Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual

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Section 4 of 38

Chapter 3: Collection and Payment of Fees and Penalties

3.030 Dealer’s Document Preparation and Electronic Filing Service Fee

Chapter 3 Collection and Payment of Fees and Penalties

3.030 Dealer’s Document Preparation and Electronic Filing Service Fee (VC §§ 4456.5 and 11713.1)

A dealer may charge the purchaser or lessee of a vehicle the following charges:

  • A document processing charge for the preparation and processing of documents, disclosures, titling, registration, and information security obligations imposed by state and federal law. The dealer document processing charge shall not be represented as a governmental fee.

The following rules apply when collecting fees from buyers:

  • If a dealer has a contractual agreement with DMV to be a private industry partner pursuant to Section 1685, the document processing charge shall not exceed eighty-five dollars ($85).
  • If a dealer does not have a contractual agreement with DMV to be a private industry partner pursuant to §1685, the document processing charge shall not exceed seventy dollars ($70).
  • A dealer may not charge an electronic filing fee to the purchaser or lessor if the dealer uses a registration service to complete the electronic filing process.
  • A dealer may not collect, or must immediately refund, an electronic filing fee to the purchaser or lessor if the dealer is unable to complete the transaction electronically for any reason.

This fee is not required or collected by DMV and it is unlawful to represent this charge as a governmental fee.