How to get an Arizona dealer license, step by step

Last verified: November 9, 2026. Every rule links to its official source.

To sell used cars to the public in Arizona you need a Used Motor Vehicle Dealer license from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Plan on a site that is not a residence, a sign readable from 300 feet, a $100,000 surety bond, fingerprints for each 20 percent owner, a transaction privilege tax (TPT) license and a $15 filing fee plus a $100 license fee.

The Arizona dealer license at a glance

What	The rule	Source
License	Used Motor Vehicle Dealer, from ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division	ADOT: dealer license types
Dealer at	7 or more used vehicles in a continuous 12-month period	A.R.S. 28-4301
State fees	$15 filing; $100 license ($400 with a third-party lender); $30 per dealer plate	A.R.S. 28-4302; 28-4533
Surety bond	$100,000 for a used dealer	ADOT: dealer license types
Location	Room to display 2 or more vehicles; a vacant lot can qualify, a residence never does	A.R.S. 28-4301
Sign	Permanent, legible from 300 feet in daylight	A.R.S. 28-4406
Course	None required today	A.R.S. 28-4361
Renewal	Every year, with proof of a current TPT license	A.R.S. 28-4405

Do you need a dealer license in Arizona?

Yes, from the seventh used vehicle in 12 months. Arizona law makes you a used motor vehicle dealer when you buy, sell, auction, exchange or negotiate 7 or more used vehicles in a continuous 12-month period. ADOT’s Office of Inspector General says the seventh makes the seller an unlicensed dealer subject to criminal prosecution.

Dealing without a license is a class 1 misdemeanor (A.R.S. 28-4334 and 28-4502). Section 28-4501 adds a civil penalty of $1,000 to $3,000 per violation, plus all the TPT owed on those sales. If you are ordered to cease and desist and fail to appear at the hearing, ADOT’s director may suspend the registrations of every vehicle you own or lease, at $50 each to reinstate. More in How many cars can you sell in Arizona without a dealer license?

Which Arizona dealer license do you need?

Most people opening a used-car lot need the Used Motor Vehicle Dealer license, one of eight types ADOT lists. Buy here pay here is not a license class; past a set amount of contracts it adds a finance license (Step 10).

License	What it allows	Bond
Used Motor Vehicle Dealer	Selling used vehicles to the public and to dealers, from an established place of business	$100,000
Wholesale Motor Vehicle Dealer	Selling used vehicles only to licensed dealers. No established place of business is required, but you keep a place for records and must be an Arizona legal resident.	$25,000
Broker	No advertising or offering a specific vehicle for sale; the office may not be in a residential zone	$25,000

The wholesale and broker rules are in A.R.S. 28-4335. A wholesale dealer that sells at retail faces the same $1,000 to $3,000 civil penalty per violation.

Step 1: Set up the business

ADOT’s location and business form, 46-0408B, says entity documents must match your filings with the Arizona Corporation Commission or the Secretary of State. Individuals and partnerships must register any DBA or trade name with the Secretary of State.

Have these ready:

• Articles of incorporation or the partnership agreement.
• Proof of authorized presence, if you apply as an individual or sole proprietor.
• A local business contact who lives in Arizona, shown by an Arizona driver license or ID.

Step 2: Choose a site that meets ADOT’s rules

A dealer may do business only from an established place of business (A.R.S. 28-4334). Section 28-4301 defines it as a permanent enclosed building or structure, owned or leased, with room to display 2 or more vehicles and devoted principally to the dealership. A used dealer’s site may instead be a vacant lot, but never “a residence, tent, temporary stand or temporary quarters.”

Form 46-0408B and ADOT’s dealer licensing FAQs add:

• Office. A building, suite or trailer devoted principally to the dealership. A trailer counts only when set up without wheels, and ADOT’s FAQ also has the dealer own the land and file an affidavit of affixture.
• Sign. A permanent sign at the entrance, legible from at least 300 feet in daylight (A.R.S. 28-4406). Banners do not count, and the license is not issued until the sign is up.
• Hours. Posted, and never “by appointment only.” You must give ADOT written notice at least 10 days before changing them (A.R.S. 28-4407).
• Records. Kept at the business address.

A second sales site in the same county can run on a $50 branch license that shares your main bond; for another county, ask ADOT what license and bond it needs.

