Georgia Car Dealership Laws: Licensing, Sales, and Penalties

Georgia car dealership laws sit in three layers: state licensing and record rules enforced by the Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue, federal rules enforced primarily by the FTC and the IRS, and consumer-protection statutes enforced by the Attorney General and private plaintiffs. A used motor vehicle dealer needs Board approval, a $35,000 surety bond, and a background check before selling a single car, and penalties for violations run from license revocation at the state level to federal fines of $53,088 per offense.

Getting Licensed as a Used Motor Vehicle Dealer

The State Board of Registration of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers, housed in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, licenses used car dealers. The Board will not review an incomplete application, so every piece has to be in the package before you file.¹

A permanent business location, documented with photographs of the facility, signage, and vehicle display area, plus zoning certification showing the site is approved for dealership use.
A $35,000 surety bond for used motor vehicle dealers, or a $10,000 bond for used parts dealers.
A certificate of insurance whose policy number, coverage limits, expiration date, and insured name match the application exactly.
Fingerprint-based state and national background checks for every owner, partner, and corporate officer.
A pre-licensing seminar, required for first-time applicants before the Board will consider the application.

Once approved, your license has to be renewed every two years.²

Records and Title Transfers

Every dealer must keep a record of each vehicle bought, sold, or exchanged, in the format the commissioner prescribes. Records have to be retained for three years and made available for inspection during normal business hours.³ Willfully failing to keep required records is unlawful under the used dealer licensing statute and can trigger Board action.⁴

Title applications go to the Department of Revenue electronically. Willfully failing to obtain a certificate of title for a buyer is grounds for suspension or revocation of the dealer license and registration.³

Advertising, Sales Practices, and Dealer Plates

Dealership advertising in Georgia has to be truthful and non-deceptive. The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division publishes enforcement policies specifically for auto advertising and sales practices, originally issued in 1989 and updated with input from the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association. They cover truthful disclosure of sale terms, pricing, and financing conditions.⁵

Dealer plates come with their own rules. A master dealer plate costs $62, and each additional plate costs $12. Dealer plates cannot be used on cars offered for hire or lease. An employee may use a dealer plate for personal driving only if they work at least 36 hours per week at the dealership.⁶

Federal Rules That Apply on Top of State Law

Several federal obligations attach to Georgia dealers independently of state licensing. Meeting Georgia’s rules alone is not enough.

The Used Car Rule and Buyers Guide

Any dealer who sells or offers more than five used vehicles in a 12-month period must comply with the FTC’s Used Car Rule. The core requirement is posting a Buyers Guide on every used vehicle before it goes on display or is shown to a customer. The Guide has to be visible from outside the vehicle, hanging from a mirror or placed under a windshield wiper; stashing it in a glove compartment or trunk does not count.⁷

The Guide must include the make, model, year, and VIN, along with warranty information. If you offer no warranty and state law allows it, check the “As Is — No Dealer Warranty” box. If you offer a warranty, check the “Warranty” box and fill in the specific coverage. If the transaction is conducted in Spanish, a Spanish-language Guide must be posted before the vehicle goes on display.⁷

Cash Payments Over $10,000

A dealership that receives more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction, or in a series of related transactions, must file IRS Form 8300. Transactions are considered related if they occur within 24 hours, or if the dealer knows they are connected, such as accessories negotiated during the original purchase. Wire transfers and cashier’s checks over $10,000 do not count as cash for this purpose.⁸

When a customer’s payments add up to more than $10,000 over time, such as recurring lease payments, the dealer must file within 15 days of the payment that crosses the threshold. The filing obligation still applies if the customer refuses to give a taxpayer identification number, as long as the dealer documents the request, informs the customer of the penalty for refusing, and keeps contemporaneous records.⁸

Data Security and Disposal

Because dealerships handle financing, federal law treats them as financial institutions, which means the FTC’s Safeguards Rule applies. Each dealer must maintain a written information security program, sized to the operation. A 2024 amendment also requires dealers to report certain data breaches involving customer information directly to the FTC.⁹

The FTC’s Disposal Rule adds a separate obligation when it comes to destroying consumer report information, including credit reports, credit scores, and employment background data. Reasonable disposal means shredding or pulverizing paper records and destroying or erasing electronic files so the information cannot be reconstructed. Dealers hiring a contractor for document destruction must conduct due diligence on the contractor’s compliance practices, references, and certifications.¹⁰

Emissions Rules in Metro Atlanta

Georgia’s vehicle emissions program applies in only 13 counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale. It is run by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Inspection and Maintenance Unit, operating as Georgia’s Clean Air Force.¹¹

A dealership inside those 13 counties selling a used vehicle must ensure the vehicle has a passing Georgia emissions inspection at the time of sale if the buyer will register it in a covered county. Inspection results are stored electronically and can be verified at the tag office, so a paper copy for the buyer is not required.¹² Dealers outside the 13-county area are not subject to the requirement, and the testing mandate itself covers only gasoline-powered cars and light-duty trucks from model years 2002 through 2023 weighing 8,500 pounds or less.

Consumer Rights Against Dealers

Three Georgia statutes do most of the work when a buyer alleges a dealer broke the rules.

