How to get a used car dealer license in Kansas

This guide is informational and does not replace official Kansas requirements. Always verify with Kansas Department of Revenue — Division of Vehicles, Dealer Licensing before applying.

Step-by-step process

1. 1

   Set up the location and get zoning approval

   Find a building or structure, owned or leased, that isn't any part of a residence. It has to work as an office where you receive mail, keep records, and run the business. Add lot space for at least as many vehicles as you'll have dealer plates. A new dealer starts with 3 plates per plate type, so plan on room for at least 3 cars. Get a phone line listed in the business name and put up a sign with durable letters at least 10 inches high. The zoning agent completes and seals the zoning section of the application for your specific license type.

2. 2

   Register for sales tax and get your tax clearances

   Register for a Kansas sales tax number in the exact business name you'll license. The Department won't issue the license until it has a copy of that registration. Then apply online for a Certificate of Tax Clearance for each owner and for the business. A tax clearance isn't the same thing as a Secretary of State letter of good standing. Your county treasurer also signs the application to certify that your personal property taxes are paid.

3. 3

   Get the $50,000 bond and insurance

   K.S.A. 8-2404(i) requires used and new vehicle dealers to carry a $50,000 corporate surety bond from a company authorized in Kansas, written in the name of the State of Kansas. Write it in the corporate name if you're a corporation, all owners' names d.b.a. the dealership if you're a partnership, or your name d.b.a. the dealership if you're a sole owner. Attach the power of attorney. You can deposit $50,000 in cash, Kansas or U.S. bonds, or certificates of deposit with the State Treasurer instead. Your insurer sends a certificate showing public liability and property damage coverage on the business and your inventory.

4. 4

   Complete the D-17A and mail it with your fees

   Fill out the Application for Vehicle Dealer License (D-17A). Check one license type per application. Enclose the original bond with power of attorney, the insurance certificate, tax clearances, your sales tax certificate, articles of incorporation or three credit references on the referees' letterhead, the completed zoning and personal property tax sections, a picture of your location with the sign, and your fees. The license is $75. Dealer plates are $275.50 for the first auto plate and $30.50 for each additional one. Mail it to Kansas Department of Revenue, Attn: Dealer License, PO Box 2369, Topeka, KS 66601-2369.

5. 5

   Pass the location inspection

   Kansas won't license a dealer until the Division inspects and approves the established place of business (K.S.A. 8-2404(k)). The first inspection is free. Each additional inspection needed to approve the location costs $30 (K.S.A. 8-2404(f)), so have the sign, phone, lot, and office ready before you apply.

6. 6

   Attend dealer training and receive your license

   Once your application, documents, and fees are complete and reviewed, Dealer Licensing schedules you for a dealer training class and emails the invitation. You get the license when you finish the class. The D-17A says to allow 6–8 weeks for a new or used dealer application. Set up your Kansas Customer Service Center account early, since most dealer transactions run through the Dealer Portal.

Can you get a Kansas dealer license without a lot?

Not really. Every dealer that needs an established place of business — and that includes wholesalers — must own or lease lot space to display vehicles at least equal in number to the dealer plates assigned to it (K.S.A. 8-2404(k) and (l)). New dealers start with 3 plates per plate type.

Your office can't be in a residence, either. Kansas defines an established place of business as a building or structure other than one occupied or used, in whole or part, as a residence. The only exception is a farm residence for a dealer who earns at least half their income from farming and deals only in vehicles and equipment that don't need highway registration.

A building can house more than one business if it has suitable space for the dealership (K.S.A. 8-2404(o)). So sharing a commercial building can work. Running a dealership from your house can't.

Buying at dealer-only auctions with a Kansas license

Many people want a dealer license so they can buy at dealer-only auctions. Kansas has a license built for those sales: the auction motor vehicle dealer, defined in K.S.A. 8-2401 as an auction where licensed dealers sell vehicles they own to other licensed dealers. Each auction still sets its own registration paperwork, so ask what it needs.

To retail what you buy, you need the used vehicle dealer license. A wholesale license only lets you resell to dealers. Kansas-based auctioneers can also sell 72-hour transport permits so a buyer can drive a purchase home with the bill of sale.

Plates follow sales. The handbook says dealers need 5 sales per plate type to keep or increase their plate count, and the Department cuts plates at renewal when reported sales fall short. A license used only for occasional auction buying will lose plates.

Once you're licensed: the paperwork on every deal

The buyer titles and registers at the county treasurer on the TR-212a, Kansas's Title and Registration Manual Application. Our Kansas TR-212a guide walks through it, including the sales tax split between the dealer's rate and the buyer's home rate. DealerVLO fills the official TR-212a from the deal — buyer, vehicle, price, and trade — with signatures left for ink.

For odometer corrections and transfers without a title, Kansas uses the TR-59. See our Kansas TR-59 guide. It's a fillable PDF, so you upload it to DealerVLO once and map its fields; DealerVLO doesn't ship it as a built-in form. Our odometer disclosure guide covers when a written mileage statement is required.

Kansas also expects monthly dealer sales reports and wants records kept at least four years.

The Kansas auto dealer bond: $50,000

Kansas requires every used-vehicle dealer to post a $50,000 surety bond. The bond protects buyers from misconduct (odometer fraud, undisclosed liens, deceptive trade practices) and the state from unpaid taxes.

You don't pay the full bond amount up front — you pay an annual premium to a surety company, typically 1–5% (estimate) of the bond's face value. Your actual premium depends on personal credit and business history.

K.S.A. 8-2404(i) requires every used or new vehicle dealer to keep a $50,000 corporate surety bond from a company authorized in Kansas, executed in the name of the State of Kansas for any aggrieved retail or wholesale buyer or seller. The surety pays after the Director determines a Kansas court judgment is final and arose from a violation of the dealer act. The surety can cancel on 30 days' notice, and a lapse can lead to revocation. Instead of a bond, you can deposit at least $50,000 in cash, Kansas or U.S. bonds, or certificates of deposit with the State Treasurer. Bonds or CDs deposited that way stay on deposit at least two years after the title delivery on your last sale. The Department's 2018 handbook still shows $30,000 — the current statute and the D-17A say $50,000. The premium range is a market estimate, not a state figure.

Common questions