Florida Sales Tax Exemption Application

FLORIDA DR-5 PREPARATION GUIDE

Application for a Consumer's Certificate of Exemption

DO NOT FILE THIS GUIDE AS FORM DR-5. The current Department form is four pages: three pages of category instructions and a one-page application.

1. CURRENT-FORM CONTROL

The Department form—not this guide—controls the fields, attestation, documentation, and category rules. Do not add an applicant-created notary block, officer table, gross-receipts questionnaire, processing-time promise, or generic document checklist.

2. SELECT EXACTLY ONE DR-5 CATEGORY

The current application says to check only one:

☐ 501(c)(3) Organization

☐ Community Cemetery

☐ Credit Union

☐ Fair Association

☐ Florida Retired Educators Association

☐ Library Cooperative

☐ Nonprofit Cooperative Hospital Laundry

☐ Nonprofit Water System

☐ Organization Benefiting Minors

☐ Parent-Teacher Organization or Association

☐ Political Subdivision

☐ Religious Institution — physical place for worship

☐ Religious Institution — transportation provider

☐ Religious Institution — governing or administrative office

☐ School, College, or University

☐ Veterans' Organization

☐ Volunteer Fire Department

Selected category and exact DR-5 instruction heading: [________________]

Why the organization meets that instruction: [________________]

Do not substitute a broad label such as “charity,” “religious organization,” or “educational organization” for the form's listed category.

3. ONE-PAGE APPLICATION DATA

Prepare the entries the current application actually requests:

☐ Legal name and FEIN match the supporting records.

☐ The signer is authorized to sign for the applicant.

☐ The signer reviewed the form's secure-email choice and privacy statement.

4. CATEGORY-SPECIFIC SUPPORT

Copy the current DR-5 “How to Establish Qualification” instructions for the one selected category; do not use the old all-applicants checklist.

Common current examples include:

• 501(c)(3): the Department verifies current IRS status using the FEIN; an eligible single-member LLC supplies the additional articles and officer letter described in DR-5.
• Community cemetery: current 501(c)(13) determination letter and deed donating the cemetery to the community.
• Credit union: charter number issued by the National Credit Union Administration.
• Fair association: current FDACS fair permit identified by DR-5.
• Library cooperative: the official certification or designation described by DR-5.
• Nonprofit water system: articles and current 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(12) determination letter.
• Organization benefiting minors: articles, current executive-officer record, and activity description.
• PTO/PTA: bylaws.
• Political subdivision: statute or law creating or describing the entity.
• Religious physical place: organizing document, proof of the physical worship location, and schedule of regular services and activities.
• State tax-supported school, college, or university: documentation that public funds support the institution.
• Veterans' organization: current 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(19) determination letter and, for a post or auxiliary, affiliation evidence.
• Volunteer fire department: articles of incorporation.

These are routing summaries. Re-read the live form for the selected category, including group-application and entity-specific conditions.

5. PURCHASE AND SALES-REGISTRATION CHECK

Fla. Stat. §212.08(7) conditions entity exemptions on the certificate or other Department-required documentation and strict compliance. For governmental entities, §212.08(6)(a) makes direct payment to the dealer material and excludes employee-paid purchases later reimbursed.

The current DR-5 instructions say an organization or governmental entity making sales, or leasing or renting transient rental property, may also need to register to collect, report, and pay sales and use tax. Complete the Department's registration analysis separately; a purchase exemption certificate is not a blanket exemption for the organization's own sales.

6. RENEWAL CONTROL

The current instructions describe a Department-led review at the end of the five-year certificate period. The Department uses available information, may request documentation, and may contact an out-of-state organization to ask whether renewal is wanted. Failure to respond to written requests may cause expiration without renewal.

Do not automatically send a new DR-5 merely because the certificate is nearing expiration. Record:

7. OPTIONAL COVER LETTER

[DATE]

Account Management-Exemptions

Florida Department of Revenue

PO Box 6480

Tallahassee FL 32314-6480

Re: Form DR-5 — [LEGAL NAME], FEIN [________]

Enclosed is the applicant's completed current Form DR-5 for the [EXACT ONE CATEGORY] category and the support identified in that category's current instructions:

1. [DOCUMENT]
2. [DOCUMENT]
3. [DOCUMENT]

Contact [NAME / TITLE / PHONE / EMAIL] regarding the application.

Sincerely,

[AUTHORIZED CONTACT]

The cover letter is not a substitute for any field, attestation, or category document on the Department form.

8. FINAL SUBMISSION CHECK

• ☐ Current DR-5 revision and address rechecked on submission day.
• ☐ Exactly one category selected.
• ☐ Only that category's current supporting documents attached.
• ☐ No unnecessary Social Security numbers, officer data, financial statements, Form 990, bylaws, notary certificate, or other sensitive material included unless the current selected-category instruction actually requires it.
• ☐ The authorized signer personally reviews the Department's penalty-of-perjury declaration and certificate-use attestation.
• ☐ A complete submission copy and delivery proof are retained.

CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Florida DOR Form DR-5, R. 10/25: https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/dr5.pdf
• Fla. Stat. §212.08: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0200-0299/0212/Sections/0212.08.html
• Fla. Stat. §213.12: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0200-0299/0213/Sections/0213.12.html