If you are opening wholesale accounts as a Michigan-based reseller, the document your distributors will ask for is the Michigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption. It lets you buy inventory without paying Michigan sales tax, because the tax will be collected when you sell to your own customers.
This guide covers the Michigan 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: Michigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (Form 3372). Prerequisite registration: Sales Tax License. Issuing agency: Michigan Department of Treasury.
Yes – accepts the MTC Uniform certificate, the SST Certificate of Exemption, and out-of-state registration numbers from unregistered purchasers.
Michigan has no general public lookup for certificate numbers, so suppliers rely on the completed form itself being accurate and signed. Expect distributors to keep your certificate on file — supplier profiles in our catalogue note when a resale certificate is required at account opening.
Blanket certificates valid up to 4 years (and lapse if no purchase within 12 months per some practitioner guidance)
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.
The sales tax license itself renews annually (auto-renewed through Michigan Treasury Online). No public online tool exists for suppliers to verify certificates.
Facts above summarise official Michigan Department of Treasury guidance; requirements change, so confirm current fees and forms at the agency site. Next step in the roadmap: choosing and verifying a supplier.