Georgia dealer plates and temporary tags

This page is about Georgia dealer plates and temporary operating permits for a used motor vehicle dealer. It was checked in November 2026 against the statute and the Department of Revenue's dealer pages. It is general information, not legal advice. Plates are not issued by the Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Board. The Board license comes first. The license guide is that step.

Plates come after the license

The April 2024 Board packet says that after the used motor vehicle dealer license is issued, the applicant contacts the Master Dealers Tag office. The phone number printed there is (404) 362-6500. Confirm it before you call. The Department's dealer registration page is the current instruction for the plate file. It says that effective September 1, 2021, dealers must complete initial and renewal plate registrations online in DRIVES e-Services. It cites House Bill 207 for that requirement.

The same page lists Form MV-6, the Dealer, Distributor and Manufacturer License Plate Application, and Form MV-6A, the form to authorize, add, or delete agents. It also lists Form MV-6C for renewal and Form MV-6B when you want more than the initial additional plates. It asks for a Georgia business or occupational license, a publicly listed landline (it says cell phone numbers are not accepted), the state tax identification number, Form ST-2, a copy of each agent's Georgia driver's license or ID, a citizenship affidavit, and photographs of the signs, sales rooms or offices, and the car lot.

How many plates, and what they cost

O.C.G.A. § 40-2-38, in the text published as effective July 1, 2026, says a dealer registers with the commissioner, pays $80 with the application, and receives one master plate. Each additional plate is $15. The same section says dealers are issued a master plate and two additional plates, three in all, and may receive one more plate for every 20 units sold in a calendar year. It says the used motor vehicle dealer plate is distinguishable from the franchised dealer plate and from the wholesaler plate. A wholesaler is still a used motor vehicle dealer for the Board license. The plate legend is a Department of Revenue distinction. Read the section before you order the plate type.

Form MV-6C, revised March 2021, prints renewal amounts that are not those statute figures: $62 for the master plate, $12 for each additional plate, and a late penalty of $15.50 on the master plate. Those are the amounts on that form. Confirm the fee you will be charged, because a 2021 form and a statute text dated 2026 should not be blended.

What a dealer plate is for

Section 40-2-38 says a dealer plate is for demonstrating or transporting vehicles or trailers for sale or lease. It allows private use by an employee who works at least 36 hours a week, or by a corporate officer, on a vehicle the dealership owns for sale or lease, for no more than six months per vehicle. It says a dealer may not use a dealer number for private use on other terms, on vehicles for hire or lease, or in any other manner the section does not provide. The Department's dealer registration page repeats the allowed uses and the prohibited ones, including privately owned vehicles, vehicles for hire, and courtesy or parts vehicles. It says unlawful use can lead to revocation and confiscation of the plates.

How long they take, and where they go

The Department's registration page and its expiration and mailing page do not state a number of days from the day you apply until a plate or decal arrives. This page will not invent one. Ask the Motor Vehicle Division if you need a date.

The mailing page says tags may be renewed up to 30 days before the expiration date, and that expiration month depends on the first letter of the business name. It publishes a mailing fee by the number of tags. If you are picking the tags up, it says not to include the mailing fee, and that you will be contacted to schedule pickup. If you include the mailing fee, the plates or decals are mailed. The renewal form, MV-6C, asks whether the business address has changed. If it has, the form asks for Form ST-2 and photographs of the signs, sales rooms or offices, and the car lot. The form uses that business address. It does not, on the copy reviewed, add a separate ship-to line. If you renew and then move, a mailing uses the address on the filing unless you have already reported the new address. Update the address on MV-6C before you expect a decal at a new office. Confirm the mail-to address with the Department.

A plate file that is pending, or a corrected agent list, stays with the Department. Form MV-6A is the form that page names for authorized agents. The Board's GOALS clock is a different file. Missing Board documents do not, by themselves, tell you the status of MV-6A.

Temporary operating permits

The Department's temporary operating permit page says a Georgia licensed motor vehicle dealer is required to issue one free dealer-issued temporary operating permit for the customer's use at the time of sale. Rule 560-10-32-.08 says a new or used vehicle dealer shall not charge a fee for the temporary plate, shall not extend it past the initial period, and shall not use it for demonstration, employee use, or transporting vehicles from one location to another. A dealer plate is the plate the statute allows for demonstration and transport. A temporary permit is for the vehicle a retail customer purchased. The Department's page does not, in the text reviewed for this article, print the number of days the permit lasts. Confirm that period on the permit and with the Department. Do not guess it.

Wholesale sales to another dealer are not the retail customer sale that rule describes for a temporary plate. The wholesale or retail guide covers the license. It does not turn a wholesale transfer into a retail temporary permit. Ask the Department before you issue a permit on a dealer-to-dealer sale.

Sources

• O.C.G.A. § 40-2-38, registration and dealer plates.
• Department of Revenue dealer registration, DRIVES e-Services, Form MV-6, and Form MV-6A.
• Expiration, registration period, and mailing fees.
• Form MV-6C, revised March 2021, renewal amounts printed on that form.
• Dealer issued temporary operating permits.
• Rule 560-10-32-.08, limits on temporary plates.

Questions people ask

How do I get Georgia dealer plates?

After the Board issues the used motor vehicle dealer license, register with the Department of Revenue. The Department's dealer registration page lists Form MV-6 for the plate application and Form MV-6A for authorized agents. It says initial and renewal registrations are completed in DRIVES e-Services. O.C.G.A. section 40-2-38, in the text published as effective July 1, 2026, states an $80 application fee for the master plate and $15 for each additional plate.

Board license first

How long until dealer plates arrive, and where are they sent?

The Department's dealer registration page and its mailing page do not state a number of days from approval until a plate arrives. If you include the mailing fee, the Department mails the plates or decals. If you do not, you are contacted to schedule a pickup. The renewal form uses the business address on the application. If you renew and then move, update that address before you expect a mailing to go to a new office. Confirm the mail-to address with the Motor Vehicle Division.

License renewal versus plate renewal

What if my plate application is pending or MV-6A is wrong?

Form MV-6A is the Department's form to authorize, add, or delete agents. A pending plate file is a Department of Revenue file. It is not the Board's GOALS license file, and the Board's 15-business-day note in the April 2024 packet does not set the Department's timing. The pages checked do not print how many days a corrected MV-6A takes. Ask the Motor Vehicle Division about that file.

Wholesale or retail

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