Step 3: Confirm the zoning before you sign a lease

ADOT’s application list asks for no zoning letter, so checking zoning is your job. Ask the city, or the county for an unincorporated site, before you sign.

Where	What we confirmed about zoning for vehicle sales
Phoenix	“Used and New Car Sales” is permitted in C-3. In C-2, auto retail sales need a City Council special permit, with conditions on dust, enclosure, lighting and body work.
Tucson	The Unified Development Code permits “Vehicle Rental and Sales” in C-2, C-3, OCR-1 and OCR-2, subject to use standards, and in P-I, I-1 and I-2; MU needs a special exception. Confirm any C-1 site, and check that the address is inside city limits.
Mesa	Not confirmed. Ask Mesa’s planning staff.
Chandler	Not confirmed. Ask Chandler’s planning staff.
Maricopa County, unincorporated	The updated zoning ordinance took effect January 9, 2026, and its regional retail use includes vehicle dealerships. Which districts allow them is not confirmed; ask Planning and Development.
Pima County, unincorporated	Not confirmed. Ask the county.

Step 4: Get your TPT license from the Department of Revenue

ADOT requires a copy of your TPT license with the application (A.R.S. 28-4362) and proof it is current at each renewal. TPT is the tax on your retail sales, and the seller reports and pays it to the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR).

• Apply with the Joint Tax Application (JT-1) online at AZTaxes.gov for a same-day license number. The certificate arrives by mail in 7 to 10 business days.
• Use the lot’s address. ADOT’s Form 46-0408C says the TPT license must show the dealership’s physical address.
• City fees. ADOR’s fee worksheet lists city license fees of $50 for Phoenix and $20 each for Mesa and Tucson.
• No transfers. A new location or a new owner needs a new TPT license.

Step 5: Get your city business license

This is separate from the TPT license, and each city handles it differently.

Where	City or county license
Phoenix	None. “The City of Phoenix does not have or issue a general business license,” per its License Services brochure.
Tucson	Required: a $25 application fee and a $50 annual license fee, prorated by quarter. The form has a zoning approval field and asks for your TPT number.
Mesa	A General Business License: $25 to apply, $25 to renew, $10 late fee, valid 12 months. It needs your TPT license with a Mesa location added and takes 10 to 30 calendar days.
Chandler	A business registration per location: $45 to register and $45 each renewal year, due within 45 days of starting, expiring December 31. There is no city dealer license.
Maricopa County, unincorporated	We found no county business license.
Pima County, unincorporated	Not confirmed. Ask the county.

Step 6: Buy the $100,000 surety bond

A surety bond is a guarantee you buy from an insurance company that pays for certain losses you cause. ADOT sets it at $100,000 for used dealers. The bond goes on Form 38-1301, Vehicle Dealer Bond. It covers loss when a dealer does not pay title, registration or related fees or taxes paid to it, or fails to deliver a valid title free of prior owners’ interests and liens.

The surety must be authorized by the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI), and canceling takes at least 60 days’ written notice (A.R.S. 28-4362). You pay a premium, not the $100,000. No official source publishes a premium, so get several quotes.

Step 7: Get fingerprinted

Every applicant, partner and stockholder owning 20 percent or more submits fingerprints for a state and federal criminal records check (A.R.S. 28-4361). ADOT’s application page has you do it electronically through the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or Fieldprint.

• The fee. Each 20 percent owner pays the DPS fingerprint fee, plus any vendor charge.
• Who is exempt. For a later license, owners checked in the past 5 years or currently licensed.
• Grounds for denial. ADOT denies a license for a conviction of fraud or an auto-related felony in the last 10 years, or of any other felony in the last 5. You get written grounds, a hearing, and an appeal to Maricopa County Superior Court.
• Later owners. A new 20 percent owner must be reported within 30 days and fingerprinted.

Step 8: Put up the sign, photograph the site and apply online

ADOT does not accept paper applications. Its application page has new applicants create an ADOT Force account, upload documents and photos, and pay invoiced fees online. ADOT also says it is “transitioning to a new software platform,” so check its dealer licensing page before you start.

