This page is the 2026 path for a Georgia used motor vehicle dealer license, sometimes called a used car dealer license. It was checked in November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. The longer checklist is the Georgia dealer license guide. Confirm a figure with the Board before you rely on it.
Who must have the license
O.C.G.A. § 43-47-7(a) makes it unlawful to operate as a used motor vehicle dealer in Georgia without a license from the Board. O.C.G.A. § 43-47-2(17)(A) treats a wholesaler and a broker as a used motor vehicle dealer. Read the exemptions in that section before you decide they apply to you. The wholesale or retail guide covers that point.
What the application has to show
O.C.G.A. § 43-47-8, in the text effective July 1, 2026, says the applicant maintains an established place of business, is a Georgia resident or lists a Georgia resident as agent for service, attended a Board-approved seminar within the preceding 12 months or passed a Board-approved exam, has applied for or obtained a sales and use tax certificate, has posted or provided for the bond, and maintains the required liability and property damage insurance. The application is under oath and includes photographs of the facility, the sign, and the display area.
The Board's how-to guide sends a new applicant to the GOALS licensing portal after the requirements, including the pre-licensing seminar, are done. Its checklist includes the signed and notarized application with the fee, zoning certification, the surety bond with power of attorney, a certificate of insurance, photographs, seminar proof, a background check, a preliminary inspection, and citizenship documents. The April 2024 application is still the packet posted on sos.ga.gov. Use a newer packet if the Board has posted one.
A practical order
The statute lists the showings. It does not number them as a calendar. This order follows what the how-to guide and the April 2024 packet say about dependencies.
- Confirm you need the license, and whether wholesale, retail, or broker is the right description. The application is still the used motor vehicle dealer application.
- Have an established place of business that can be inspected. The office and inspection guide is the checklist. The April 2024 packet says not to submit until the facility is ready for inspection.
- Finish the pre-licensing seminar, or ask the Board whether the exam alternative in the statute is offered. The seminar guide covers the hours.
- Apply for the sales and use tax certificate in the same name as the dealer application. Rule 681-3-.01 says the proof must match that name.
- Arrange the surety bond and the liability insurance in that same name. The surety bond guide explains why the statute says $50,000 and the rule and April 2024 form still say $35,000. Confirm the amount before you buy the bond. The statute sets insurance limits. It does not publish a premium.
- Submit the application in GOALS or on the packet the Board is accepting. The how-to guide and the April 2024 packet both say fingerprints come after an application is on file. They do not name the same print vendor. Follow the current how-to guide.
- After the Board issues the license, dealer plates are a Department of Revenue step, not a second Board license. The dealer plates guide covers Forms MV-6 and MV-6A.
Why a file takes time
The April 2024 packet says the Board reviews applications at least six times a year, to allow 15 business days after you submit, and to contact the Board if you have heard nothing after 15 days. It says incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days, and that you then submit a new application with the fees and documents. A failed preliminary inspection delays review until the deficiencies are satisfied. Those are the timing statements in that packet. They are not a promise that a complete file is approved at the next meeting.
GOALS is the Secretary of State licensing portal for the Board file. A dealer-plate application pending at the Department of Revenue is a different office. Correcting authorized agents is Form MV-6A. Neither the Board packet nor the Department's dealer-registration page states one combined number of days for both files. Read each notice for the document it says is missing.
Board-ready and ready for inspection
On this site, Board-ready means set up as the Board defines an established place of business. Ready for inspection means the facility is ready for the preliminary inspection the April 2024 packet requires before a new license. O.C.G.A. § 43-47-17 is the consent-to-inspection section that comes with licensure. Neither phrase means the Board has issued the license.
What people are often asked to send next
The published checklists, not a private file, are the source for this list. A file can still be waiting on a signed and notarized application, zoning certification, photographs of the inside, the outside, and the sign, the bond with power of attorney, the insurance certificate, seminar proof, or fingerprints. The how-to guide says fingerprints are scheduled after the application is on file, through the email from GBI/GAPS. The April 2024 packet names Fieldprint. The how-to guide names IdentoGO. Use the current how-to guide if they still disagree, and ask the Board which vendor to use.
Dealer plates, after the license, use Form MV-6 and Form MV-6A for authorized agents. If the Department says the agent list is wrong, MV-6A is the form the Department's dealer-registration page names for adding or deleting agents. This page does not state how many days a corrected form takes. The Department's pages that were checked do not print that number.
