How to Get a Florida Dealer License: Bond, Insurance, and Fees

To get a Florida dealer license, you choose the right license category for what you plan to sell, set up a permanent business location that meets state standards, complete a state-approved pre-licensing course, and submit Form HSMV 86056 to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) with a $25,000 surety bond, garage liability insurance, fingerprint-based background checks on every principal, and the license fee. Anyone who buys, sells, or offers three or more vehicles in a 12-month period is presumed by law to be in the dealer business and needs this license before doing any of it.¹

Pick the Right License Category

The category you apply under controls what you can sell and how. Choose wrong and you either limit your operation or start the paperwork over.²

Franchise Dealer (VF) sells new motor vehicles under agreement with a manufacturer, importer, or distributor.
Independent Dealer (VI) buys, sells, or deals in used motor vehicles at retail or wholesale.
Wholesale Dealer (VW) buys and sells only at wholesale, dealing with other licensed dealers or through motor vehicle auctions.
Recreational Vehicle Dealer (RV) handles new recreational vehicles; Recreational Used Motor Vehicle Dealer (RU) handles used ones.
Mobile Home Dealer (DH) sells mobile homes and can add an RV endorsement to sell recreational vehicles as well.

Most new applicants land in VI (used) or VF (new franchise). The steps below apply to every category, but the fees and course lengths differ where noted.

Set Up a Qualifying Business Location

You cannot operate from a home garage or a P.O. box. FLHSMV requires a permanent, established location that meets the physical standards in Florida Administrative Code 15C-7.003, and the location must comply with local zoning.³

The office needs at least 100 square feet of interior floor space (hallways, closets, and restrooms don’t count) and a minimum seven-foot ceiling.⁴ It has to be clearly separated from any other business in the same building. You also need a display area big enough for every vehicle you intend to have for sale. There is no fixed minimum lot size, and the display area can be inside a building, but it must actually fit your inventory.

An FLHSMV representative will inspect the location before the license is issued, so have the space leased or bought and set up before you submit the application.

What You Need Before You Apply

Register the Business and Get Tax Numbers

Form the dealership as a corporation, LLC, partnership, or other entity through the Florida Division of Corporations at Sunbiz.org. If you plan to operate under a different name, register that fictitious name too. Get a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS at no cost, and register with the Florida Department of Revenue for a sales tax number since you will collect sales tax on every retail sale.⁵

Fingerprints and Background Checks

Every owner, partner, officer, and director submits electronic fingerprints for a criminal background check through an FDLE-approved Livescan provider. The cost is $54.25 per person, and proof of submission goes in your application packet.⁵

Pre-Licensing Dealer Training

Complete a state-approved dealer course before you apply. Franchise (VF) applicants take an 8-hour course; independent, wholesale, auction, and salvage dealers take a 16-hour course.⁵ Approved schools are listed on the FLHSMV website. Keep the certificate of completion; it goes with your application.

The Application Package

The core form is HSMV 86056, “Application for a License as a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, or Recreational Vehicle Dealer.”⁶ Work through it alongside the instruction booklet from the FLHSMV website. Along with the form, you assemble the items below.

Surety Bond

Florida requires every motor vehicle dealer to post a $25,000 surety bond or an irrevocable letter of credit for the same amount before a license issues.¹ Buy the bond from a surety company authorized in Florida. What you actually pay depends on your credit, and most applicants land somewhere between $250 and $750 a year for a $25,000 bond. The bond form is HSMV 86020; the letter of credit form is HSMV 86057.

Garage Liability Insurance

You need a garage liability certificate showing at least $25,000 combined single-limit liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage, plus $10,000 in personal injury protection.⁵ Independent, wholesale, auction, and salvage dealers can substitute a general liability policy combined with a business auto policy meeting the same minimums. Franchise dealers must carry the garage liability certificate specifically. Coverage has to stay in force for the entire license period.

Supporting Documents

Copy of your lease or proof of ownership for the business location.
Written zoning approval from the local zoning authority for a motor vehicle dealership.
Business registration paperwork from the Florida Division of Corporations, including articles of incorporation or organization, operating agreement, or partnership agreement as applicable.
Proof that electronic fingerprints were submitted for every owner, partner, officer, and director.
Certificate of completion from the approved pre-licensing course.
Photographs of the exterior, the interior office, and the vehicle display area.
Your Florida Department of Revenue sales tax number.

