How to Get a Dealer License in Oregon: Steps, Costs, and Bond

To get a dealer license in Oregon, you need to complete an eight-hour pre-certification course, line up a commercially zoned business location with proper signage, post a surety bond, carry liability insurance, and submit DMV Form 735-370 with a $75 certificate fee. A state investigator then inspects your location, and once the DMV approves everything, your certificate is valid for three years.¹ Plan on several weeks from the day you submit a complete application.

Who Actually Needs a Certificate

Oregon’s threshold is five vehicles per calendar year. Sell, trade, or offer to exchange more than five, and the state presumes you are acting as a dealer. You can still argue the vehicles were owned for personal or household use, but the burden of proof is on you.¹

Pick your category before you apply, because it affects your bond and what you can legally stock. Franchise dealers sell new vehicles under a manufacturer agreement. Independent dealers sell used vehicles. Separate categories exist for motorcycle and moped dealers, recreational vehicle dealers, and auto dismantlers.¹

Step 1: Complete the Pre-Certification Course

Before applying, you must complete at least eight hours of pre-certification education through a state-approved provider and pass the required tests. The completion certificate is valid for one year, so you have to submit your dealer application within that window or sit through the course again.² The coursework covers Oregon titling and registration procedures, consumer protection rules, and the legal obligations of a dealer. Most approved providers offer the course online.

Step 2: Confirm You Pass the Background Screening

Oregon screens every applicant for criminal history. The disqualifiers are any felony conviction within the prior ten years, or any misdemeanor within ten years involving selling or dealing in motor vehicles, fraud, identity theft, forgery, misrepresentation, or conversion. A no-contest plea counts the same as a conviction.³ A conviction outside those categories or older than ten years won’t automatically disqualify you, but the DMV will review the full picture before deciding.

Step 3: Secure a Compliant Business Location

You cannot run an Oregon dealership from a garage or a P.O. box. Every dealer location must have enough space to display at least one vehicle of the type you are certified to sell, a way for the public to reach you during business hours, and a permanent exterior sign bearing your dealership name in letters visible from the nearest main road. The sign must match the name on your dealer certificate, and the certificate itself must be displayed where the public can see it.⁴

Before signing a lease, get a zoning confirmation or land-use compatibility statement from your local planning department to verify the site is zoned for vehicle sales. A residential location requires documentation of a nonconforming-use approval, which is a much harder path. Most applicants pick a commercially zoned property from the start and avoid the problem.

Step 4: Post the Bond and Buy Insurance

Surety Bond

Every dealer must post a surety bond or letter of credit before applying. For standard vehicle dealers, the bond amount is $50,000 for each year the certificate is valid, and since certificates last three years, your bond must cover the full term. Dealers who exclusively sell motorcycles, mopeds, Class I all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, or any combination of those carry a lower bond of $10,000.¹

The bond is not a payment to the state. It is a guarantee from a surety company that protects consumers if you violate Oregon’s dealer laws. You pay an annual premium to the surety; premiums for a $50,000 dealer bond typically run a few hundred dollars a year with good credit, and climb significantly if your credit history is thin.

Liability Insurance

You also need a certificate of insurance before the DMV will issue your certificate. The policy must be written by a carrier licensed in Oregon, cover all vehicles you own, operate, or control, and meet the minimum liability limits set under ORS 806.070: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $20,000 for property damage.¹ In practice, most dealers carry much higher limits. A standard garage liability policy covering test drives, lot operations, and customer injuries on your premises typically runs between $600 and $2,500 per year for a small dealership. Letting insurance lapse while your certificate is active is a separate offense that can trigger civil penalties.³

Step 5: Submit the Application

The core form is DMV Form 735-370, the Vehicle Dealer Application, available through the Oregon DMV website. You will provide your business’s legal name, its ownership structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation), and the names and signatures of every owner, partner, member, or corporate officer. If you operate under a name other than your legal name, include proof of your Assumed Business Name registration.⁵

Your application package must include:

Proof of completing the eight-hour pre-certification course.
A completed DMV Surety Bond (Form 735-370B).
A completed DMV Certificate of Insurance (Form 735-7024), or a Liability Insurance Certification of Exemption if you qualify.
Valid government-issued photo ID for each principal of the business.

Every document must show the same business name and address. Inconsistencies between your bond, insurance, and application form are one of the most common reasons applications stall. Submit the package by mail or in person at DMV Headquarters, Business Regulation, 1905 Lana Ave NE, Salem, OR 97314.⁶

Step 6: The Site Inspection and Approval

Once the DMV has your application, a state investigator schedules a visit to your location. The investigator confirms your signage meets the visibility requirement, your display area can hold inventory, and your office and record-keeping system are ready for use. They compare what you described on paper against what actually exists at the address.⁷

Complete applications take two to three weeks to process. You cannot conduct any dealer business, including buying or selling vehicles, until the DMV formally approves your application.⁶ Missing or inconsistent documents push that timeline out. Getting everything right the first time matters more than submitting fast.

Dealer Plates

Dealer plates let you drive unregistered inventory on public roads for test drives, transport, and other business purposes. Only you, your employees, and people you specifically authorize may use vehicles displaying your dealer plates, and the vehicles must be owned or controlled by your dealership and actually in use for dealer business. You pay separately for each set of plates you order.¹

What It Costs to Get Licensed

The statutory fee for issuance or renewal of a vehicle dealer certificate is $75.⁸ That is the smallest line item. The real out-of-pocket costs at application time are your surety bond premium (typically a few hundred dollars annually on a $50,000 bond), your liability insurance ($600 to $2,500 per year for a small operation), your pre-certification course fee, plus the cost of signage, zoning paperwork, and dealer plates. Payments to the DMV are typically made by check or money order payable to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

What Comes After Licensing

Two obligations kick in the day your certificate is issued. First, you must register for a Vehicle Privilege Tax account with the Oregon Department of Revenue and pay 0.5 percent on the retail sale price of each taxable vehicle sold, filing quarterly returns.⁹ Second, you must keep original records of every vehicle transaction at your main business location for at least two years, with an additional three years of retention somewhere in Oregon after that.¹⁰

Your certificate expires three years after issuance. To renew, you pay the $75 renewal fee, submit updated bond and insurance documentation, and show proof that you completed 12 hours of continuing education during the three-year cycle.¹

Why Skipping the Process Is a Bad Bet

Selling vehicles as a dealer without a certificate is a Class A misdemeanor in Oregon, carrying a fine of up to $6,250. On top of the criminal charge, a court can impose a separate civil penalty of up to $15,000 if the Department of Transportation proves you were dealing without a certificate, and the DMV can seek an injunction to shut your operation down entirely.¹ The five-vehicle threshold exists precisely because the state investigates complaints and prosecutes unlicensed dealing.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 822 – Regulation of Vehicle Related Businesses
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 822.027 – Education Requirements for Vehicle Dealers
3
Oregon Secretary of State. Division 150 Vehicle Dealers – Oregon Administrative Rules
4
Legal Information Institute. Oregon Admin Code 735-150-0030 – Dealer Location Regulations
5
Legal Information Institute. Oregon Admin Code 735-150-0015 – Dealer Applications
6
Oregon Department of Transportation. Instructions for Becoming a Dealer
7
Oregon State Legislature. ODOT Report – DMV Enforcement of Vehicle Dealer Certification Under ORS Chapter 822
8
Oregon Public Law. ORS 822.705 – Fee for Issuance or Renewal of Vehicle Dealer Certificate
9
Oregon Department of Revenue. Vehicle Privilege and Use Taxes
10
Legal Information Institute. Oregon Admin Code 735-150-0035 – Dealer Records