If you are opening wholesale accounts as a Georgia-based reseller, the document your distributors will ask for is the Certificate of Exemption (used as the resale certificate). It lets you buy inventory without paying Georgia sales tax, because the tax will be collected when you sell to your own customers.
This guide covers the Georgia specifics: which agency issues what, the exact form, what it costs, how long it takes, and how your suppliers will verify it. It is part of our step-by-step wholesale sourcing roadmap.
Certificate: Certificate of Exemption (used as the resale certificate) (Form ST-5). Prerequisite registration: Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Registration (sales tax number). Issuing agency: Georgia Department of Revenue.
Yes – Georgia is drop-ship friendly and accepts resale certificates bearing another state’s sales tax registration number, plus the SST and MTC uniform certificates.
Georgia provides an online lookup where a supplier can confirm your registration is valid: official verification tool. Expect serious distributors to use it — verifying buyer credentials is a standard part of wholesale onboarding, and supplier profiles in our catalogue note when a resale certificate is required.
Neither the registration nor the ST-5 expires; certificates should be updated when business information changes
Usually yes — but the supplier must then charge you sales tax, which comes straight out of your margin, and some distributors simply refuse accounts without resale documentation. Getting the certificate first is almost always worth it.
Georgia’s Sales Tax ID Verification Tool (via the Georgia Tax Center) lets suppliers confirm a number in seconds. Registration is free and handled entirely through GTC.
Facts above summarise official Georgia Department of Revenue guidance; requirements change, so confirm current fees and forms at the agency site. Next step in the roadmap: choosing and verifying a supplier.