# Exemption certificates

Source: https://developer.avalara.com/avatax-dm-combined-erp/sales-tax-badge/transactions/exemptions/exemption-certificates/

# Exemption certificates

An Exemption Certificate provides information about the buyer or customer, and their tax status. The two most common reasons why a customer might be exempt from collecting sales tax are

-   If they have a resale exemption certificate; or
-   If they have a direct pay certificate.

In these cases, the seller must document the exemption certificate and be able to produce information about that certificate in the event of an audit. The AvaTax [Certificate APIs](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/methods/Certificates/) provide an easy way to manage exemption certificates. When you create a certificate, it will be processed by Avalara and will become available for use in calculating tax exemptions when processing is complete. For a certificate to be used in calculating exemptions, the following information must be included in the [CertificateModel](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/models/CertificateModel/):

-   An exposure zone indicating where the certificate is valid
-   A link to the customer that is allowed to use this certificate
-   Your tax transaction must contain the correct customer code

When configured correctly, AvaTax will exempt transactions for the customer to whom the certificate is associated when the transaction occurs in the specified zone.

**Advice:** Integrations that utilize SST must have exemption certificates on file in order to exempt transactions for customers.

## Exemption certificate UI

In the B2B world, salespeople need to enter exemption certificates all the time! Let’s make their user interface as easy as possible. Our goals are to:

-   Help the salesperson find the right Customer record.
-   Tell the salesperson whether the Customer has a Certificate on file.
-   If the salesperson sees that no Certificate is on file, we'll offer to send the customer a CertExpressInvite.
-   If the salesperson wants to enter a Certificate while they're writing the sales invoice, your software can upload a PDF or JPG file directly to the UI.

Exemption Certificates are commonly used in accounting software sales order entry, but are not often seen in a web storefront. A web storefront may want to provide a CertExpress link on their “Account Profile” page, for example.

### Identifying exempt customers

When a merchant is utilizing either AvaTax Exemptions or CertCapture to manage exempt customers, they are required to load the exemption information through the certificate UI. This information includes the `customerCode` and the customer exemption information from either AvaTax Exemptions or CertCapture. 

Upon receiving a transaction, AvaTax will look at the `customerCode` and compare that code to a listing of exempt customers within the application. If a certificate is on file, AvaTax will then determine whether that certificate is valid in the state where the transaction is taking place. If AvaTax finds a match, then that customer's certificate with be applied to the transaction.

If there is no certificate on file, you can send them an invitation to [CertExpress](https://app.certexpress.com).

#### CertExpress invitations

The [CertExpress](https://app.certexpress.com) website is a friendly, step-by-step method of reporting an exemption certificate. When you send an invitation to CertExpress, the customer making a purchase can visit the website on their own time and upload an exemption certificate and all the necessary information themselves.

Unfortunately, if the customer doesn’t respond to the CertExpress invitation quickly enough, the certificate won’t be available when they make a purchase.

To send a CertExpress invitation to a customer, call [CreateCertExpressInvitation](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/methods/CertExpressInvites/CreateCertExpressInvitation/). You will be asked to choose whether you want an email, download, or facsimile invitation. You can check the status of an invitation, or load an invitation you created previously, by calling [ListCertExpressInvitations](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/methods/CertExpressInvites/ListCertExpressInvitations/).

When creating a CertExpress invitation, you are free to select a cover letter from the available list of prebuilt cover letters. A cover letter will make an email or facsimile invitation more readable to a customer. You can either choose the value `STANDARD_REQUEST`, or call the [ListCoverLetters API](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/methods/Definitions/ListCoverLetters/) for a list of available prebuilt cover letters.

If you want, you can display the hyperlink from the CertExpress invitation directly in your user interface. This allows a salesperson or customer to click the link and directly jump to the friendly introduction page on CertExpress so that they can begin uploading an exemption certificate directly.

Note that CertExpress invitations take a few moments to build a custom welcome page for your customer. When you create a CertExpress invite, check the status value of the result. If the value says “InProgress,” the welcome page is currently being built. You must wait for a few seconds and fetch back the invitation using [GetCertExpressInvitation](https://developer.avalara.com/api-reference/avatax/rest/v2/methods/CertExpressInvites/GetCertExpressInvitation/) before the URL will be ready.

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