Its license types page asks for photos of all four sides of the building, the entire lot, the office area, the secure file cabinet, the permanently affixed sign, and the posted days and hours. The rest of the packet:

• The $15 filing fee, your TPT license and your entity documents.
• Proof of authorized presence, for individuals and sole proprietors.
• The dealer plate application and the dealership administrator application.
• Each owner’s Authorization to Release Information and Statement of Personal History.
• The bond with its power of attorney, and your lease or deed.
• The Contract with a Third Party form, if you will sell on a non-cash basis through a financial institution.

That third-party filing raises the license fee from $100 to $400 and the yearly continuation fee from $100 to $250 (A.R.S. 28-4302). ADOT bills the difference as $300, then $150 at each renewal.

Step 9: Pay the invoice and wait for the license

Once ADOT accepts the application and the records check is done, it invoices the $100 license fee and your dealer plates at $30 each. A used dealer may hold up to 15 plates, plus 1 for every 50 vehicles sold in the prior license year.

The law has ADOT inspect your site “physically or through an alternate method” (A.R.S. 28-4364). ADOT reviews your photos and may inspect in person.

Provisional license. ADOT may issue one with your application, for a $10 filing fee. If you meet every other requirement, it lets you operate while the records check finishes.

How long it takes. We found no ADOT processing time. AIADA, the state’s independent dealer association, says Dealer Licensing normally takes 4 to 6 weeks to respond; a bond seller’s guide says 3 business days. Neither figure is ADOT’s, so leave room before your lease starts.

Do not sell until you hold a license or a provisional license. You can set up your lot in LeftLane while ADOT reviews your file.

Step 10: Add a DIFI license before you finance your own sales

Under A.R.S. 44-281, you become a sales finance company once the retail installment contracts you create or hold exceed a total of $50,000 outstanding. From then on you need DIFI’s sales finance company license (A.R.S. 44-282).

• Applying. Through NMLS, the national licensing system. A.R.S. 6-126 sets $500 to apply and $250 per branch; confirm any first-year proration with DIFI.
• Renewal. By December 31 each year; $25 a day late; expires 30 days after that.
• Selling your paper. A dealer that assigns its contracts to outside lenders or financial institutions is excluded.

Rates, late charges and contract rules are in Financing your own sales in Arizona.

What does an Arizona dealer license cost?

The state’s fees are small and set by statute. The bond premium and the fingerprint vendor’s charge are quoted privately.

Item	Cost	Who sets it
Filing fee	$15	State law
License, first year	$100, or $400 with a third-party lender relationship	State law
Provisional license filing	$10	State law
Dealer plates	$30 each ($10 for motorcycle dealers)	State law
Branch license	$50	State law
Off-premises sale permit	$25 each	State law
Annual continuation	$100, or $250 with a third-party lender relationship	State law
Fingerprint check	DPS fee plus any vendor charge	DPS and the vendor
Bond premium	Quoted by the surety	The surety
TPT license, city fee	Phoenix $50; Mesa and Tucson $20 each	ADOR
City business license	Phoenix none; Mesa $25; Chandler $45; Tucson $25 plus $50 a year	The city
DIFI license, if you finance	$500 to apply; $250 per branch	State law

After the license: what comes next?

A few rules apply from your first sale, and the license renews every year. The Arizona startup guide has the full path.

• Title first. You must hold a used vehicle’s title, in your name, before you try to sell it.
• Dealer plates. For business use and test drives of up to 48 hours, or 72 for unladen pickups and trucks. Never on a sold, work, leased or rented vehicle. Misuse costs a civil penalty of up to $500.
• Temporary plates. Each needs an electronic record first and is void after 45 days. See After the sale in Arizona.
• Off the lot. Selling away from your site needs a $25 off-premises permit.
• Changes. Report changes in officers, 20 percent owners, location, name or business status within 30 days. New principal owners must be licensed before the business continues.
• Renewal. Every year by the continuation date, with proof of a current TPT license; paying late adds a penalty equal to the fee. ADOT sends only a courtesy email and lists no continuing education.
• With a DIFI license, your ADOT renewal date follows the department that licensed you first. Ask both how the dates line up.

