To apply, you must:
10 Oklahoma Dealer License Requirements
The Oklahoma Used Motor Vehicle, Dismantler, and Manufactured Housing Commission issues the Dealer License. This page covers Oklahoma's 2 Dealer License types, their requirements, bond size, costs, and how to apply.
Name your Dealership
Your company name is the first step, because you'll use it through the entire Dealer License process.
Oklahoma's Dealer application accepts 6 business types: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership, and Limited Liability Partnership. An LLC keeps your business separate from your personal life and adds trust to the name.
Add everyone you want on the license at the start. Adding an owner, a primary stockholder, or an LLC member later is a change of ownership. The Commission then requires a new application and its approval before the business may operate (OAC 765:10-1-8(a)).
Choose your Dealer License Type
Wholesale and Retail are Oklahoma's 2 main Dealer License types, each on its own application form. Most people start with Wholesale because you can run your business from home. The other 5 rows are the licenses and certificates the same Commission issues alongside them.
| License Type | What It Lets You Do |
|---|---|
| Wholesale Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's LicenseLicense numbers start with W | Buy and sell with licensed Dealers and at dealer auctions, from a room in your home. One Oklahoma resident holds it, whatever business type you form |
| Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's LicenseRetail. License numbers start with UD | Everything Wholesale does, plus sell to the public. Requires an established place of business and one owner at the Education Program. Manufactured homes need a separate license from the same Commission |
| Used Motor Vehicle Dealer AuctionA sub-type of the Retail license | Run a dealer auction. Requires a $50,000 bond, or $25,000 with check-and-title insurance of $50,000 or more. Salvage pools and salvage disposal sales carry the same $50,000 bond |
| Rebuilder's Certificate | An add-on to a Dealer License for rebuilding repairable vehicles, at the same location as your dealership. Its $15,000 bond is in addition to the dealer bond |
| Automotive Dismantler and Parts Recycler LicenseLicense numbers start with AD | Dismantle vehicles and sell parts. No bond. Requires a 3-by-4-foot sign, a DEQ storm-water permit, a sales tax permit, and an NMVTIS number |
| Oklahoma Crusher License | Licensed under the Oklahoma Crusher Act. Requires $25,000 in net assets to qualify, plus a $25,000 bond |
| Used Motor Vehicle Salesperson's Certificate of Registration | A certificate of registration, not a license. Your employing Dealer sponsors you and pays the $50. It does not let you own vehicles or act as a Dealer yourself |
Get your Dealer Bond (Surety Bond)
An Oklahoma Dealer License requires a $25,000 Dealer Bond, for the Wholesale and the Retail license alike (47 O.S. §583(E)). The bond covers your customer if you break a dealer law, and the state can claim against it. A $25,000 bond costs only $175 a year, after a credit check.
You file the bond with the Commission on its own bond form, approved by the Oklahoma Attorney General. A Dealer Auction files a $50,000 bond instead. That drops to $25,000 with proof of check-and-title insurance of at least $50,000.
Two more rules apply by activity. A consignment dealer projecting $500,000 or more in gross annual sales files a $50,000 bond. A salvage pool or salvage disposal sale carries the $50,000 auction-tier bond (OAC 765:12-1-4).
| License Type | You Pay | Bond Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale DealerOklahoma - Wholesale Motor Vehicle Dealer ($25,000) | $175/yearabout $15 a month, after a credit check | $25,000 |
| Used Motor Vehicle DealerOklahoma - Used Motor Vehicle Dealer ($25,000) | $175/yearabout $15 a month, after a credit check | $25,000 |
| Dealer AuctionOklahoma - Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Auctioneer ($50,000) | $350/yearabout $29 a month, after a credit check | $50,000 |
| Rebuilder's CertificateAdd-on for rebuilding repairable vehicles, in addition to the dealer bond. Oklahoma - Used Motor Vehicle Rebuilder ($15,000) | $105/yearabout $9 a month, after a credit check | $15,000 |
| CrusherAlso requires $25,000 in net assets. Oklahoma - Used Motor Vehicle Crusher ($25,000) | $250/yearabout $21 a month, after a credit check | $25,000 |
| DismantlerAutomotive Dismantler and Parts Recycler | No Bond Required | |
Get your Liability Insurance (Certificate of Insurance)
An Oklahoma Dealer License requires $25,000 of single-limit liability insurance on every vehicle offered for sale or driven on the road (47 O.S. §583(F)). It applies to the Wholesale and the Retail license alike. That is the limit of the policy, not the cost; your insurance agent quotes the price.
