Louisiana Dealer License

Louisiana Dealers Licenses are granted by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Louisiana Dealer License Training Podcast

Louisiana Dealer License Application

Louisiana Dealers, Louisiana dealers are regulated by the Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission
Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission
3132 Valley Creek Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
225-925-3870

www.lumvc.louisiana.gov

I want you go in depth in the 5 Steps to an Louisiana Dealers License
Step Number 1 Dealer Surety Bond and Insurance
You must obtain a dealer surety bond and insurance in order to obtain an Louisiana dealers license. I always recommend this as the first step in obtaining a Louisiana dealers license. The cost of a dealer surety bond is based on your credit score and the cost of your insurance is based upon your driving record. I am often asked what it costs to obtain a Louisiana dealers license and I can never answer that question accurately because the total cost will depend on your credit score and your driving record.
The State of Louisiana requires you to obtain a $50,000 dealer surety bond in order to be granted a Louisiana dealers license, is the bond going to cost you $50,000, of course not, with good credit you should be spending about 300 to 400 dollars a year for your bond, your insurance company will normally send you an invoice every year or every other year. If you have a couple of blemishes on your credit score, the price of your bond can increase dramatically. The bond must be a surety bond eecuted by an insurance or bonding company authorized to do business in Louisiana,
The bond must be signed by the individual, all partners (if a partnership) or one corporate officer (if incorporated). Bonds may not be handwritten and must contain all required signatures and an embossed stamp, seal or sticker.
Here you see the required Louisiana bond form for a dealers license

You must also obtain a special insurance policy before the State of Louisiana will allow you to have a dealers license. Your insurance policy pricing will be dependent on your driving record so if you have a really bad driving record, you might pay a lot more for your insurance. You must also obtain an insurance policy that will cover the vehicles that are in your inventory. The State of Louisiana requires every vehicle driven on any roadway in the state to have insurance, including the vehicles in your inventory when they are being test driven by your customers.
You also need to obtain a dealer garage policy with not less than $55,000 minium
An ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE on an Acord Form (provided by insurance agency) indicating: a. Policy number
. “Certificate Holder” must be Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission, 3132 Valley Creek Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808

I am sure your insurance agent will be able to eplain different types of coverage but I want to eplain some of the coverage for dealers.
Dealer Garage Liabiilty, dealer liability is just like liability on your own vehicle, if your customer wrecks on of your vehicles, the insurance will only cover the other person’s property, the insurance will not cover any damage to your demo, because it is dealer liability, I am going to recommend either when you are starting out, or shortly after you have started to obtain a larger inventory to bump up your dealer insurance coverage, you might think of it as full coverage but in our industry we refer to it as Open Lot, Open Lot dealers insurance does not cover a specific number of vehicles, it covers a dollar amount, so lets say you have $50,000 worth of inventory, YOU NEED $50,000 worth of Open Lot coverage. Louisiana has tornados, Louisiana has floods, Louisiana can be hit by hurricanes. Did you see the pictures recently of the dealership that was hit by a tornado in Missouri over 700 vehicles were destroyed on one dealer lot in the course of about 3 minutes, A couple of years ago when Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf coast of Teas, it flooded Houston and over 1 million vehicles in Houston sat underneath water for about 2 days an if You can imaging throwing a computer in a bathtub for 2 days an epect it to work after words, well there is no difference with a vehicle. We need to be concerned about theft as well. I have read articles covering dealers that have had their entire inventory stolen overnight. If you ever showed up to your dealership only to find your entire inventory gone, well you would not be the first dealer that has happened to, I have seen dealers go into financial ruin because they did not have enough coverage on their inventory, be sure you have enough coverage on your inventory so YOU never go into financial ruin.
I always recommend getting a dealer surety bond and insurance quote as your first step so you will have an idea of what the total cost outlays will be to obtain your Louisiana dealers license.
The start-up costs to be granted a Louisiana Dealers license may seem epensive if you have never been in the industry, but you will soon realize the incredible mark up on vehicles, You will be amazed at the price you pay for a vehicle at a Louisiana dealer auction and what you will sell if for a week later on your Louisiana dealer lot, and you will probably with you have obtained your Louisiana dealers license 20 years ago, so GO FOR IT, I think you are going to be very glad you are getting into this industry.

