Before a company can register for sales tax in New Jersey -- or before Zamp can register on their behalf -- it must first form a New Jersey business entity, and then designate a registered agent with a physical address in the state.
These instructions are also available to download as a PDF from the state of New Jersey here.
1) Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing (aka a Certificate of Status) from your home state
This step is only required for out of state companies (not based in New Jersey), and only for corporations (not for LLCs).
Searching for "__insert state name__ corporation certificate of good standing" should return state government websites with instructions on how to obtain a certificate for each state.
2) Designate a registered agent to represent your company
A registered agent receives official papers and legal documents on behalf of your company. The registered agent must be located in New Jersey. Many business owners prefer to use a registered agent service rather than take on this role themselves; this is especially true of out of state businesses with out of state owners.
Searching for "new jersey registered agent" will return many registered agent services that will enable you to meet this requirement.
3) Receiving a Certificate of Formation/Authority
After completing the previous two steps, forming your entity in New Jersey requires you to complete New Jersey's Online Business Formation Service application. If your company is based in New Jersey, you are considered a domestic business, and will receive a Certificate of Formation. If your company is based in another state, the process is the same, but you will select that you are a foreign business entity and will receive a Certificate of Authority.
4) Provide the certificate to Zamp so we can register your company for NJ sales tax
Once you've obtained the Certificate of Formation or Authority, send both a PDF copy and the ID number of your Registered Agent to [email protected]. We'll take it the rest of the way!