Every wholesale application eventually reaches the same line: attach your resale certificate. For resellers registered in Pennsylvania, that document is the Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate — proof that you are buying inventory for resale, not consumption, so the supplier does not have to charge you sales tax.
This guide covers the Pennsylvania 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: Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate (REV-1220). Prerequisite registration: Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License. Issuing agency: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
Yes – PA accepts the MTC uniform certificate, and out-of-state resellers with no PA nexus may enter their home-state registration number on REV-1220.
Pennsylvania 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.
License does not require paid renewal (renewed automatically for tax-compliant filers); blanket REV-1220s remain valid until revoked – refreshing every few years is recommended.
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.
Register via myPATH (the PA-100 system is retired). PA has no public license verification tool, so suppliers rely on a properly completed REV-1220 taken in good faith.
Facts above summarise official Pennsylvania 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.