WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS · UTAH DEALER SCHOOL
The fixed state and filing fees for one owner start at about $266. That number does not include the two costs nobody publishes: your bond premium and your lot. Here is every real fee in one place, and an honest answer on the ones that vary.
The short answer
Add up only the fees with a fixed number — the $127 application, $30 fingerprints, $49 course, about $59 for an LLC, and about $1 for the photo — and a single owner starts at roughly $266. That figure leaves out your bond premium, your insurance, dealer plates, and your lot, because none of those has one price that applies to everyone.
These are the only numbers with a real, fixed dollar amount attached. Everything else in this guide — the bond, the insurance, the lot — is real money too, but no honest number applies to every dealer.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| New/used vehicle or large trailer dealer application (TC-301) | $127 |
| Motorcycle / ATV / snowmobile / small trailer dealer application | $51 |
| BCI fingerprints, per owner | $30 state fee, plus whatever the printing location charges |
| 8-hour new dealer orientation course, per person | $49 |
| Utah LLC filing | about $59 |
| DBA (assumed name), if you use one | about $22 |
| EIN (federal) | free |
| Dealer plates, each (five max) | $12 plus a handling fee |
| Passport-style photo | about $1 |
| TC-305 salvage vehicle buyer license, if you buy salvage | $203 per year |
Add only the ones with an exact number, for one owner: $127 + $30 + $49 + $59 + $1 = $266. Treat that as a floor, not a total. It is the fixed fees only — it does not include your bond premium, your insurance, your plates, or your lot, and none of those are one-size numbers. Even the $266 climbs a little, because the $30 fingerprint fee is the state's portion and the place that rolls your prints charges its own fee on top.
This is the number that scares people off, and it's based on a misunderstanding. $75,000 is not a fee. It is not a deposit. It is not something you send to the state. It is the coverage amount of a surety bond — the ceiling the bond can pay out if you harm a customer or violate dealer law.
You buy the bond from a surety company and pay an annual premium, and the premium is what the surety quotes based on your credit and business history. We don't publish a premium figure here — it varies by applicant, and we don't have a verified number to give you. Anyone who quotes you a flat percentage or a round number before pulling your credit is guessing. The bond page covers the mechanics — the TC-450 form, who signs where, and what happens if it lapses.
The bond doesn't protect you. It protects the people you do business with — customers and the state — if you violate the law or a title doesn't come through. Whatever the surety pays out on a claim, you owe back.
Two more real costs land before your bond premium does, and neither one has a number attached either. Your location needs a permanent, enclosed office that isn't shared with another business, a permanent sign at least 24 square feet, and space to display at least three vehicles — all three contiguous, on the same lot. Whether that means a new sign, a fence line, or a full office build-out depends entirely on the property you start with, so there's no honest figure to give you here.
Insurance is the other one. Your dealer plates aren't issued on the application fee alone — you submit a garage liability insurance declaration page for the plates along with your TC-301, so coverage has to be in place before the plates come. Like the bond, that premium is an underwriter's quote based on you, not a posted price.
Every fee above the $127 application is per person, not per business. Every owner, partner, corporate officer, or LLC member needs their own fingerprint card ($30 state fee each) and is issued their own owner license, and each of them takes the 8-hour course too, at $49 each. Two partners on one LLC pay the course line and the fingerprint line twice. Salespeople are licensed separately from the dealer license and from the owners — plan for that cost too if you're hiring before you open.
The license itself expires June 30 every year, along with your plates and your bond — all three renew on that date. The LLC renews with the state for about $18 a year. A 3-hour annual renewal course is planned at $29, but it isn't available yet. If you buy salvage at auction, the TC-305 salvage buyer license runs $203 a year on top of everything else, and MVED only issues it once your dealer license is already on file.
You can see the state's own fee schedule directly at the Utah State Tax Commission, which publishes MVED's TC-300 instructions and fee table.
For one owner, the fixed fees start at about $266: $127 for the application, $30 for fingerprints, $49 for the course, roughly $59 for an LLC, and about $1 for a photo. On top of that, you'll pay a bond premium, insurance, dealer plates, and whatever your lot needs — none of which have a single number that fits every dealer.
No. $75,000 is the coverage amount, not a payment. You buy a surety bond and pay a yearly premium that a surety company quotes based on your credit and business history — a small fraction of $75,000, not the full amount.
It depends on your credit and business history, and it's quoted by the surety company underwriting your bond. We don't publish a premium figure because we don't have one that's true across applicants — the bond page explains what goes into the quote.
$12 each, plus a handling fee, with a five-plate maximum. Order them with your TC-301 application — if you don't, a later order takes 4–6 weeks. The plates guide covers how the order works.
Per person. It's $49 for each individual who needs it, and everyone who signs the bond — every owner, partner, corporate officer, or LLC member — has to take it before the license is issued.
Your license, plates, and bond all renew by June 30 each year. Your LLC renews separately with the state for about $18 a year. A 3-hour annual renewal course is planned at $29 but isn't available yet.
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