How do I transfer my SST registration from one CSP to another?

What you’ll need: Your new CSP confirmed · List of your current SST-registered states · 2–4 weeks for the transfer to process

Your SST registration is held with the SST Governing Board, not with your current provider. Switching CSPs doesn’t delete your registration; it transfers it. The process is formal, has a defined timeline, and has one critical rule: do not cancel your current CSP before the transfer is confirmed.

How SST registrations actually work

When you enrolled in the SST program, your CSP submitted a registration on your behalf to the SST Governing Board: the multi-state body that administers the program. That registration covers all SST member states where you have nexus.

The registration is yours. Your CSP is the authorized agent on it. Switching CSPs means replacing the authorized agent, not re-registering from scratch. Your nexus dates, filing history, and state registrations all carry over unchanged.

Step 1: Confirm your new CSP and give authorization

Tell your new CSP that you want to initiate a CSP Transfer. They will need:

Your business name as it appears in the SST system
Your Federal EIN
The list of SST states you’re currently registered in
Written authorization from you to act as your CSP

Your new CSP will not guess at this information, be prepared to provide it accurately. If you don’t know which SST states you’re currently registered in, log into your current provider’s portal or ask them for a list.

Step 2: New CSP submits the transfer request

Your new CSP submits a CSP Transfer request to the SST Governing Board. This is a formal request that names the incoming CSP and the states being transferred.

Your current (outgoing) CSP is notified by the Governing Board. They typically have 30 days to respond or raise any issues.

You do not submit this request yourself: the new CSP handles it entirely. Your role at this step is confirming the authorization and providing accurate account details.

Step 3: Do not cancel your current CSP yet

This is the step where most transitions go wrong.

Your current CSP remains responsible for filing in your SST states until the transfer is confirmed and effective. If you cancel them before the transfer completes, you will have active SST registrations with no provider responsible for filing, and states will not care that you’re in the middle of a switch when a return comes due.

The safe sequence:

Transfer confirmed and effective
New CSP files first period
Then cancel current CSP

If you’re also canceling a subscription contract (like Avalara), manage the timing carefully. The SST transfer timeline is 2–4 weeks. Your contract cancellation notice window may be 30–60 days. Start the transfer process before you submit cancellation notice so the transfer completes before your service ends.

Step 4: Determine the filing handoff date

The transfer has an effective date: the date the new CSP takes over filing responsibility. Get this date in writing from both providers.

Your current CSP is responsible for all SST filings through the effective date
Your new CSP is responsible for all SST filings from the effective date forward

Confirm there are no filing due dates that fall in a gap between these two dates. If your transfer effective date is the 15th of a month and a state files on the 20th, make sure your new CSP is aware and has confirmed they will handle that return.

Step 5: Request a filing history export from your current CSP

Before your current CSP’s access ends, request:

Filing history for all SST states: all returns filed on your behalf, by state and period, for at least the last 3 years
Registered states list: the exact list of SST states you’re registered in, with registration numbers and effective dates
Any exemption certificates stored with your current provider

This is your audit documentation. If any state ever questions your compliance history, this is the record you’ll point to. Your current CSP is required to provide it, but their obligation to make it accessible ends when your service ends.

Step 6: Confirm the first filing by your new CSP

After the transfer is complete and your new CSP handles their first filing period, verify with them that the filings were submitted. You should be able to see confirmation in your new provider’s portal.

This closes the loop. You now have:

Continuous SST registration with no gap
A documented handoff date
Filing history from both providers covering the transition

One nuance: states where you have physical nexus

If you have physical nexus in any SST member state (an employee, warehouse, or office there), the CSP Transfer process still applies for your SST registration in that state. However, the CSP compensation model (where the state pays the CSP and you pay nothing) may not apply to those states in the same way as pure remote nexus. Confirm with your new CSP how those states will be handled and billed.