Your agent files it on the Commission's Certificate of Insurance, UD-7 for Retail or UD-7WD for Wholesale, naming the address on your license. If the policy is canceled or expires, the license is revoked as of that date. Only new insurance filed before that date prevents it (OAC 765:10-1-5(b)).
Set up your Dealer Office (Established Place of Business)
An Oklahoma Wholesale Dealer can run the business from a room at home. The Commission's own instruction sheet says: “You may use a room in your home; however, that room may not be used for any other purpose.” The wholesale application even asks, “Is the location of the business a residence?”
A Retail Dealer needs an established place of business: a permanent structure with access to a restroom for the public. The rule says it “shall not include an occupied residence” (OAC 765:10-1-3(a)(4)). A Dealer who “does not have an established place of business” can be denied or revoked (47 O.S. §584(A)(7)(a)). The table below compares the two.
| Wholesale | Retail | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | A permanent room or building “separate and apart from any other business”, used only for the wholesale business. A room in your home qualifies | A permanent structure with access to a restroom for the public. Never an occupied residence, vacant lot, tent, or temporary stand |
| Office | An office, a sign, and a telephone (OAC 765:20-1-3) | An office for your books, records, and files, plus a business telephone listed with directory assistance. A cell phone qualifies |
| Vehicles | No display lot and no public parking. You sell to licensed Dealers only | A display area “readily distinguishable” from other parked vehicles, plus sufficient parking for the public |
| Sign | A sign at the office | At least 32 square feet, letters at least 6 inches high, permanently affixed, visible from the nearest roadway. No banners or portable signs |
| Zoning | The location must meet local zoning | A letter or permit from your city or county approving used vehicle sales at the address. If there is no zoning, a letter from the local authority saying so |
| You submit | Photos of the office inside and out, plus the numbers on the house, curb, or mailbox | Photos of the exterior sales office, the lot, and the permanently mounted sign |
Attend the Education Program — Retail only
One owner of an Oklahoma Retail dealership must attend the Commission's Education Program before the license is issued (OAC 765:10-1-6.2). It is 3.5 hours and free. Wholesale Dealers, rebuilders, and salespeople are not required to attend, and Oklahoma has no Dealer exam.
Commission staff teach the class themselves; there is no private provider. Section 9 of the Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's Application reserves your seat. Seating is limited, so a second person means a call to the Commission.
The class:
- Where: 421 NW 13th Street, Suite 330, Oklahoma City, OK 73103
- When: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Monday before the Board's monthly meeting
- Who: one owner, partner, member, or corporate officer of the dealership
- Cost: free, by rule: “The Education Program shall be without cost to any participant”
Pass the Background Check (OSBI Report)
Every Oklahoma Dealer License applicant submits an OSBI Report, a records check from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OAC 765:4-1-4). The report must include all 3 searches: Name Based, Sex Offender, and Violent Offender. Oklahoma takes no fingerprints for this license; the check runs on your name.
Every owner, partner, LLC member, and corporate officer listed in Section Four of the application submits one, and so does every salesperson.
OSBI's charges, paid to OSBI:
- $15 name-based criminal history check
- $2 Sex Offender Registry check
- $2 Violent Offender Registry check
What a conviction does
You can ask before you apply. Oklahoma's occupational licensing law lets anyone with a record request a determination of whether it disqualifies them (59 O.S. §4000.1(F)). You can ask at any time, even before any required education.
The fee is up to $95. The law requires a written answer within 60 days, or 90 for boards with 50,000 or more licensees. A favorable answer binds the Commission unless you pick up a new plea or charge, or left a conviction out (§4000.1(H)).
The Commission's own application and website do not mention this right. It comes from a general law that names the boards it excludes, and the Commission is not one of them (§4000.1(M)).
A felony is not an automatic bar. The Commission “may deny” a license, not “shall deny” (47 O.S. §584(A)). The felony must both “substantially relate” to the work of a used motor vehicle dealer and “pose a reasonable threat to public safety” (§584(A)(6)(c)). The statute names no list of crimes. An ordinary misdemeanor is not a named ground.
The dealer law sets no waiting period. Oklahoma's licensing law adds one. A conviction or plea more than 5 years old cannot be the reason for denial if there is no new conviction (59 O.S. §4000.1(C)(3)).
The 5 years run from the conviction, the plea, or release from incarceration, whichever is latest. The shield does not cover offenses on the violent-crime list at 57 O.S. §571, felony domestic abuse, or any sex-offender-registration offense.
A guilty or no-contest plea counts the same as a conviction on the Commission's form. A pending charge can be weighed; a bare arrest that led to no charge and no plea cannot (§4000.1(C)(1)).
The Personal History Questionnaire asks every owner one question. “Have you ever been convicted of or pled guilty or ‘no contest’ to a felony?”
