Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8908L0951A08 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-08-16

Could a Texas seller accept a faxed resale certificate with a copied signature?

Short answer: Yes. A faxed certificate was acceptable if it contained all required information, substantially followed the prescribed form, and was accepted in good faith. The signature did not have to be an original.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

A faxed resale certificate was acceptable if it contained every item required by Rule 3.285, substantially followed the rule's prescribed form, and was accepted by the seller in good faith.

The certificate did not have to use the Comptroller's official form, and the faxed signature copy did not have to be replaced with an original signature.

Common questions

Was a faxed certificate acceptable? Yes.

Did it have to use the official state form? No, if it contained the required information and substantially followed the prescribed form.

Was an original signature required? No.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

August 16, 1989

Dear **:

Thank you for your letter concerning "faxed" resale certificates.
A resale certificate must contain the information listed in the
enclosed Rule 3.285(g). And it must be substantially in the form
set out on the last page of Rule 3.285, but, it doesn't matter if
it's not on our form as long as it contains all the required
information.

Therefore, a faxed copy of a resale certificate is acceptable if
it has all the required information and it is accepted in good
faith by the seller. It doesn't matter that the signature is a
copy instead of an original. See Rule 3.285(b) concerning
acceptance of a resale certificate.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are
additional or different facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions, please contact Tax Correspondence. You
may call toll free 1-800-252-5555, or our regular number is
512/463-4600. My extension is 3-4668.

Sincerely,
Sherry Buckley
Tax Correspondence

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