJ-14. Sellers who follow these three steps preserve the statutory good-faith defense under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-12 and almost never lose an ST-3 audit.
FAQs
Does ST-3 expire?
No. New Jersey does not place a fixed expiration date on ST-3. Sellers may, however, ask for refreshed copies on their own schedule, and you should reissue after any name, address, or ownership change.
Do I file ST-3 with the New Jersey Division of Taxation?
No. ST-3 is given to the seller, not filed with the state. The seller keeps it for at least four years to support the tax-exempt sale during a future audit.
Can I use ST-3 if I am registered only with the IRS but not New Jersey?
No. ST-3 requires a valid New Jersey Certificate of Authority. Register first through NJ-REG, then issue ST-3 once your CA arrives.
Do I write my FEIN or my NJ Tax ID in the Certificate of Authority Number box?
No — write the NJ Certificate of Authority number, not the FEIN. The FEIN is a federal number, and entering it voids the certificate during a New Jersey audit.
Can I issue one ST-3 to cover all my vendors?
No. Each seller needs its own ST-3 with that seller’s name and address in the “TO” line. A single certificate cannot list multiple sellers.
Can my bookkeeper sign ST-3 for me?
No, unless the bookkeeper has written authority from an owner or officer. Without delegation, the seller’s good-faith defense fails and the buyer is liable.
Does ST-3 cover services?
Yes, for taxable services that the buyer will resell as part of their own taxable service or product. Most service buyers use ST-4 instead for exempt use.
Can an out-of-state buyer use ST-3?
No. Out-of-state buyers must use ST-3NR or the Streamlined ST-SST. Using ST-3 with a non-NJ tax ID is treated as a defective certificate.
Is “Retail” enough in the Nature of Business field?
No. Vague descriptions void the certificate under ANJ-14. Use a full sentence naming what you sell, like “Retail sale of women’s apparel and accessories.”
Should I write “for resale” in the Description of Property field?
No — that alone is too vague. Name the category of items, like “women’s apparel, handbags, and jewelry held for resale at retail.”
Can a contractor use ST-3 for installation materials?
No, in most cases. Contractors are treated as end users under Bulletin S&U-3. ST-3 only fits when the contractor genuinely resells materials without installation.
What is the penalty if I misuse ST-3?
Yes, there is one — $100 per misuse plus the unpaid tax, interest, and possible fraud penalties under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-14. Repeated misuse can lead to criminal referral.
Do I need to mark ST-3 as “blanket” or “single-purchase”?
Yes. Indicate clearly which it is, because sellers default to single-purchase when ambiguous. A blanket certificate covers all future qualifying sales until revoked.
Can ST-3 be signed electronically?
Yes, under New Jersey’s adoption of UETA at N.J.S.A. 12A:12-7, as long as both buyer and seller consent to electronic delivery and the e-signature carries an audit trail.
Related reading
- How to Fill Out New York Form ST-120 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New York Form ST-121 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New Jersey Certificate of Authority (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New Jersey Form ST-4 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New Jersey Form ST-50 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New Jersey Form ST-7 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out New Jersey Form NJ-1080-C (w/Examples) + FAQs