Vehicle Dealers & Financial Institutions

• Soliciting the sale, exchange, or consignment of a vehicle/vessel not titled in the name of the person making the solicitation.
• Selling, displaying for sale, exchanging, or consigning a vehicle/vessel not titled in the displayer´s name.
• Selling, displaying for sale, exchanging, or consigning five or more vehicles/vessels in any one calendar year even though the vehicles/vessels are titled in the seller´s name.
• Engaging in the business of selling, exchanging, or consigning vehicles/vessels, or engaging in any other acts customarily associated with the business of selling or exchanging vehicles/vessels.
• Displaying vehicles/vessels for sale, exchange, or consignment on property not legally controlled by the owner of the vehicle/vessels.

• Education Requirements: All owners/applicants for a newly established used-only or wholesale-only dealership will be required to take pre-licensing education to receive a dealer license if their application is submitted on or after September 1, 2022. All owners must attend an 8-hour pre-licensing class and pass a closed-book written examination prior to applying. All owners of a used-only or wholesale-only dealership renewing a license must complete at least 4 hours of annual education that is recognized by the department before a license can be renewed. Franchised dealers are exempt from education requirements. Please contact Dealer Operations with any questions pertaining to education requirements at 208-584-4343.
• Dealership name: Prior to applying as a dealer or obtaining a dealer bond, you should call the Dealer Team at 208-584-4343 to make sure that the proposed name of the dealership is not deceptively similar to an existing dealership´s name. According to Section 53-504, Idaho Code, any dealership name which has a D.B.A. (doing business as) must be filed as an assumed name with the Secretary of State´s office. If the dealership is owned by a corporation, limited-liability company, or a limited-liability partnership, you must submit verification from the Secretary of State at 208-334-2300.

• Vehicle dealer performance bond required: Upon initial application, Idaho Code requires all vehicle/vessel dealers to file a performance bond with the department. The bond shall be in the amount of $20,000 for all retail dealers, $40,000 for all wholesale-only dealers (effective July 1, 2015), and $10,000 for motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, utility type vehicle, truck campers, and snow machine dealers. All bonds must be issued by a corporate surety licensed to do business within the state of Idaho. A bond may also be posted in the form of cash or a certificate of deposit, which remains on deposit until five years after the dealership has gone out of business. The bond must reflect the exact ownership, D.B.A.s, and dealership location that is listed on the application for dealer license.
• ICAR Fund: In addition to maintaining a vehicle dealer performance bond, all retail vehicle dealers will be required to pay $300 toward the Idaho Consumer Asset Recovery Fund (ICAR) as a condition for initial license issuance or license renewal (Idaho Code 49-1608B, C, D, E, and F). Beginning, July 1, 2015, all wholesale-only dealers will be exempt from paying into ICAR. Dealers who have operated for at least three consecutive years without any lapses or claims against their vehicle dealer performance bond or judgments paid against them through the ICAR fund, have the option to operate without a bond. The ICAR fund’s fees are subject to annual evaluation; the fee may be suspended upon reaching a maximum threshold. The Idaho Consumer Asset Recovery Fund (ICAR) is a dealer-funded reserve for who may have suffered actual loss as a result of a dealer violating certain sections of Idaho Code. To begin the process of a claim, please file a consumer complaint and request for investigation form 3628.
• Building and zoning required: An enclosed commercial structure built to meet applicable building codes. Such structure shall be located in an area zoned by local authorities for the type of business in which the dealer is licensed. A letter of zoning approval or a zoning official´s signature on the dealer application must be submitted. Zoning approval is also required for off-site sales, changes of location, and supplemental lots.
• Application for Idaho Vehicle Dealer License (retail or wholesale) The application for dealer´s license must be completed in FULL. All owners/corporate officers must be listed. A personal history for each owner, partner, corporate officer, or director must be completed, but inactive corporate officers are not required to obtain identification cards. The name of the dealership and location must be accurate and match the information on the bond that is submitted with the application. All owners, partners, officers, or directors must sign the application in the appropriate area and their signatures must be notarized. Please allow 30 days for processing.
• Seller Permit Number: A copy of the seller´s permit number issued in the name of the dealership by the Idaho Tax Commission must be submitted with any retail dealer application. The Idaho Tax Commission can be reached by phone at 208-334-7660 or 1-800-972-7660.
• Employer Identification Number: Submit EIN issued by Federal Government.
• Liability Insurance: Submit liability insurance certificate. Minimum coverage amount is $25,000 bodily injury to one person, $50,000 bodily injury to two persons, and $15,000 property damage or destruction. The certificate needs to be issued with “any auto” or it needs to state that it complies with Idaho Code 49-1608A.
• Dealership Location Inspection: After the application is approved, the Motor Vehicle Investigator for your district will be contacted by the Dealer Licensing Team and the investigator will call you for an appointment to inspect your dealership location. The Investigator will verify the location, display area, office, sign, and give instructions on how to complete documents for titling purposes.
• Franchises: If your dealership will be selling NEW vehicles/vessels, a letter of franchise approval from the manufacturer is required for each type of new vehicles/vessels sold.
• Personal History and Salesmen Application: If you will be hiring salesmen, an application (ITD-3171) must be completed for each person hired. A photocopy of this form will serve as a 30-day temporary license for the salesman but is not valid until submitted to ITD with fees. All owners must complete this form.