Monthly sales reporting to the Department of Revenue
A licensed used motor vehicle dealer who is registered for sales and use tax files a return with the Georgia Department of Revenue. O.C.G.A. § 48-8-49(a) says each dealer, on or before the twentieth day of each month, transmits returns to the commissioner showing the gross sales and purchases taxable under the sales and use tax article during the preceding calendar month. The same subsection says the commissioner may provide for a quarterly or annual return, or may permit one on application.
Rule 560-12-1-.22 is the filing rule. For the first six months from the date of registration, the return is filed on a calendar-month basis. After that, a different frequency starts only after a written request and written approval. The rule allows quarterly filing when liability averaged less than $200 a month for six consecutive months, and annual filing when it averaged less than $50 a month. A return is timely when filed on or before 20 days after the last day of the reporting period. The Department's File and Pay page says a paper return, when one is allowed, is Form ST-3, and it points filers to the Georgia Tax Center.
That return is the sales and use tax return. It is not a Board sales log, and it is not title ad valorem tax. O.C.G.A. § 48-5C-1 requires a dealer of new or used motor vehicles who collects state and local title ad valorem tax to submit the title application and remit that tax to the county tag agent where the vehicle will be registered. If that is not done within 30 days of purchase, the statute sets a penalty, unless the county tag agent granted an extension under O.C.G.A. § 40-2-20. That duty is per purchase. It is not the monthly return in § 48-8-49.
Wholesale and retail use the same used motor vehicle dealer license. See the wholesale or retail guide. Section 48-8-49 still applies to a person who is a dealer for sales and use tax, whether the Board file is used for sales to consumers or to other dealers. Which sales are taxable, which are exempt and still reported, and which are title ad valorem tax instead, is a Department of Revenue question. Confirm your own sales with the Department before you skip a month. The filing page is where to check the current form and frequency.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. § 43-47-7, the license requirement.
- O.C.G.A. § 43-47-8, the application, effective July 1, 2026.
- How-to guide: Used Motor Vehicle Dealers.
- Used Motor Vehicle Dealer application, revised April 2024.
- O.C.G.A. § 48-8-49 and Rule 560-12-1-.22, the sales and use tax return.
- O.C.G.A. § 48-5C-1, title ad valorem tax remitted with the title application.
- Department of Revenue, File and Pay.
Questions people ask
How do I get a used motor vehicle dealer license in Georgia?
File a complete application with the State Board of Registration of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers and Used Motor Vehicle Parts Dealers. O.C.G.A. section 43-47-8 requires an established place of business, a seminar or exam, sales and use tax registration, a surety bond, liability insurance, and fingerprints. The Board decides whether to issue the license.
How long does the Board take, and why does a file sit?
The April 2024 application says to allow 15 business days after you submit, and that the Board reviews applications at least six times a year. It also says an incomplete application is withdrawn after 60 days. GOALS is the Board portal. Dealer plates are a separate Department of Revenue file and do not move on the Board's calendar. If a document is missing, the notice names it.
What are my next steps after I apply, after inspection, and after the state filing?
After you submit the Board packet, wait for the Board's review and answer anything the notice says is missing. The preliminary inspection is for a new applicant, and the April 2024 packet says not to submit until the facility is ready. After the Board issues the license, dealer plates are a Department of Revenue registration, using Forms MV-6 and MV-6A. Those are the next steps the published sources describe. Your own portal may also list a signature or a photo.
Sales reporting in the license guide
Do I have to report sales every month after I am licensed?
O.C.G.A. section 48-8-49 requires a sales and use tax dealer to file a return of gross sales and purchases, on or before the 20th of each month for the prior month, unless the Department has approved another frequency. Rule 560-12-1-.22 starts that filing monthly for the first six months. Title ad valorem tax is a separate per-purchase payment to the county tag agent under section 48-5C-1. Wholesale and retail use the same dealer license. Confirm which sales belong on the return with the Department of Revenue.
Get help with any of these tasks
AutoDealerGA is owned and operated by Omni Consultants, LLC. AutoDealerGA can help with any of these tasks during the process. That includes the office, the seminar, the bond, the application, and the plates packet after the license.
If you want the place of business and the packet handled together, see our current office and consulting prices. Board-ready means ready as the Georgia licensing board defines an established place of business. It does not mean the Board has approved a license.
We prepare filings. We do not guarantee Board approval. We do not approve zoning. For a suite leased through the AutoDealerGA platform, Omni Consultants, LLC provides zoning documentation for that suite. The local zoning authority decides zoning. The Board decides whether to issue the license.
The office is at 4780 Highway 5 Suite A, Douglasville, GA 30135. Call 404-313-2723 or email help@autodealerga.com.