# How many cars can you sell in Missouri without a dealer license? > Missouri law bars selling or displaying six or more vehicles a calendar year without a dealer license. DOR's manual says eight, so stay under six. - Canonical URL: https://www.leftlanesoftware.com/blog/how-many-cars-can-you-sell-in-missouri-without-a-dealer-license - Language: en-US - Spanish version (Español): https://www.leftlanesoftware.com/blog/cuantos-autos-puedes-vender-en-missouri-sin-licencia-de-dealer - State: Missouri - Topic: Dealer licensing - Last verified: 2026-11-09 _Last verified: November 9, 2026. Every rule links to its official source._ Missouri law makes it unlawful "to sell or display with an intent to sell six or more motor vehicles in a calendar year" without a dealer license, "except when such motor vehicles are registered in the name of the seller" ([RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570)). The Department of Revenue's [dealer manual](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/Dealer-Operating-Manual.pdf) uses eight as its benchmark. Stay under six unless you are licensed: a first offense is a class A misdemeanor. ## The short version | What | The rule | Source | | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | The statute's line | Six or more vehicles sold, or displayed with intent to sell, in a calendar year | [RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570) | | Vehicles in the seller's name | Excepted from that line: "registered in the name of the seller" | [RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570) | | DOR's benchmark | Eight or more sales in a calendar year | [DOR Dealer and Business Operating Manual](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/Dealer-Operating-Manual.pdf) | | Penalty | Class A misdemeanor; class E felony for a second or later conviction | [RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570) | | After you are licensed | No Sunday sales, with narrow exceptions; at least eight sales a year to renew | [RSMo 578.120](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=578.120); [RSMo 301.550](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.550) | ## Is the Missouri limit six cars or eight? Plan on six: the statute is the stricter of two official numbers. - **The statute: six.** [RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570) bars selling or displaying six or more vehicles in a calendar year without a license. Six or more sales "shall be prima facie evidence of intent to make a profit", and the seller is "deemed to be acting as a motor vehicle dealer without a license". - **DOR's manual: eight.** The November 2025 manual says: "You must be licensed as a Motor Vehicle dealer if you sell eight or more vehicles in a calendar year." The definition of a dealer in [RSMo 301.550](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.550) also uses eight sales as evidence. We found no written DOR answer on which number it enforces. Relying on the manual's eight means arguing against the statute. ## What counts toward Missouri's six? Sales and displays, counted by calendar year. A vehicle you display "with an intent to sell" counts even before it sells. The statute excepts vehicles "registered in the name of the seller". How DOR applies that to someone who sells often is not spelled out in the sources we read. Ask DOR's Dealer Services Group at (573) 526-3669, option 7, before you count on it ([Form 4682](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/4682.pdf)). These sellers are exempt from the prohibition under section 301.570: - Financial institutions, and sellers of repossessed vehicles. - A business disposing of vehicles "used and titled solely in its ordinary course of business". - Collectors of antique motor vehicles. - Licensed dealers. - Sellers of commercial vehicles of at least 19,500 pounds, for those vehicles only. - An auctioneer acting for the owner at an auction that is not a public motor vehicle auction. - Estate liquidation, and a few narrower cases the statute lists. ## What is the penalty for selling cars without a dealer license in Missouri? A class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for a second or later conviction, both under [RSMo 301.570](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570). | Consequence | What the law says | Who it applies to | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------- | | Criminal charge | Class A misdemeanor | The unlicensed seller | | Repeat conviction | Class E felony | The unlicensed seller | | Complaint to the prosecutor | Anyone who believes the section is violated files a complaint with the county prosecuting attorney | Anyone | | DOR complaint | Unlicensed dealing (curbstoning) can be reported on [Form 4683](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealer-complaints.html) | Consumers | ## How can you legally sell more cars in Missouri? Get a dealer license from the Department of Revenue. Two classes fit someone moving up from a few cars a year. | License | Who you can sell to | What it takes | | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Used motor vehicle dealer | The public and other dealers | A [$50,000 bond or letter of credit, a garage policy, an enclosed building with a sign and display lot, and Highway Patrol site certification](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.560); a [seminar of at least 4 hours](https://DOR.MO.GOV/forms/5110.pdf); [20 hours a week open and a $150 yearly fee](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/12csr/12c10-26.pdf), prorated | | Wholesale motor vehicle dealer | Only "other new motor vehicle franchise dealers or used motor vehicle dealers or via auctions limited to other dealers of any class" ([RSMo 301.550](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.550)) | The $50,000 bond and a garage policy; no seminar | ## If you are close to the line Stop at five and treat the sixth as a business decision. 