Issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue. An organization should first obtain income tax exempt status 501(c) (3) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if necessary. To apply for this certificate with Colorado, use the Application for Sales Tax Exemption for Colorado Organization (DR 0715). No fee is required for this exemption certificate and it does not expire. All valid non-profit state exemption certificates start with the numbers 98 or 098.