Illinois Resale Certificate and Seller's Permit (2026)

Illinois: seller's permit & resale certificate

Sales tax · Agency: Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR)

Resale certificate

Certificate of Resale (CRT-61)Get the official form →

How long it's valid

Single-purchase or blanket (full or percentage). No statutory expiration, but IDOR says blanket and percentage blanket certificates must be updated at least once every three years. Seller keeps certificates at least 3.5 years.

Seller's permit

Certificate of Registration (Retailers' Occupation Tax account; Illinois account ID) — Free. IDOR: 'There is no registration fee.' (Separate license fees apply only to certain excise/gaming/motor fuel activities.) IDOR may require a bond or irrevocable bank letter of credit as security before issuing a certificate (35 ILCS 120/2a). Certificates are now issued electronically — print from MyTax Illinois (Letters and Messages > View Account Letters).Register with Illinois Department of Revenue →Renewal: Automatically renewed unless IDOR denies renewal for delinquency; by statute, certificates issued/renewed on or after July 1, 2017 to monthly filers are valid one year and auto-renew for one year (35 ILCS 120/2a).

Buyer registered in another state?

Only if the out-of-state purchaser is not required to register in Illinois AND will resell and deliver the property only to purchasers located outside Illinois (CRT-61 second box; enter other state's name and registration number or attach copy). Otherwise an unregistered reseller must apply to IDOR for an Illinois resale number (35 ILCS 120/2c); no other state's number is acceptable for property resold/delivered in Illinois.

Multistate forms

IDOR: other forms or statements may be used in place of CRT-61 if they contain the seller's and purchaser's names/addresses, description of property, statement that it is for resale, purchaser's signature and date, and the purchaser's Illinois retailer or reseller account ID number (or the out-of-state purchaser certification). 'Good faith' is not the standard — the seller must verify the Illinois account ID is valid and active (Verify a Registered Business at mytax.illinois.gov). The MTC certificate is accepted only with an Illinois registration or resale number (MTC note 12); Illinois is not an SST member. Failure to present an active registration or resale number creates a presumption that the sale is not for resale (35 ILCS 120/2c).

Drop shipments

IDOR tax matrix: a retailer having property drop shipped from a supplier to an Illinois purchaser must remit tax from that purchaser, and retailers must provide a valid CRT-61 to their Illinois suppliers to document purchases for resale (86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.225). Out-of-state retailers without an Illinois registration/resale number cannot use the out-of-state box when the property is delivered to an Illinois customer.

Verify a certificate

Official verification lookup →

Good to know

• Effective January 1, 2025, a resale certificate may also be used for purchases of merchandise to be leased or rented if the lease/rental will be subject to Retailers' Occupation Tax (IDOR tax matrix PIO-101).
• Registered retailers with an active ST-556 account may use CRT-61 for resale purchases of items titled/registered by an Illinois agency (vehicles, watercraft, etc.); a transaction return must still be filed.
• Unregistered purchasers who resell in a non-taxable manner must apply for a resale number (35 ILCS 120/2c).