Practical guides on OMVIC-ready deal files, dealer software, and running the paperwork side of an independent Ontario used-car lot.
The UVIP includes lien information, but OMVIC's trade-in and wholesale guidelines don't require a lien search. Here's when a UVIP is enough, when it isn't, and how to run a PPSR search yourself.
Buying softwareDealerpull is a full DMS/CRM built to run a whole store — sales pipeline, service shop, inventory feeds. Lot Jacket is built for one job: the deal jacket. Here's the honest comparison.
ComplianceA wholesaler can operate from a dwelling and can't sell to the public. An exporter needs commercial premises and can buy from the public. Here's what each registration class permits, sourced from OMVIC.
OperationsEvery trade-in has a required set of contract disclosures under Regulation 333/08 — owner, VIN, odometer, credit given, and any loan you agreed to pay out. Here's the full list.
ComplianceOMVIC prescribes the exact as-is statement, its font size, and the purchaser's initials — and bars as-is sales when a current safety standards certificate exists. Here's the rule.
ComplianceOntario registered dealers must keep records for six years at a location approved by the Registrar. Here's what that covers, whether electronic-only is allowed, and what to tell the Registrar.
Buyer's guideWhat independent car dealer software has to do in Ontario in 2026: OMVIC and MVDA requirements, legacy vs. cloud, AI document capture, cost, and how to evaluate it.
OperationsThe spreadsheet is free, familiar, and yours. That's exactly why switching feels risky. Here's an honest look at what migrating a small Ontario lot's records actually involves — and what it doesn't.
OperationsNot fraud. Not theft. Just HST calculated by hand across too many documents, commissions tracked in someone's memory, and a ledger that lives in three places at once. Here's why small-lot bookkeeping quietly drifts — and what it costs at month-end.
OperationsTexts for documents, a spreadsheet for inventory, email for financing, a banking app for the money, a folder for the file. It works — until it doesn't. Here's the real cost of the stitched-together small-dealer stack.
OperationsA single deal's VIN, customer name, and price get typed by hand into four or five different places on most small lots. Here's why that repetition — not carelessness — is where transposed digits and HST mistakes actually come from.
ComplianceA driver's licence photo texted to a personal phone. A signed disclosure emailed as a PDF. A deposit screenshotted from a banking app. Individually convenient, together a privacy and compliance problem few dealers have actually mapped out.
OperationsBuying at a US auction? CBP requires the title 72 hours before the car leaves the country — original plus two complete copies, and a lienholder letter if there's a recorded lien. Miss it and the car doesn't cross.
TaxTwo routes zero-rate an export sale, and only one of them works for an individual buyer. The difference is who puts the car on the carrier. Here's the rule, the proof of export CRA wants, and the trap.
ComplianceSection 51 of O. Reg. 333/08 bars a dealer from exporting a vehicle it doesn't own. Export sales are retail sales, the Compensation Fund doesn't cover the buyer, and only one registration class can sell.
Buying softwareFounding plans trade early risk for permanent pricing. Here's how to evaluate one from any software vendor — the seven questions to ask — and exactly what Lot Jacket's 15 founding spots include.
OperationsEvery deal gets typed two or three times. Here's what OCR and AI extraction actually do with dealer documents, where they fail, and what a mistyped VIN costs an Ontario dealer.
ComplianceOntario dealers must keep a garage register of every used vehicle bought and sold under the Highway Traffic Act. Here's what to record, where to get the MTO PDF, and how to keep it electronically.
ComplianceElectronic signatures and electronic deal records are legal for Ontario dealers. Here's what the Electronic Commerce Act and OMVIC's own guideline require — and the three things that still need ink.
ComplianceEvery registered Ontario dealer gets inspected. Here's what triggers an OMVIC inspection, what records the inspector reviews, your obligations under the MVDA, and how to be audit-ready before they arrive.
ComplianceA compliant Ontario dealer bill of sale must show the all-in price with fees itemized, identify the vehicle, be signed and dated, and carry every mandatory MVDA disclosure. Here's the full checklist for 2026.
ComplianceYes, Ontario dealers can charge a documentation or admin fee — there's no legal cap. But it must sit inside your advertised all-in price and be itemized on the bill of sale. Here's how to charge it correctly.
Getting startedWhat the Ontario UVIP (used car package) is, what's inside it, when a dealer needs one, the $20 cost, and how it differs from your own mandatory disclosures.
Getting startedEvery OMVIC fee in one place: the $699 dealer registration, $324 compensation fund, $286 course, $349 per salesperson, $22 per deal, and yearly renewals — with the real startup total.
Buyer's guideHow a small independent Ontario used-car dealer should choose a DMS in 2026 — the six things that actually matter, and an honest look at the options.
ComplianceThe documents Ontario used-car dealers must keep in every deal file under the MVDA — with the six-year retention rule, disclosure requirements, and sources.
ComplianceOntario's all-in price rule and mandatory disclosures, explained for dealers: what must be in the advertised price, the $3,000 accident line, and as-is ads.
OperationsOntario dealers must keep every deal record for six years. Here's what the paper binder really costs — and what OMVIC actually accepts for digital records.
Getting startedThe full path to an OMVIC dealer registration in 2026: the certification course, the application, real fees ($699 registration, $286 course), and ongoing rules.