A false answer under its perjury clause is grounds for denial or revocation, or a $1,000 fine. A felony applicant submits the Judgment and Sentence for every conviction and appears in person before the Board of Commissioners.
Before denying on your record, the Commission must weigh 6 factors (59 O.S. §4000.1(B)):
- The nature and seriousness of the offense
- How much time has passed
- Your age when it happened
- Aggravating and mitigating circumstances
- How the offense relates to a Dealer's duties
- Evidence of rehabilitation, such as work history and references
The way back
A sealed or expunged conviction cannot be the reason for denial (59 O.S. §4000.1(C)(2)). The form's question has no exception for expunged records, and neither the dealer statute nor the rules address whether you still disclose one.
If the Commission denies the license, it must give you the grounds in writing and 60 days to resolve them (47 O.S. §584(F)). For a denial based on your record, it must first name the offense, explain its reasoning, and allow 30 days for more evidence (§4000.1(D)).
You can appeal a final decision under the Administrative Procedures Act (47 O.S. §585(C)).
Submit your Dealer License Application
You apply to the Oklahoma Commission on paper: the Used Motor Vehicle Dealer's Application for Retail, or the Wholesale Motor Vehicle Dealer's Application. The fee is $600 for 2 years; every other fee is listed under costs. You mail the packet or deliver it to the Commission's Oklahoma City office.
The Board considers applications on the second Tuesday of each month. Your packet is due 11 days before that meeting.
Every person with any ownership interest completes the Personal History Questionnaire in the packet, listing date of birth, Social Security number, and driver's license number. The Commission never asks for the business's EIN. Social Security and driver's license numbers “shall not be public records” (OAC 765:1-1-8(b)).
Both instruction sheets say an “OKLAHOMA DRIVER'S LICENSE must be submitted” for each owner. For Wholesale that is a rule. For Retail the rule itself names no state, so call the Commission before applying with an out-of-state license. The questionnaire also asks whether you are a U.S. citizen. If not, you attach USCIS documents showing qualified alien status.
No Retail owner has to live in Oklahoma. The Wholesale license is held by one person who must be “a bona fide resident of the State of Oklahoma” (OAC 765:20-1-4(c)). The business location itself must be in Oklahoma for either license.
Pass the Site Inspection
A Commission inspector visits your Oklahoma location after the Board considers your application, not before. The inspector contacts you to schedule it. The statute has them check that the location is approved, meets local zoning, and has “sufficient facilities” (47 O.S. §582(E)(2)(b)). That power continues for as long as you hold the license.
After you apply:
- The Board considers your application at its monthly meeting
- A Commission inspector contacts you to schedule the visit
- For Retail, the Commission verifies that one owner attended the Education Program before issuing the license
- The Commission issues the license; no law sets a fixed timeline for the decision
Get your Dealer License Plates
Oklahoma dealer license plates come from Service Oklahoma, not the Commission, at $21 per vehicle plate plus a $6.60 mail fee per plate. You apply on the Used Dealer License Plate Application (Form 795-A) once the Commission verifies your license. Allow 12 weeks for processing.
The Commission approves a plate count “appropriate for the size and nature” of your business; no fixed count is published (OAC 765:10-1-6.1). The rule still names the Oklahoma Tax Commission, whose tag duties moved to Service Oklahoma in 2022. Each location needs its own license and plate set.
Dealer plates let you drive your inventory for business: demonstrating, transporting, and normal business use. You, your corporate officers, and your employees may drive on them. Any person may drive a plated vehicle “while contemplating purchase”, so test drives are fine.
Private use is banned. The Commission's own FAQ says that includes a spouse who is not in the business, or a child driving to school. A dealer plate also never goes on a new vehicle, a trailer, a service or loaner car, or a vehicle for hire. Misusing a metal plate or a paper temporary tag is grounds for revocation.
