How to Complete Missouri Form 5748: Dealer Lot Inspection and Approval

Missouri Form 5748 is the inspection and certification checklist a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer (or an authorized designee) completes at your business location to confirm it qualifies as a “bona fide established place of business” before the Department of Revenue will issue a motor vehicle dealer, auction, or manufacturer license.¹ You do not fill it out yourself. The inspector walks your property, works through the checklist, and marks the form approved or denied. You then submit the completed form with the rest of your application package.

Who Fills It Out, and When

The inspection happens before you submit your license application, not after. A Missouri State Highway Patrol officer or an authorized designee performs the physical visit, signs the form, and dates it with their badge number.² Your job is to have the location ready when they arrive.

Who Needs the Inspection

Every new applicant for a Missouri motor vehicle dealer, auction, or manufacturer license needs a completed Form 5748 before the Department of Revenue will process the application. That covers used car dealers, new franchise dealers, boat dealers, powersport dealers, trailer dealers, wholesale dealers, and public auto auctions. The requirement comes from Section 301.560, RSMo, which defines what counts as a bona fide established place of business and requires verification before licensing.³

One narrow exception: dealers who sell only emergency vehicles as defined in Section 301.550 are exempt from the bona fide place of business requirement and from the inspection.³

What the Inspector Checks

The checklist is organized into four areas. Each ties back to a specific statutory or regulatory requirement, and each is a place applications commonly get denied.

Building and Office

You must operate out of a permanent enclosed building. If your office is a trailer, it has to be anchored to the ground with the wheels removed. When more than one business occupies the location, each business area must be clearly designated and physically separated. The inspector also verifies that titles, books, records, and files are kept at the dealer location, not at your home or another office. If you hold both an auction license and a dealer license, those records must be maintained separately.¹

Display Lot

The statute requires a display area, off the public street, that can hold one or more vehicles. The Form 5748 checklist asks the inspector to confirm the lot is large enough for multiple units, sits in an exclusive area for your dealership, is in close proximity to the office, and offers unencumbered visibility from the public street. If you run both an auction and a dealership, the auction display area must be separate from the dealer lot.¹ Wholesale motor vehicle dealers and boat dealers are exempt from the lot requirement.⁴

Signage

You need a permanent exterior sign that is clearly visible to the public, with letters at least six inches tall, showing the name of the dealership as the public knows it.³ If the public-facing name is different from the name on your license, you must have registered a fictitious name with the Missouri Secretary of State and provided a copy to the department. If the permanent sign is still being manufactured on inspection day, the inspector will want to see the work order, and a temporary sign may pass as long as proof of a permanent replacement is on hand. Public auctions must display two signs.¹

Business Hours and Contact

Your business hours have to be posted at the location. Under 12 CSR 10-26.010, “regular business hours” means at least 20 hours per week, spread across at least four of the six days from Monday through Saturday, and only hours between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. count toward that minimum.⁵ The inspector also verifies you have a working phone number and a valid email address. The statute requires both to stay active for the full registration year so the public, the department, and law enforcement can reach you.³

How to Prepare Before the Inspector Arrives

Walk the property yourself first, in the order the inspector will. Start at the street and look toward your lot.

Confirm the property is zoned for motor vehicle sales before you invest in signage or lot improvements. Contact the city hall planning and zoning office, or the county courthouse if the property is in an unincorporated area. No amount of preparation fixes a zoning failure.
Order the permanent sign early. If it will not arrive in time, display a temporary sign and have the work order ready to show.
Clear anything between the display lot and the public street that blocks the view of your inventory. Landscaping, fencing, and parked vehicles are common culprits.
Set up a filing area at the business location for titles, purchase records, and sales reports. The inspector checks that these are physically present on-site.
If another business shares the address, use physical barriers, separate entrances, or clear signage to mark where your dealership space begins and ends.
Take current photographs of the building, lot, and sign. You will need them for Form 4682 anyway, and they help if the inspection report ever needs clarification.⁶

Approval or Denial

At the end of the visit, the inspector marks Form 5748 as either approved or denied and signs it with their name, date, and badge number.¹ An approval lets you submit the form with the rest of your application. A denial means fixing whatever the inspector flagged (missing signage, inadequate lot, records stored off-site) and scheduling a new visit.

If the Department of Revenue later refuses to issue or renew your license, it must notify you in writing at your last known address and explain the reasons. That notice also advises you of the right to file a complaint with the Administrative Hearing Commission under Chapter 621, RSMo.²

Where Form 5748 Fits in Your Application

Form 5748 is one document in a larger package. The Department of Revenue also wants Form 4682 (the actual license application), a $50,000 or $100,000 surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit as an original document, a factory franchise agreement for new vehicle franchise dealers, criminal records for each owner, partner, or principal officer, a copy of the garage liability insurance policy (manufacturers, auctions, and trailer dealers exempt), the dealer educational seminar certificate for first-time used motor vehicle dealer applicants, and current photographs of the building, display lot, and sign.⁶ First-time used dealer applicants must complete the approved seminar within twelve months of applying; dealers licensed before August 28, 2006, new franchise dealers, wholesale dealers, and wholesale or retail auto auctions are exempt from the seminar.⁷

Since January 1, 2022, all applicants submit through the Department of Revenue’s online business licensing portal at mydmv.mo.gov.⁶ You cannot buy or sell any vehicle as a dealer until the application is approved. Proof of approval is your business certificate or dealer license plates; submitting the application or paying the fees does not authorize you to operate.

1
Missouri Department of Revenue. Inspection and Certification for Dealer, Auction, or Manufacturer Business
2
Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Dealer and Business Operating Manual
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 301.560 – Motor Vehicle Dealers, Auctions, Manufacturers
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 301.560 – Motor Vehicle Dealers, Auctions, Manufacturers
5
Missouri Secretary of State. 12 CSR 10-26 – Director of Revenue
6
Missouri Department of Revenue. Application for Dealer, Auction, or Manufacturer License and Number Plates
7
Missouri Department of Revenue. Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Educational Seminar Requirements