How to Fill Out the Utah TC-301 Dealer License Application

What the TC-301 is, and how it connects to the TC-300, the bond, and the TC-305

The TC-301, formally the Bonded Motor Vehicle Business Application, is the paperwork MVED reviews to license you as a dealer. It doesn't stand alone: the TC-300 is the instructions and fee schedule, read it first, and the TC-450 bond is submitted with the TC-301, not separately. The TC-305 is a different license — the salvage vehicle buyer license, applied for only after your dealer license exists (more on that license here).

Before you file the TC-301

Two things need to already be true before the TC-301 goes in the envelope. First, everyone the application lists has completed the 8-hour dealer orientation. Second, your bond is already in hand (how much bond you need and how to get it). The TC-450 travels with the TC-301 in the same packet; you can't add the bond later.

What the TC-301 application costs

The fee depends on what you're licensed to sell, not on your business size. The full cost breakdown for licensing covers every fee in the packet — this is just the application fee itself.

Owners, officers, and who gets a license

Every owner, partner, corporate officer, or LLC member goes on the TC-301, and each is issued an owner license once approved — that's what gives them the right to sell under your business. Salespeople are different: anyone you hire who isn't an owner needs a separate license through MVED's salesperson packet, not the TC-301. Call MVED at 801-297-2600 if you're unsure which route someone needs.

Each owner listed on the application needs BCI fingerprints, at $30 each — $20 for the Western Identification Network background check and $10 for the Rapback subscription (UCA §41-3-205.5) — plus whatever the printing location charges on top of that.

Ordering dealer plates on the TC-301

The TC-301 has its own section for ordering dealer plates. Don't leave it blank just because you're not sure how many you'll need. Plates run $12 each plus a handling fee, five maximum, and you'll need to include an insurance declaration page for the plates with your packet. The plate section, explained end to end, covers exactly what goes in that part of the form.

The location the TC-301 commits you to

• A permanent, enclosed office that is not shared with another business
• A permanent sign of at least 24 square feet — painted on, permanently affixed, or cemented. A banner counts only if it is permanently affixed.
• A display area for at least 3 vehicles, denoted by a fence, chain, or similar barrier

All three have to be contiguous — the office, sign, and display area on the same lot, not spread across separate addresses. MVED sends an officer to inspect the lot against this list before your license is issued, so what you write on the TC-301 needs to match what's actually built when they show up.

The photo and the business filings you'll need

You'll also need a passport-style photo, about $1 at a pharmacy kiosk, and the paperwork that proves your business exists: a Utah LLC filing (about $59), a DBA filing if operating under an assumed name (about $22), and a federal EIN, which is free. Settle all three before filling out the TC-301 — their name and address are what everything else on the application has to match.

The exact-match rule — the reason applications actually get rejected

This is the part of the process that costs people the most time, and it isn't about the form. MVED matches your business name and address character for character across every document in the packet: the TC-301, the TC-450 bond, your registration, and your DBA if you have one. A mismatch as small as "Ste 8" versus "#8" gets the application rejected, and every rejection costs weeks, not days.

Here's what actually breaks it, in practice: an LLC suffix that's on one form and missing from another. A DBA that shows up on the business registration but not on the bond. A street type abbreviated one way on one document and spelled out on another. A suite number formatted differently from form to form.

The fix is mechanical, not clever. Write your business name and address down once — exactly as it appears on your state business registration — and copy that identical string onto every other document, the bond, the DBA, the TC-301, instead of retyping it from memory each time.

You can check exactly how a business name is on file with the state before you file anything: go to mvp.tax.utah.gov, choose MVED, and use "Search for a business license" — no login required. It's the same record MVED compares your TC-301 against, so it's worth five minutes before the packet goes in.

Common questions