How to Get a Dealer License in Kansas: Cost & Requirements

Last updated: August 18, 2026

The Kansas dealer licence is one of the cheapest in the country at $75 a year. The dealer plate is not. Your first auto or motorcycle tag costs $275.50 — nearly four times the licence itself — and that is the number most budgets miss. Behind it sits a $50,000 bond, a sign with ten-inch letters, and a renewal deadline in February that turns a late filing into a brand new application.

Five Sales Is the Line

Kansas gives you an actual number, which not every state does. You are a vehicle dealer if you sell five or more vehicles in a calendar year, or if you buy a vehicle intending to resell it at a profit — the intent test bites on the first car, not the fifth.

The exemption runs the other way: the isolated or occasional sale of a vehicle you owned is not doing business as a dealer. Selling your own car is fine. Buying cars to flip is dealing, whatever the count.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
New/used or used vehicle dealer licence	$75 per year	Same $75 for wholesale, salvage, auction, RV broker, recycler, rebuilder, crusher
First auto or motorcycle dealer plate	$275.50	The single largest line item
Each additional auto or motorcycle plate	$30.50
Manufactured home or trailer plates	$25.50 each
Full Use plates	$350.50 each	Optional; broader personal-use rights
Supplemental location	$35	Plus zoning permit and field approval for each
Salesperson licence	$25 per year	Transfer to a new dealer is $12
Lending agency licence	$50	First or second stage manufacturer is $225
Surety bond	$50,000	Or cash/negotiable bonds deposited with the State Treasurer
Kansas LLC	$85	Online filing, reduced February 2026; annual report $50 online

A dealer licensed as both new and used pays only one $75 fee for both licences, and a licensed dealer acting as a salesperson does not need a separate salesperson licence.

The February 15 Trap

Dealer licences expire December 31. That is not the deadline that hurts.

Under the statute, a renewal application received after February 15 is considered a new application — not a late renewal. That means the full original process again: zoning certification, fresh insurance certificate, credit references if you are a sole proprietor or partnership, tax clearance, county treasurer verification, and the six to eight weeks the Division asks you to allow for a new licence.

Salesperson licences run on their own clock: they expire June 30, and renewals received after July 15 are likewise treated as new applications.

What the Lot Has to Have

Kansas verifies the premises through paperwork rather than a state inspector, and each item has a document attached to it:

• An established place of business with proper zoning approval for the vehicles you are selling, certified and sealed by the zoning agent. If no zoning applies, the agent must still say so — any blank area voids the zoning certification.
• A sign in the business name with durable lettering at least ten inches high, easily visible from the street. If local zoning prohibits the sign, you need written verification from the zoning office instead. A photograph of the location with the sign goes in the file.
• An operable telephone listed in the business name with the phone company.
• A certificate of insurance covering the place of business and all inventory. Public liability and property damage cover is mandatory, and your insurer must send the certificate directly to the Division before the licence issues.
• A sales tax registration certificate, with the business name matching the name on it.
• County treasurer verification that you owe no personal property taxes.
• A Kansas tax clearance check.
• Three credit references on business letterhead — required if your entity is an individual sole proprietor or a partnership.

The insurance condition is continuing, not a one-off: the Division warns that the policy must stay in effect with no lapse or the licence may be revoked pending a dealer licence hearing. The same applies to the bond, and any change of business name, address, entity or owners means notifying your bond company.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Form the entity and register for sales tax — the dealership name must match the sales tax registration exactly.
2. Secure the location and get the zoning agent to complete, sign and seal the zoning certification.
3. Put up the sign in the business name with lettering at least ten inches high, then photograph the lot with it.
4. Get the phone line listed with the phone company in the business name.
5. Bind the $50,000 bond in the correct name for your entity type, with the power of attorney attached.
6. Arrange insurance on the premises and all inventory, and have the insurer send the certificate to the Division directly.
7. Collect the supporting documents: county treasurer verification, tax clearance, and three credit references if you are a sole proprietor or partnership.
8. File form D-17A with the $75 licence fee plus $275.50 for the first plate, and allow six to eight weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cars can I sell in Kansas without a dealer license?

Four. Selling five or more vehicles in a calendar year makes you a vehicle dealer under Kansas law, as does buying a vehicle with the intent to resell it for profit. The isolated or occasional sale of a vehicle you actually owned does not count as doing business as a dealer.

How much does a Kansas dealer license cost?

The license itself is $75 a year for a new/used, used, wholesale, salvage or auction dealer. The bigger number is the plate: the first auto or motorcycle dealer tag is $275.50, and each additional plate is $30.50. A supplemental location is $35 and a salesperson license is $25.

How much is the Kansas dealer bond?

$50,000. Kansas also lets you satisfy it by depositing cash or negotiable bonds of the United States or the State of Kansas with the State Treasurer instead of buying a surety bond. Manufacturers, distributors, factory branches, lending agencies and manufactured home dealers are exempt from bonding.

Do I need to take a course for a Kansas dealer license?

No. Kansas requires no pre-licensing course, seminar or exam for a vehicle dealer license. What it requires instead is documentation: zoning approval, a certificate of insurance, a tax clearance, verification from your county treasurer that you owe no personal property taxes, and for sole proprietors and partnerships, three credit references on business letterhead.

When does a Kansas dealer license expire?

December 31 each year for dealer licenses, and June 30 for salesperson licenses. The deadline that matters is later: a dealer renewal received after February 15 is treated as a new application rather than a renewal, which means starting the whole process over. For salespersons that cutoff is July 15.

Sources

Source	What it confirms
Kansas Division of Vehicles — Dealer Licensing	Licensing agency, place-of-business and zoning requirements, processing time
Form D-17A, Application for a Vehicle Dealer License	Fee table by licence type, plate fees, supplemental location fee, credit references, sign, insurance, bond
K.S.A. 8-2404	Licence fees, December 31 expiry, February 15 renewal cutoff, salesperson dates
Kansas Dealer and Salesperson Handbook	Five-vehicle threshold, dealer conduct and record rules