1. **Count this calendar year.** List every vehicle you sold or displayed for sale, with dates. 2. **Hold the sixth.** You should not sell or list another until you are licensed. 3. **Start the license.** The [step-by-step Missouri licensing guide](/blog/missouri-dealer-license-step-by-step) covers each form and fee in order, and [How to start a used car dealership in Missouri](/blog/how-to-start-a-used-car-dealership-in-missouri) shows the whole path. 4. **Wait for approval.** An applicant "may not buy or sell any motor vehicle" until DOR approves the license ([Form 4682](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/4682.pdf)). 5. **Plan for eight a year.** To renew, a dealer must meet "the minimum requirement of eight sales per year", or it "shall not be qualified to renew his or her license for one year" ([RSMo 301.550](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.550)). 6. **Plan for Sundays off.** Apart from narrow exceptions, a licensed dealer may not keep its place of business open to buy, sell or trade vehicles on Sunday; doing so is a class C misdemeanor ([RSMo 578.120](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=578.120)). If you will finance your customers, you need [no separate license for your own contracts](https://finance.mo.gov/consumer-credit-licensing/motor-vehicle-time-sales); see [Financing your own sales in Missouri](/blog/missouri-buy-here-pay-here-financing-rules). ## What trips people up - **Planning around eight.** The statute's number is six. - **Counting a rolling 12 months.** Missouri counts the calendar year. - **Counting only sales.** Displaying a vehicle with intent to sell counts too. - **Reading wholesale as a cheap retail license.** A wholesale dealer sells only to dealers and dealer-only auctions. - **Getting licensed for a handful of sales.** Under eight a year (prorated in a partial first year), you cannot renew for a year. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Missouri limit six or eight cars a year? Plan on six. Section 301.570 makes it unlawful to sell or display six or more vehicles in a calendar year without a license, except vehicles registered in the seller's name. DOR's manual uses eight as its licensing benchmark. We found no written DOR answer on which number it enforces, so stay under six. ### Does the count reset every January? Yes. Section 301.570 counts vehicles sold or displayed with intent to sell "in a calendar year", not in a rolling 12 months, and DOR's manual also counts by calendar year. Each January 1 starts a new count. The line itself does not move: stay under six a year unless you are licensed. ### What is the penalty for curbstoning in Missouri? Curbstoning, dealing in cars without a license, is a class A misdemeanor once you sell or display six or more in a calendar year. A second or later conviction is a class E felony. Complaints go to the county prosecuting attorney, and consumers can also report unlicensed dealers to the Department of Revenue on Form 4683. ### Can I sell cars from my home in Missouri? Your lot must meet the building, display and hours rules; a home generally cannot. A licensed location needs a permanent enclosed building, a sign with letters at least 6 inches high, a display lot off the public street, and at least 20 hours a week open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. ### Can I sell to the public with a Missouri wholesale license? No. Missouri law limits a wholesale dealer to selling to new franchise dealers, used dealers and auctions limited to dealers. Selling to the public takes the used motor vehicle dealer license, with its seminar, building, display lot and Highway Patrol certification. ### Can I buy at dealer auctions after the seminar? Not until you are licensed. The application form says an applicant may not buy or sell any motor vehicle until DOR approves it. A wholesale auction serves only licensed dealers, so finishing the seminar alone does not get you in. ## Your next step Get the one-page [Missouri dealer license checklist](/blog/missouri-dealer-license-step-by-step): every form, fee and office in order, sent to your email. When your application is in, you can [set up your lot in LeftLane](https://sandbox.leftlanesoftware.com/signup) or [book a LeftLane demo](https://meetings.hubspot.com/greg954/leftlane-request-demo?uuid=b03d2fbc-01be-4deb-8a2a-bf6c5ff6943d) 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. ## Sources - [RSMo 301.570: unlicensed dealing](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.570) - [RSMo 301.550: definitions and renewal minimum](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.550) - [RSMo 301.560: dealer license requirements](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.560) - [RSMo 578.120: Sunday sales](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=578.120) - [12 CSR 10-26: dealer rules](https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/12csr/12c10-26.pdf) - [Missouri DOR: Dealer and Business Operating Manual](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/Dealer-Operating-Manual.pdf) - [Missouri DOR: Form 4682, dealer license application](https://dor.mo.gov/forms/4682.pdf) - [Missouri DOR: Form 5110, seminar provider form](https://DOR.MO.GOV/forms/5110.pdf) - [Missouri DOR: dealer complaints](https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealer-complaints.html) - [Missouri Division of Finance: Motor Vehicle Time Sales](https://finance.mo.gov/consumer-credit-licensing/motor-vehicle-time-sales) _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._