Fair Business Practices Act

The Fair Business Practices Act protects consumers and legitimate businesses from unfair or deceptive practices in any trade or commerce in Georgia.¹³ The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division investigates complaints. If the Division obtains an injunction and the dealer violates it, the penalty is up to $25,000 per violation, with each day of continuing violation counting separately.¹⁴

Georgia Lemon Law

The Georgia Lemon Law covers new vehicles with persistent defects the manufacturer cannot fix. If the authorized dealer cannot correct the problem after a reasonable number of repair attempts, or if the vehicle is out of service for repairs for 30 days during coverage, the manufacturer must either replace the vehicle or buy it back at the consumer’s choice. Coverage lasts for 24 months from delivery or the first 24,000 miles of use, whichever comes first.¹⁵

The law applies to manufacturers, not dealers directly, but a dealer that performs the warranty work is usually in the middle of the process.

Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act

The Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act reaches a broad list of deceptive conduct, including misrepresenting the quality, origin, or condition of goods, advertising products with no intent to sell them as advertised, and passing off used goods as new.¹⁶ A consumer does not have to prove actual confusion or direct competition; a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding is enough.¹⁷ A court may award attorney’s fees in two situations: when the claim was knowingly groundless, or when the dealer willfully engaged in conduct it knew was deceptive.

Franchise Dealer Protections

Franchised new-car dealers get a distinct set of protections against manufacturers under Parts 4 and 5 of Article 22 in Title 10. A manufacturer cannot terminate or refuse to renew a franchise without good cause, meaning the dealer failed to comply with a franchise provision that is both reasonable and materially significant. The manufacturer must notify the dealer of the failure in writing within 180 days of learning about it, and the dealer gets at least 180 days to fix the problem.¹⁸

When the alleged failure involves sales or service performance, the standards must be reasonable, fair, and based on accurate information that accounts for local economic conditions and factors beyond the dealer’s control. Performance surveys have to use a statistically valid random sample, and the dealer gets at least six months to meet corrected benchmarks.¹⁸ A manufacturer also cannot cancel a franchise or take adverse action against a dealer for missing performance standards when the shortfall resulted from the manufacturer’s own delay in supplying vehicles the dealer ordered.¹⁹

Penalties for Violations

State License Action

The Board of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers can suspend or revoke a license on numerous grounds. Common triggers include material misstatements on a license application, fraud or deceptive practices, failing to account for money belonging to others, failing to maintain required records, and knowingly selling a vehicle with a tampered odometer. A conviction for any crime involving a motor vehicle, violence, illegal drugs, or tax evasion is conclusive evidence for Board action.²⁰

Broader grounds give the Board real discretion: flamboyant or improbable claims about the dealership’s abilities, dishonorable conduct likely to harm the public, or use of false documents in connection with the dealer business can all support discipline, even short of outright fraud.²⁰

State Civil Penalties

Under the Fair Business Practices Act, violating an injunction obtained by the Attorney General carries a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation, with each day counting separately.¹⁴ Willfully failing to obtain a title for a buyer is separately punishable by suspension or revocation of the dealer license.³

Federal Penalties

Federal fines hit harder per violation. As of January 2025, the FTC’s maximum civil penalty is $53,088 per violation for offenses under the FTC Act, which includes the Used Car Rule, Safeguards Rule breaches, and deceptive trade practices. The figure adjusts annually for inflation.²¹ A single audit identifying multiple Buyers Guide failures across inventory can produce six-figure liability before any underlying sales practice is examined.

Failing to file Form 8300 for qualifying cash transactions brings separate IRS penalties, including civil fines and potential criminal prosecution for willful violations. The IRS treats each unreported transaction as a distinct offense.⁸

1
Georgia Rules and Regulations. Georgia Rules and Regulations – Chapter 681-3 Licensing
2
Georgia Secretary of State. How-to Guide – Used Motor Vehicle Dealers
3
Justia Law. Georgia Code 40-3-33 – Transfer of Vehicle to or from Dealer; Records; Application for Certificate of Title by Dealer
4
Justia Law. Georgia Code 43-47-7 – Required License; Records
5
Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Auto Advertising and Sales Practices Enforcement Policies
6
Justia Law. Georgia Code 40-2-38 – Registration and Licensing of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Dealers; Issuance of Manufacturer, Manufacturer Headquarters, Distributor, and Dealer Plates
7
Federal Trade Commission. Dealer’s Guide to the Used Car Rule
8
Internal Revenue Service. Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business – Motor Vehicle Dealership Q&As
9
Federal Trade Commission. Automobile Dealers and the FTC’s Safeguards Rule Frequently Asked Questions
10
Federal Trade Commission. Disposing of Consumer Report Information? Rule Tells How
11
Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Unit
12
Georgia’s Clean Air Force. Before You Test
13
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-391 – Purpose and Construction of Part
14
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-405 – Civil Penalties; Individual Liability
15
Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. The Georgia Lemon Law
16
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-373 – Enjoining Deceptive Trade Practices; Costs and Attorney’s Fees; Relief Cumulative
17
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-372 – When Trade Practices Are Deceptive; Common-Law and Other Remedies Unaffected
18
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-651 – Termination of Franchise; Grounds
19
Justia Law. Georgia Code 10-1-662 – Unlawful Activities by Franchisors
20
Justia Law. Georgia Code 43-47-10 – Investigation of Complaints; Grounds for Discipline
21
Federal Register. Adjustments to Civil Penalty Amounts