• Selling less than five vehicles/vessels (titled in your name) in a calendar year.
• Insurance companies, financial institutions, or public utility companies disposing of any vehicle/vessel incidental to primary business activities.
• Manufacturing or selling specialty vehicles (fire trucks, fire engines, urban transit buses, ambulances, street sweepers, and hazardous material response vehicles).

• Providing an auction service for the sale or exchange of a vehicle/vessel not titled in the name of entity offering the vehicle for auction or in the name of the auction company.
• Offering at auction five or more vehicles/vessels titled in the name of the auction company or any entity during any calendar year.

• Offering at auction less than five vehicles/vessels titled in the name of the auction company in a calendar year.
• Providing an auction service during any calendar year for the sale of less than five vehicles/vessels that are titled in the name of the entity offering the vehicles/vessels for auction.
• Providing an auction service for a licensed Idaho dealer.

• Idaho State Independent Automobile Association
• Independent Training Services

This is the location where the dealer and his salesmen conduct the dealer´s business. Other locations belonging to the same dealership and operating under the same name are called “supplemental lots.” Supplemental lots must be located in the same or an adjacent county of the principal location.

• Declared hours: Dealers must declare the business hours that the principal place of business will be open and staffed by a licensed salesperson.
• Dealership sign: An exterior sign must be permanently affixed to the land or building, have letters that are clearly visible and readable from the main road, and meet local zoning requirements. The recommended size for an exterior sign is at least 24 square feet (3´ x 8´, 4´ x 6´, etc.) with 4-inch-square minimum lettering. The sign should include the trade name of the dealership, street address, and dealer number. For a wholesale dealer, and for ease of reading by prospective customers, the sign may be painted on the office window next to the entrance door.
• Dealership office: Must be a clearly defined area including a locking office to keep books; a desk; filing cabinet; and a phone for the business. The telephone number must be listed in the general directory. The telephone must be answered in the name of the dealership and may be forwarded to another location or an answering machine.
• Display area: The display area must be large enough to display five or more vehicles/vessels of the type the retail dealer is licensed to sell. The “improved display area” should be adjacent to the dealership office, owned or leased by the dealer, and separated from other business property by visual boundaries or signing. If two separate dealerships are located adjacent to one another, there shall be a physical divider made to separate the display areas. (Ropes, chains, barriers, etc., shall meet the definition of physical dividers.) This requirement is not for a wholesale-only dealership.
• Restrictions of dealership use: The principal place of business must be devoted mainly to the business for which the vehicle dealer is licensed. In addition, the office cannot be a room or rooms in a hotel, rooming house, apartment building, or a part of any single- or multiple-unit dwelling house unless the entire ground floor is principally occupied for commercial purposes and the office of the dealership is located on the ground floor.