What trips people up

• Signing a lease before checking zoning. In Phoenix a C-2 site needs a City Council special permit to sell cars.
• Planning a retail lot at home. A residence never qualifies. A wholesale dealer, which sells only to dealers, is not required to have an established place of business.
• Hanging a banner. It is not a permanent sign, and ADOT will not issue the license until one is up.
• Leaving the wheels on a trailer office. A trailer counts only when set up without wheels; ADOT’s FAQ also asks for land the dealer owns and an affidavit of affixture.
• Offering a car not titled to you. The title must be in your name before you try to sell.
• Passing $50,000 in contracts without DIFI. Past that total, holding your own paper takes a sales finance license.
• Trusting old fee lists. Some figures in older guides came from an ADOT page that is gone; confirm any of them with Dealer Licensing.

What changed recently

• As of November 2026. ADOT says it is “transitioning to a new software platform.” New applicants use an ADOT Force account, and the licensing information page no longer lists the compliance requirements.
• January 9, 2026. Maricopa County’s updated zoning ordinance took effect.
• June 25, 2025. Laws 2025, chapter 222 moved DIFI sales finance renewals to December 31 each year; the next deadline is December 31, 2026. DIFI’s web page still shows the old July to June calendar.
• February 19, 2025. SB 1433, which would have required at least 6 hours of instruction for used and wholesale applicants, had its last action in a Senate committee. It did not become law.

Frequently asked questions

How many cars can you sell in Arizona without a dealer license?

Six in any continuous 12 months. Arizona law makes you a used motor vehicle dealer when you buy, sell, auction, exchange or negotiate 7 or more used vehicles in a continuous 12-month period. ADOT’s Inspector General says the seventh vehicle makes the seller an unlicensed dealer subject to criminal prosecution.

How much does an Arizona dealer license cost?

The state charges a $15 filing fee and a $100 license fee, or $400 if you sell through a third-party lender, plus $30 for each dealer plate. Add the premium on a $100,000 surety bond, the DPS fingerprint fee for each 20 percent owner, and any city license.

Do I need a lot to get a dealer license in Arizona?

A retail used dealer needs an established place of business with room to display 2 or more vehicles. It may be a vacant lot or part of one, but never a residence, tent or temporary stand. A wholesale dealer, which sells only to licensed dealers, does not need one.

Does Arizona require a pre-licensing course for dealers?

No. Arizona does not require a pre-licensing course today, and ADOT lists no continuing education for renewal. State law lets ADOT’s director set up training for used and wholesale applicants, and a 2025 bill that would have required 6 hours is not law. AIADA offers voluntary training.

Does a branch location need its own bond?

Not within the same county. A $50 branch license lets you sell from another location in the same county, and ADOT’s FAQ says it uses your main license’s bond, with the same owners and business name. For a lot in another county, ask ADOT what license and bond it needs.

Your next step

Get the one-page Arizona dealer license checklist: every form, fee and office in this guide in the order you will need them, sent to your email.

When your application is in, you can set up your lot in LeftLane or book a LeftLane demo while you wait. LeftLane is a dealer management system for independent and buy-here-pay-here dealers, and real people answer the phone at 512-222-9549 if you get stuck.

Sources

• ADOT: dealer license types, application process and Dealer Services and Licensing
• ADOT: dealer licensing FAQs and plate fee FAQ
• ADOT: Forms 46-0408B, 46-0408C and 38-1301
• ADOT: Dealer Orientation (2019) and licensing information
• ADOT Office of Inspector General: unlicensed dealers
• Arizona Revised Statutes 28-4301, 28-4302, 28-4334, 28-4335, 28-4361, 28-4362, 28-4364, 28-4405, 28-4406, 28-4407, 28-4500, 28-4501, 28-4502, 28-4532, 28-4533, 44-281, 44-282, 44-1267 and 6-126
• Laws 2025, chapter 222 and SB 1433 (2025)
• DIFI: Sales Finance Companies
• ADOR: applying for a TPT license, license fees and motor vehicle sales
• Phoenix Zoning Ordinance 624 and 647; Phoenix License Services
• Tucson: use tables, business license and application
• Mesa: General Business License
• Chandler: business registration and specialty licenses
• Maricopa County: Zoning Ordinance
• Secondary, for what only they publish: AIADA: license checklist and training; SuretyBonds.com: Arizona guide

This guide is general information for dealers, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Confirm with the agency or a licensed attorney in your state before you act.