How do I switch CSPs in the SST program?

Switching CSPs in the SST program doesn’t cancel your SST registration, it transfers it. Your registration is held with the SST Governing Board, not with your provider. When you switch, you’re changing who manages that registration, not starting over.

This is what makes the SST transfer different from most other software switches. The registration itself is portable.

What the SST Governing Board holds vs. what your CSP holds

When you enrolled in SST, your CSP submitted a registration to the SST Governing Board on your behalf. The Governing Board registered you in the SST states where you have nexus, and designated your CSP as the authorized filer on your account.

The Governing Board holds your registration. Your CSP holds the role of authorized agent.

Switching CSPs means replacing the authorized agent. The SST Governing Board processes a formal transfer request that removes your current CSP and adds your new one. Your nexus dates, your state registration numbers, and your filing history all remain unchanged.

The transfer process, briefly

The detailed step-by-step is covered in the switching-providers guide, see How do I transfer my SST registration from one CSP to another?. Here’s the summary:

1. Authorize your new CSP. Tell your new provider you want to initiate a CSP Transfer. Give them your business name, EIN, and the list of SST states you’re registered in.
2. New CSP submits the transfer request. Your new CSP files the request with the SST Governing Board. Your current CSP is notified and typically has 30 days to respond.
3. Transfer completes with an effective date. The Governing Board processes the transfer and sets an effective date: the date your new CSP takes over responsibility for your SST filings.
4. Your current CSP files through the effective date. Don’t cancel them before the transfer confirms. After the effective date, your new CSP handles all SST filings going forward.
5. Export your filing history before access ends. Request your filed-return history and registered-states list from your current provider before their access expires.

The transfer typically takes 2–4 weeks. Plan accordingly if you’re also managing a contract cancellation window with your current provider.

The one rule that matters most

Do not cancel your current CSP before the transfer is confirmed.

If you cancel your current provider first, your SST registrations stay active but have no authorized filer. Returns will come due in SST states and no one will be responsible for filing them. States don’t pause filing deadlines while your switch processes.

The correct sequence: transfer confirmed → new CSP files first period → then cancel current CSP.

If you’re leaving Avalara, their 60-day cancellation notice requirement means you should initiate the SST transfer well before you submit cancellation notice, so the transfer can complete before your service ends.

Why some sellers don’t know they can switch

Providers who are not CSPs (TaxJar, Numeral, Kintsugi) aren’t parties to the SST program and don’t have SST registrations to transfer. If you were filing in SST states through a non-CSP provider, you don’t have an existing SST registration to transfer. Enrolling with a CSP means starting fresh: new SST registration, new unified registration application, going-forward coverage from the enrollment date.

If you’re currently enrolled through Avalara (one of the five active CSPs) you have an existing SST registration and the transfer process applies directly.

What changes after the switch

Once the transfer is complete, your new CSP handles:

• Monthly filings in all your SST states
• Rate calculation on SST-state transactions
• State correspondence in SST states
• Any new SST state registrations as your nexus expands

Your cost for SST states remains the same as before, nothing, if your new provider is also a CSP and you’re a qualifying remote seller. The free-filing benefit stays with the registration, not with the provider.