• Manufacturer and dealer plates may be used on vehicles operated by the manufacturer or dealer, or his licensed vehicle salesman, in connection with the manufacturer’s or dealer’s business.
• A dealer plate may be used on a vehicle assigned for personal use on a full-time basis to the retail dealer or licensed full-time salesman. Wholesale dealers cannot use for personal use.
• A dealer plate may be used for not more than ninety-six (96) hours on a vehicle in the possession of a prospective purchaser, providing that after normal business hours the purchaser has a letter of authorization from the dealer.
• A dealer plate may be used by a licensed part-time salesman on a vehicle that is offered for sale only to demonstrate the vehicle to a prospective purchaser.
• A dealer plate may be used by other employees or authorized persons not licensed as a vehicle salesman when testing the mechanical operation of a vehicle or for the necessary operation in pursuance of the dealer’s business, including the delivery and pickup of vehicles owned or purchased by the manufacturer or dealer.
• A dealer plate may be used on a laden trailer in connection with a manufacturer’s or dealer’s business to move vehicles or trailers from manufacturer to dealer, dealership to dealership, or dealership to a licensed off-site location in promotion of the dealer’s business as long as the power unit is properly licensed under Chapter 4, Title 49, Idaho Code.*

Idaho Code 49-1627 & 49-1628 provides for the display of these plates in lieu of registrations by persons licensed under the dealer law.

• Each licensed manufacturer, dealer and salesman is issued an identification card by Dealer Operations that must be carried when operating vehicles displaying dealer plates. The sponsoring dealership for the salesman must be the same as that identified by the dealer plate.
• Liability insurance card
• Each non-licensed employee of a dealership operating a vehicle displaying a dealer plate shall have in his possession an identification card from the dealership authorizing the operation of the vehicle.

• On work and service vehicles not held in stock for sale.
• On leased or rented vehicles owned by the licensed manufacturer/dealer.
• On laden vehicles designed for transportation of cargo that may have not complied with Idaho Code 49-434 (Mileage Tax). *Does not include transportation of dealer inventory. (See Lawful Use section above.)
• On vehicles that have been sold.
• On vehicles operated in conjunction with any other business.
• On vehicles operated for personal use by a wholesale dealer, part-time salesman, unlicensed employees, or unlicensed family members.

• On vehicles loaned to a customer of a dealership while the customer’s vehicle is being repaired.
• On vehicles operated by the dealer or his family for personal use.
• On vehicles used for furtherance of the dealership business.

• The registration document issued with the loaner plate must be carried in the vehicle to which the plate is attached.
• Department-issued dealer/salesman identification must be carried by those individuals when using the plate.
• Liability insurance card

• On work or service vehicles not held in stock for sale.
• On leased or rented vehicles owned by the licensed dealer.
• On laden vehicles designed for transportation of cargo that may have not complied with Idaho Code 49-434 (Mileage Tax).
• On vehicles that have been sold.
• On vehicles used by the licensee for furtherance of another business.
• On vehicles used for personal use by licensed salesman or other non-licensed employees of the dealership.
• On vehicles for which the dealer does not have legal ownership.
• On vehicles being operated by an actual purchaser.

• May only be used on power unit vehicles in the dealer/manufacturer’s inventory for sale
• Limited use to move vehicles from a manufacturer to a dealer, from a dealership to dealership, to and from auctions, or from a dealership to off-site sale locations in furtherance of the dealer/manufacturer’s business.
• Laden plates usage is valid on vehicles up to 26,000 pounds combined gross vehicle weight.
• Temporary weight increases permits must be obtained prior to movement on the highways and can be purchased through the Ports of Entry
• Power unit cannot exceed legal axle and/or gross weights allowed by Federal Formula B.

May not be used by anyone for personal use.

• May not be used on vehicles over 26,000 pounds combined gross vehicle weight unless a temporary weight increase permit has been purchased, as provided for in section 49-432 (2), Idaho Code.
• May not be used in the pursuance of any other business besides the dealership.
• May not be used on any vehicle not in the dealer’s/manufacturer’s inventory for sale.
• May not be used for any other reason except as noted above in legal uses.

• The registration document issued with the laden plate must be carried in the vehicle to which the plate is attached.
• Department-issued dealer/salesman identification must be carried by those individuals when using the plate for furtherance of dealership or manufacturer’s business.
• Liability insurance card.