Step 2-Building & Lot
You must have a building for your Louisiana dealers license. Your business building must be a permanent enclosed building owned or leased by you, The established place of business must be devoted mainly to the operation of your dealership
A dealer may use a trailer as you building but state law requires you to remove the wheels.
Whether you are a retail dealer , broker, or a wholesale dealer you must meet local zoning requirements. You can contact the city hall or county court house’s planning a zoning division to ensure the location you want to use as your dealership meets all local zoning requirements for an Louisiana Dealers license. Applicants should contact their local city or county office to ensure compliance with local zoning ordinances.
The dealer shall conduct business in a building on the same property as the display lot. If the dealer is a used car broker, and will not display an inventory of vehicles for sale, the requirements of this rule for an established place of business shall still be met, with the eception of the display area for vehicles. That would be for brokers. All sales activity must take place at the lot, you cannot sell vehicles away from the lot unless you are selling vehicles at a dealer auction

You must also have also have installed and maintain a working land line telephone whose number shall be listed in the licensee's trade name, the same as that which is listed in the application and in any advertising. The phone must be listed with Nationwide Directory Assistance (411) You must also erect and maintain a permanent sign. The sign shall list the trade name of the dealer, the same as that which is listed in the application and in any advertisement by the dealer. If the telephone number is listed on the sign, it shall be the phone number listed in the application and in any advertisement by the dealer.

The sign must be professionally designed on permanent material, and the lettering applied on the sign shall be a minimum of 16 square feet. At least one sign must be located and positioned to be clearly visible to consumers from the street.

Step 3 Zoning Verification
The State of Louisiana wants to make sure your building is zoned for an automobile dealership before you are granted a Louisiana Dealer license so you must submit Zoning Verification form
Just go to www. www.lumvclouisiana.gov , click on dealers, then forms and requirements,


Step 5- 4 Hour License Class
Louisiana State law requires any person obtaining a Louisiana dealers license for the first time to attend a 4 hour pre-license class.

Here is the online registration form for the 4 hour class which can be found at www.lumvc.louisiana.gov

Step 5-Complete Application
The final step you need to do to obtain an Louisiana dealers license is to complete an Louisiana dealer license application in it’s entirety.
If you make mistakes on the application it will be returned, so you want to spend some time and ensure there are not mistakes on the application.
A separate application must be submitted for each type of license, entity change, change location or name change, branch or subsequent dealer license.
If there is a change in business entity, after you become a licensed dealer, a new application must be submitted with all applicable paperwork, including a new bond and a new dealer license number will be assigned.
You can download your application at the www.sos.ga.gov, lets take a look at an Louisiana dealers license application: once again I want to magnify the screen shots and once again you will have a brief respite from looking at my head.

Once you obtain your Louisiana dealers license you must display the license prominently, you are going to work hard to obtain your Louisiana dealers license, you are going to be proud when you obtain your Louisiana dealers license, Louisiana law requires that you display your dealers license prominently when it is granted, don’t shuve it in some desk drawer, or lock in in a vault, frame your official Louisiana dealers license and display it on the wall, all Louisiana dealers licenses must be displayed prominently

Be sure to include the following documents with your Louisiana dealer license application:
Completed Application
Salesperson Application(s)
Surety Bond
Garage Liability Insurance
Zoning Verification Form
Picture of Sign
Business Phone
Fees
Then you will mail your dealer application to the following address
Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission
3132 Valley Creek Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

www.lumvc.louisiana.gov
If you have questions you can call the Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission at
225-925-3870
When you submit your application correctly you should receive your Louisiana Dealers license in about 15 days.

I also want to show you this Louisiana Compliance Investigator map with all the contact information for your local compliance officers, these officers are a wealth of information for any dealer in Louisiana

Louisiana Law requires that all dealers license are displayed prominently, you are going to work hard to obtain your dealers license, you are going to be proud when you receive your Louisiana dealers license, so don’t throw the dealers license in the back of some drawer or lock it in a vault, display your dealers license prominently,
Louisiana Dealer License

To find out how to get an Louisiana Dealer License, you can call the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles at 1-877-368-5463 or you can write:

Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles
P.O. Box 64886
Baton Rouge, LA 70896

Download step by step instructions to obtain a Louisiana Dealer License
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Louisiana Dealer License Renewal Instructions

Good Luck In Obtaining Your Louisiana Dealer License!