License Fee

The original license fee is set by category:⁷

Motor vehicle dealers (VF, VI, VW, VA, SD): $300 per main location.
Mobile home dealers (DH) and recreational vehicle dealers (RV, RU): $340 per main location.

Pay by check made out to DHSMV. Mail the complete package to the FLHSMV Bureau of Dealer Services, or submit it through the regional office covering your dealership’s location. Check everything against the instruction booklet before mailing, because incomplete packages get returned.

After You Submit

Once FLHSMV receives the package, a representative schedules an inspection of your location to confirm it meets the physical standards. When the application clears review and the location passes inspection, the license issues and you can open. There is no published guaranteed processing timeline, so plan on a few weeks between submission and approval, longer if the department comes back with corrections or additional document requests.

Federal Rules That Apply the Day You Open

The state license is the biggest hurdle, but several federal obligations start the moment you begin selling.

FTC Used Car Rule

Every used car you display for sale, or let a customer inspect, must have a Buyers Guide posted where it is visible from outside the vehicle.⁸ The guide has to state whether the car is sold “as is” or with a warranty, describe any warranty coverage, and recommend an independent inspection. If you negotiate the deal in Spanish, you need a Spanish-language version. FTC penalties run up to $53,088 per violation.

Cash Reporting on Form 8300

When you take in more than $10,000 in cash for a vehicle, whether as a single payment or installments crossing that threshold within a year, file IRS/FinCEN Form 8300 within 15 days.⁹ Car dealerships are one of the industries the IRS watches closely on this.

Odometer Disclosure

Federal law requires you to disclose the odometer reading to the buyer on the title or reassignment document at transfer, along with a certification about whether the reading reflects actual mileage.¹⁰ Retain every disclosure statement you issue or receive for five years at your primary place of business, stored so it can be retrieved systematically.

Privacy and Red Flags Rules

If you arrange financing or leasing, the FTC’s Privacy Rule under Gramm-Leach-Bliley requires a privacy notice explaining how you handle customer information, delivered no later than when the buyer signs the financing or lease agreement.¹¹ The Red Flags Rule separately requires a written identity theft prevention program that identifies warning signs, sets out detection procedures, and specifies your response when you spot potential fraud. A senior manager or board member must approve the plan, and it must be reviewed and updated at least annually.¹²

Electronic Temporary Tags

Florida dealers must issue electronic temporary registrations for vehicles sold from the licensed location, using the state’s Electronic Temporary Registration (ETR) system.¹³ That means you need a computer, internet access, a printer, and temporary plate stock from your ETR vendor. Temporary plates are valid for 30 days, and you cannot issue more than two temporary plates for the same vehicle to the same customer. The state-authorized fee is $2.00 per temporary plate, plus a $2.50 service charge if processed through a tag agency. You can charge an additional printing fee, but it cannot be presented as a state-imposed charge.

Renewals and Record Keeping

Motor vehicle dealers (VF, VI, VW, VA, SD) renew annually for $75 or biennially for $150. Mobile home and recreational vehicle dealers pay $140 annually or $280 biennially. Supplemental locations renew at $50 per year or $100 for two years.¹⁴

Deadlines are firm. Franchise dealers must have the renewal application, all documents, and payment received by December 31. Independent, wholesale, auction, and salvage dealers face an April 30 deadline. Missing it adds a $100 delinquent fee. The renewal form is HSMV 86720, and it has to include current proof of your surety bond and garage liability insurance.

Florida law requires you to keep records of every vehicle purchase, sale, exchange, or receipt for sale for five years, including title documents, odometer disclosures, buyer orders, and reassignment forms. Federal odometer rules impose a matching five-year retention requirement. Store everything at your primary business location in a system that allows quick retrieval; both state and federal auditors expect it.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 320.27 – Motor Vehicle Dealers
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Types of Licenses Available
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle, Recreational Vehicle and Mobile Home Dealer/Broker Licenses
4
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 15C-7.003 – Application for License
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Dealer FAQ
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Forms and Resources
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Required Fees
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Federal Trade Commission. Dealer’s Guide to the Used Car Rule
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Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8300 Reference Guide
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eCFR. Part 580 Odometer Disclosure Requirements
11
Federal Trade Commission. The FTC’s Privacy Rule and Auto Dealers: Frequently Asked Questions
12
Federal Trade Commission. Fighting Identity Theft with the Red Flags Rule: A How-To Guide for Business
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Frequently Asked Questions
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Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Renewal Application HSMV 86720