DEALER PLATES
Dealer plates cost $12.00 each, plus a handling fee, with a five-plate maximum per dealer. You order them on the TC-301 — the same application, not a separate one — and you need the dealer license before you can hold plates at all.
The short answer
Dealer plates cost $12.00 each, plus a handling fee, and you can hold five at most. You order them on the plate section of the TC-301, along with an insurance declaration page covering the plates. Order them with your application — a later order takes 4–6 weeks. None of this is available until your dealer license exists.
Search "placas de dealer" and most of what comes back is about temporary tags — one throwaway permit for one buyer driving one car home. That's a different thing, and it matters that you don't confuse them.
A dealer plate is issued to your dealership and stays attached to your MVED dealer license for as long as that license is active. It moves between vehicles in your inventory as you need it. A temporary permit is issued for one vehicle at one sale, to get that specific car to its new owner, and then it's done. One is a standing asset of the business. The other is a one-time paper for one transaction. They solve different problems, and one does not substitute for the other.
Dealer plates aren't something you apply for on their own. They exist only because a dealer license exists — the plate section sits inside the TC-301, the same application that gets you licensed in the first place. If there's no license on file, MVED has nothing to attach a plate to. If you haven't filed yet, the TC-301 packet covers what the rest of that application needs.
Plates are ordered on the plate section of the TC-301 — not a separate form, not a separate trip. Alongside that section, you need an insurance declaration page that specifically covers the plates you're ordering. Without that declaration page, the plate section of your packet isn't complete, and it will come back to you.
Each plate runs $12.00, plus a handling fee. The full cost breakdown for licensing shows where that sits next to the bond, the course, and everything else you're paying for on the way to a license.
Utah caps dealer plates at five per dealer. That's a ceiling, not a number that grows as you sell more cars — there is no rule that adds plates per vehicle sold. Plan your operation around five, because five is what you have to work with, whether that's covering test drives, transport runs, or a car going in for inspection while another is on its way to a buyer.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cost per plate | $12.00, plus a handling fee |
| Plate maximum | 5 per dealer |
| Ordered on | TC-301 plate section, with an insurance declaration page |
| Ordered with your application | Ready alongside your license |
| Ordered after licensing | 4–6 weeks |
This is the one place worth being direct about what this page doesn't cover. What a dealer plate may and may not be used for — demo drives, personal errands, employee use, towing, and everything in between — is set by MVED, and this page isn't going to guess at it. Getting that wrong isn't a paperwork problem, it's a licensing problem. Before you use a plate any way you're not certain about, call MVED directly at 801-297-2600 and ask first.
Once a car is moving under a dealer plate, the title clock is already running underneath it, and it runs on one of two tracks depending on whether you issued a temporary permit. If you issued a temporary permit, you have 45 days to submit the title to the DMV. If you didn't issue one, you have 48 hours to get the title to the buyer — or 21 days if the buyer is a dealer or dismantler (UCA §41-3-301, effective 5/6/2026). The plate itself doesn't decide which track you're on, but the clock starts the moment the plate does its job and the car leaves your lot. If you're pulling inventory straight from Copart or IAA runs, that's usually the moment the clock matters most.
$12.00 per plate, plus a handling fee. Five is the maximum you can hold at once, so that's the most you'd pay in plate fees at any given time.
Five per dealer. That's the maximum — it doesn't grow with how many cars you sell, and there's no per-vehicle rule that adds to it.
If you order them on the plate section of your TC-301 application, they come through alongside the rest of your license. If you skip that section and order plates later, plan on 4–6 weeks.
A dealer plate belongs to the dealership and stays attached to the dealer license for as long as it's active. A temporary permit is issued for one vehicle at one sale, to get that car to its buyer. They're not interchangeable, and one doesn't cover for the other.
Yes. The plate section of the TC-301 requires an insurance declaration page covering the plates you're ordering. Without it, that part of your application isn't complete.
Permitted and prohibited uses of a dealer plate are set by MVED, not by this page. If you're not sure whether a specific use is allowed, call MVED at 801-297-2600 before you rely on a plate for it — misuse is a licensing issue, not just a paperwork one.
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