Georgia dealer office and inspection checklist

This is a checklist for the established place of business a Georgia used motor vehicle dealer must have, and for the inspection that comes before a new license. It was checked in November 2026 against the Board rules, the statute, and the April 2024 application. It is general information, not legal advice. The statute also sets size and other physical standards. Read O.C.G.A. § 43-47-2(3) and confirm the current standard with the Board. This page does not restate a size number. The full license path is in the Georgia dealer license guide.

Georgia dealer license office requirements

Rule 681-6-.01 requires a permanent building where the records required by the rules are kept and from which sales are negotiated. The Board allows a modular or manufactured office that is tied down and on blocks, with the wheels removed. Effective January 1, 2007, the Board does not allow storage buildings or similar movable structures built for something other than office use. A dealer already licensed in that kind of building may stay while the dealer stays at that location. A move, or a lapsed license, means the dealer has to meet the rule.

The checklist

1. A permanent building used as the sales office, with the required records kept there. Rule 681-6-.01.
2. A working landline listed in the trade name used on the application and in advertisements. The April 2024 checklist says the phone is a landline, not a cell phone and not VOIP.
3. A permanent sign in that same trade name. If the sign shows a phone number, it is the number on the application. Lettering is at least six inches high. At least one sign is visible to consumers from the street. Rule 681-6-.01(c) and (d).
4. Free-standing signs affixed to a metal base or frame with concrete footings. Signs on the building affixed by metal bolts, or on a metal frame affixed by metal bolts. Signs professionally designed on permanent material. A painted sign is allowed if it meets the size and visibility rules and local ordinances.
5. Photographs of the complete facility, the sign, and the entire display area. Rule 681-3-.02. The packet asks for inside, outside, and signage.
6. A zoning certification, signed and notarized by the zoning official, that the property is zoned for use as a used motor vehicle dealer establishment and that zoning will allow a permanent sign. The form has a line for no vehicle display and a line for an open lot with a maximum number of vehicles. The local zoning authority signs that form. The Board does not.
7. If other businesses are at the same location: a separate outside entrance, a separate office, separate records, a separate suite or office number, and a phone that is not shared. Rule 681-3-.05, effective March 1, 2007. The rule excepts like-kind businesses with a common designee or owner.
8. If the office is a suite in an office complex: the sign at the nearest point of public access from the street, and at a minimum at the building entrance, on a publicly displayed lobby marquee, and directly outside the office door. Rule 681-6-.01(e). Local ordinances and the lease control where a sign may go.
9. If the dealer will operate an open lot: a building on the same property as the display lot. For new applicants since January 1, 2007, only one dealer may be licensed to operate an open lot on a plat as the county tax assessor defines it. Rule 681-6-.01(b).
10. Do not file until the facility is ready for inspection. The April 2024 packet says a preliminary inspection is conducted for new applicants before a license is issued, and that a failed inspection delays review until the deficiencies are satisfied.

The inspection

The April 2024 packet says not to submit the application until the proposed facility is ready for inspection. The how-to guide lists the preliminary inspection on the new-applicant checklist. O.C.G.A. § 43-47-17 is the consent-to-inspection section. Read it for the inspection condition that comes with licensure. A finished build-out is not an issued license. The Board inspects, and the Board decides.

After a license is issued, Rule 681-9-.02 says the license for each location is displayed in a conspicuous place, the Department of Revenue Form ST-2 is posted, and proof of the bond and the liability insurance certificate is kept at the location. Rule 681-10-.01 requires specified records to be kept at the established place of business for three years, or longer if another law requires it, and to be available for inspection.

A residence

Rule 681-6-.01(f) says that, effective January 1, 2007, a dealer may be permitted to operate from a residential address only when local ordinances allow it and the Board's rules are met. The office is a separate building, detached from the residence, open to the public and to inspectors during regular business hours, with a dedicated business phone and the furnishings and filing cabinets for the required records. The sign requirement still applies. This page does not say that a particular home, or a particular city, will allow it.

Zoning

Rule 681-9-.02 requires the established place of business to comply with local zoning, and requires proof of that compliance with the application and with later requests to change location. The Board approves a change of location. The zoning official's signature is the local decision. Nothing on this page is a zoning approval.

The bond for that location is in the surety bond guide. Whether a wholesale operation uses the same office rules is in the wholesale or retail guide.

Questions people ask

What are the Georgia dealer license office requirements?

Rule 681-6-.01 requires a permanent building where the required records are kept and sales are negotiated, a working landline listed in the trade name, and a permanent sign in that trade name. Sign lettering must be at least six inches high, and at least one sign must be visible from the street. The statute also sets size and other physical standards. Read O.C.G.A. section 43-47-2 and confirm the current standard with the Board.

Can a Georgia dealer use an office suite?

Yes, if the suite meets Rule 681-6-.01 and Rule 681-3-.05. The entrance is from outside the building, the suite or office number is separate, and the phone is not shared. The sign must be at the nearest public access from the street and, at a minimum, at the building entrance, on a lobby marquee, and outside the office door.

When does the Georgia dealer board inspect the office?

The April 2024 application says a preliminary inspection is conducted for new applicants before the Board issues a license, and that you should not submit until the facility is ready for inspection. A failed inspection delays review until the deficiencies are satisfied.

What photos does the Georgia dealer application require?

Rule 681-3-.02 requires photographs of the complete facility, the appropriate sign, and the entire display area. The April 2024 packet asks for photos of the inside, the outside, and the signage.

Sources

• Chapter 681-6, the established place of business, the sign, the suite, the open lot, and a residence.
• Chapter 681-3, photographs and a shared building.
• Chapter 681-9, zoning proof, the posted license, and the sales tax certificate.
• Chapter 681-10, records kept at the office.
• O.C.G.A. § 43-47-2, the statutory definition, including standards this page does not restate as a number.
• O.C.G.A. § 43-47-17, consent to inspection.
• Used Motor Vehicle Dealer application, revised April 2024, including the inspection warning, the landline note, and the zoning certification.
• How-to guide: Used Motor Vehicle Dealers.

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