New CereTax SmartResearch. AI tax research. Cited answers. SmartResearch. Cited answers. SmartResearch. Learn more
Pick the tool that can follow the rules of each state where you sell. A state's rules can set which forms you can accept, what makes a certificate complete, how long after a sale you can collect one, how long you keep it, when it expires, and how you verify it. A tool built around one state's rules can miss another's.
This guide is for tax, accounts receivable, and finance leads who are comparing exemption certificate management tools. It covers what the rules ask of a seller who accepts certificates. For a feature checklist, see Exemption Certificate Management Software: What It Does and How to Choose It.
Start with a list of the states where you accept certificates. For each one, note the forms it takes, its collection window, its retention period, and when its certificates expire, where the state sets them. Then ask each vendor to show those settings for your states.
Each section below gives one example from one state or program and links to the full rule. The examples show how much the rules can vary. They do not describe every state, so confirm the rules for your own states with your tax advisor.
As of October 15, 2026, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) says 36 states have indicated its multijurisdiction form can be used as a resale certificate. The MTC also says states may change their acceptance policies without notifying the MTC. Other states may accept different forms.
What to require: the tool stores Streamlined Sales Tax certificates, MTC forms, and state-specific forms as distinct certificate types, records the state for which you accepted each certificate, and gives you a way to learn when a state changes what it accepts.
Texas says a seller must make sure a resale certificate is properly completed. Other states may set different completeness rules.
What to require: the tool tests each certificate against the required fields of each state the certificate covers, flags a missing field for review, and lets a reviewer record how a state treats that field.
Washington says a seller has up to 120 days from the date of the sale to collect the documentation that proves a wholesale sale. Other states may set different windows.
What to require: the tool tracks each time limit your states set for a sale made before you have the certificate, whatever event a state counts it from, and warns you before the limit passes.
Washington says documentation that proves a wholesale sale must be kept for five years after it was last used. Other states may set different retention periods.
What to require: retention set by state, with a clock start that you can choose, such as the last date a certificate was used.
California Regulation 1668 says a resale certificate remains in effect until revoked in writing. Other states may set different expiration rules.
What to require: expiration logic that you can set by state and certificate type, a renewal reminder tied to that logic, and, where a state's certificates stay in effect until revoked, a way to record the revocation.
The Washington Department of Revenue lists a printout of the customer's information from its Business Lookup and results from its Reseller Permit Verification Service among the documents a seller can keep to prove a wholesale sale. Other states may offer different lookups or none.
What to require: where a state offers a lookup, the tool saves the result and the date of the check with the certificate record. Where a state offers none, the tool supports a review step for certificates that look wrong.
Texas says a seller must keep the resale certificates it accepts for four years to support a claim that a sale was for resale. Other states may set different periods and records.
What to require: for any exempt sale, the certificate, the date you accepted it, and the documents that support the sale, retrieved together.
Each question below tests one of the criteria above. Ask about your own states, and ask the vendor to show the answer on screen.
A useful answer names your states and shows the setting. An answer that the tool handles every state gives you nothing to test.
SmartExempt supports resale certificates, exemption certificates, direct pay permits, reseller permits, and state-specific forms, and validates certificates at the moment of sale. Validation combines automated checks for format, expiration, and jurisdiction match with optional manual review. SmartExempt flags expiring certificates, can automatically notify buyers to renew, and provides audit-ready logs, a certificate ledger, and transaction-level evidence of why an exemption was applied. Ask us the questions above, as you would any vendor.
See how SmartExempt handles exemption certificates
Sales tax automation for complex, high-volume transactions.
Complex tax. Calculated correctly.