Dealer License Cost
An Oklahoma Wholesale or Retail Dealer License costs $600 to start and $300 at each renewal, and the license is valid for 2 years. The table lists every other fee as the state itemizes it; nothing is added together.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Dealer License, Wholesale or Retail | $600 initial$300 each renewal |
| Additional location | $200 initial and renewal |
| Dealer BondYearly premium, after a credit check | $175 a year, Wholesale or Retail ($25,000 bond)$350 a year, Dealer Auction ($50,000 bond)$105 a year, Rebuilder ($15,000 bond)$250 a year, Crusher ($25,000 bond) |
| Liability insurance | $25,000 single-limit policy, priced by your agent |
| Rebuilder's Certificate | $600 initial$300 renewal |
| Dismantler license | $600 initial$300 renewal$200 additional location$200 initial and renewal if you already hold a Dealer License$400 initial for a Dealer License and a dismantler license together |
| Salesperson registration | $50 every 2 years, paid by the employing Dealer$25 transfer to a new employer |
| OSBI Report, per personPaid to OSBI, not the Commission | $15 name-based criminal history check$2 Sex Offender Registry check$2 Violent Offender Registry check |
| Dealer platesPaid to Service Oklahoma | $21 per vehicle plate$21 per motorcycle plate$56 per environmental plate, for heavy vehicles$6.60 mail fee per plate$9 replacement, with a police report |
| Owner wallet cardsThe photo ID card each owner carries | $50 each; the managing officer's first card is free |
| Criminal-history determinationAsking the Commission about your record before you apply | Up to $95 |
| Reinstatement after an insurance lapse | $200 |
| Change of location | $100 |
| Change of business name | $25 |
Dealer License Renewal
An Oklahoma Dealer License is valid for 2 years and expires December 31 of odd-numbered years, the same day as the bond (47 O.S. §583(B)(3)). Renewal costs $300 for the Wholesale or the Retail license.
The renewal timeline:
- November 1 of the expiration year: your renewal application is due
- December 31: the current license and bond expire
- January 10: the Commission issues completed renewals received by November 1
Common Questions
Can you get an Oklahoma Dealer License with a felony?
An Oklahoma felony conviction is not an automatic denial. The Commission “may deny” only for a felony that relates to the work and threatens public safety. A conviction or plea over 5 years old cannot be the reason, with no new conviction since. Felony applicants appear before the Board in person, and you can ask the Commission first.
Can you get a Dealer License in Oklahoma without a lot?
Yes, with Oklahoma's Wholesale license, which allows a room in your home used for nothing else. The Commission's instruction sheet says: “You may use a room in your home; however, that room may not be used for any other purpose.” Retail is the license that requires a display area and public parking. See the office requirements.
How many cars can you sell in Oklahoma without a Dealer License?
Oklahoma sets no fixed number of cars you can sell without a Dealer License. The law looks at whether you sell used vehicles to make a profit or as a business (47 O.S. §581).
Do I have to live in Oklahoma to get a Dealer License?
For Oklahoma's Wholesale license, yes. One person holds it, and that person must be “a bona fide resident of the State of Oklahoma” (OAC 765:20-1-4(c)). Forming an LLC does not change that. The Retail license has no residency rule for owners, though the instruction sheet still asks for an Oklahoma driver's license.
How much does an Oklahoma Dealer License cost?
An Oklahoma Dealer License costs $600 to start and $300 at each renewal, for either the Wholesale or the Retail license. The 2-year term is the same for both. The bond, insurance, OSBI Report, and dealer plates are separate charges, each itemized under Dealer License Cost.
How long does an Oklahoma Dealer License take?
No Oklahoma law sets a deadline for the Commission to decide on a Dealer License. The Board considers applications on the second Tuesday of each month, with packets due 11 days before. A Commission inspector visits after that meeting. A denial comes with written grounds and 60 days to resolve them.
Do I need a business bank account for an Oklahoma Dealer License?
No Oklahoma statute or Commission rule requires a Dealer to hold a business bank account. The Financial Statement in the application asks you to list banks and account numbers, including any floor plan credit line. That is evidence of financial standing for the licensing decision, not a requirement to open an account first.
How do I look up an Oklahoma Dealer License?
Oklahoma's Commission verifies motor vehicle professional licenses online through its New Applicant and Dealer Portal. Its public page says: “You can verify motor vehicle professional licenses online.” A license number tells you the type: UD- is a Retail used Dealer, W- is Wholesale, and AD- is a dismantler.
Support
Dealer License questions go to the Commission's office in Oklahoma City. Dealer plate questions go to Service Oklahoma.
| Contact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Department | Oklahoma Used Motor Vehicle, Dismantler, and Manufactured Housing Commission (OUMVDMHC) |
| Phone | (405) 521-3600 Commission(405) 521-3604 fax(405) 521-3669 Service Oklahoma, for plates |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday |
| [email protected] | |
| Address | 421 NW 13th Street, Suite 330Oklahoma City, OK 73103 |
Additional sources (3)
The forms, the portal, the statute, and the rules for each step are linked in the steps. These are the remaining sources the page was checked against.
- Service Oklahoma — issues the physical dealer plates once the Commission confirms the license; (405) 521-3669
- Oklahoma Statutes, Title 57 §571 (PDF) — the “violent crime” list that the 5-year rule in 59 O.S. §4000.1 does not cover
- OAC 765:10-1-8, changes of ownership (Cornell LII copy) — the Commission's rule that a new LLC member or primary stockholder means a new application
