Learn How to Get a Missouri Dealer License at your Home!
The State of Missouri is one of the only states in the United States that will allow you to have a dealer license at your home but there are some requirements that you will need to be aware of.
Most states strictly prohibit you from having a dealer license at your home residence. Many state laws clearly prohibit you from having a used motor vehicle dealer license at a residential address. But Missouri does allow you to have a dealer license at your home as long as you can meet local zoning laws and ensure the State of Missouri that your display lot is not a driveway.
Most cities in Missouri, such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Kirksville, St. Joseph, Cape Girardeau and other large cities will not normally allow a dealer license at a residential address. If you live in a commercial district in your city, it may be possible but you still must meet local zoning laws.
The first thing to be aware of is that in order to have a Missouri Dealer License at your home, you must meet all local zoning laws. You can easily find out your city zoning laws by contacting your City Hall and ask for Planning and Zoning or whatever office has oversight over your city zoning laws. If you are in a rural area, you can contact your County Courthouse to find out your local zoning laws. When you reach out to them let them know the address of your home and whether or not you can have a dealers license at that location. They may say "Yes your property is zoned for a dealer license." Or they may say "Absolutely Not! Your home is not zoned for the operation of a dealership."
The law in Missouri is very clear, Missouri dealers must operate out of a building that is zoned to allow the sale of used motor vehicles.
Many counties in Missouri have not zoning whatsoever. If your county does not have any type of zoning, you should be allowed to have a dealer license at your home.
I started in this incredible industry by obtaining my dealer license at my home. I lived in a Missouri county that did not have any zoning laws. Many of Missouri's rural counties have no zoning whatsoever. I had an outbuilding on the same property as my home and placed my sign on the outbuilding. I also had a small gravel display lot that was not part of my driveway. You could drive to the outbuilding from the same driveway to may home, but I had an area off to the side of the driveway that qualified as my lot.
Your display lot can not be part of a driveway and it must be a hard surface such as gravel or pavement. Your official Missouri dealer lot cannot be grass.
The State of Missouri requires a lot, sign, and building. Missouri law requires your customers to be able to see the lot and the sign from the nearest roadway but not the building. In some scenarios I have seen Missouri property owners that have placed a small sign and small lot at the entrance to the property but the building can be down a long driveway and does not have to be seen from the road.
Missouri law requires that you can see the sign and lot from the nearest roadway, but not the building!
No matter what, you must meet local zoning.
You might want to obtain a Missouri dealer license at your home and then find a location with higher traffic at a future date. However, with the explosion of online marketing for dealers you may decide that it is best to have a dealer license at your home for many years due to the cost effective nature of having a dealer license at your home.
I am here to help you
start and run your Missouri Dealership!
Thank you very much, Delus Johnson-Missouri
Dealer Seminars