How much does an OMVIC licence cost? Every OMVIC fee for Ontario dealers in 2026

“How much does an OMVIC licence cost?” is one of the first questions every would-be Ontario dealer asks — and the answer that floats around online is usually wrong, out of date, or quietly leaves out half the fees. Here's the complete picture with the current 2026 numbers, pulled straight from OMVIC's official fee schedule (effective May 1, 2026), plus the real-world costs the schedule doesn't list.

The one-time cost to get registered

In Ontario you don't buy a “dealer licence” from the government — you register with OMVIC, the regulator for all vehicle dealers and salespeople under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act. Three costs stand between you and that registration:

• Automotive Certification Course — about $286.08. A mandatory course delivered through Georgian College that everyone being registered must pass. It's paid to the course provider, not OMVIC, so it doesn't appear on the fee schedule — but you can't register without it.
• New dealer registration — $699. OMVIC's application fee for a new dealership (or reapplying more than 60 days after expiry).
• Compensation Fund payment — $324. A one-time payment into the Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund, the industry-financed pool that can pay a consumer up to $45,000 if a deal with a registered dealer goes wrong. It's also a genuine selling point against private sellers, who offer buyers no such protection.

That's roughly $1,309 for a one-person dealership. Add a salesperson and it climbs.

Salesperson fees

Every salesperson — including you, if you'll be selling — needs their own registration, and each must pass the certification course too:

• New salesperson — $349 (also the fee to reapply more than 60 days after expiry);
• Salesperson change — $119;
• Outside-Ontario salesperson — $234.

What you pay every year (and every deal)

Registration isn't a one-time purchase — it's a subscription to being allowed to trade. The recurring costs:

• Dealer renewal — $401 per year.
• Salesperson renewal — $209 every two years.
• Continuing education (REVS) — $99. Annually for dealers, every two years for salespeople. It's mandatory to keep your registration active.
• Transaction fee — $22.00 per vehicle sold or leased. This is the one that scales with your business. Sell 200 cars a year and that's $4,400 in OMVIC transaction fees alone.

One trap worth flagging: if you intend to collect that $22 from the buyer, it has to sit inside your all-in advertised price, not appear as a surprise at the desk — the same rule that governs every other fee. We cover exactly how that works in the all-in price advertising guide.

Late fees and other charges

Let your registration lapse and it gets more expensive fast. Reapplying within 60 days of expiry adds a $307 late fee for dealers or $153 for salespeople, on top of the renewal. Other schedule items you may hit: a dealership classification change ($338), an outside-Ontario dealer registration ($338), and branch fees ($338 to apply, $401 a year to renew) if you run more than one location.

The costs the fee schedule doesn't show

OMVIC's fees are the smallest part of what it actually costs to open a lot. Before you sell a car you'll also spend on:

• Premises — a commercial location zoned for vehicle sales that OMVIC can inspect (a residential driveway doesn't qualify);
• Garage/dealer plates, insurance, and garage registration for the location;
• Inventory and floor-plan financing;
• Per-car operating costs — safety certification, reconditioning, auction fees, and a UVIP when you buy from a private seller;
• Administrative time — the paperwork on every deal, which most new dealers badly underestimate.

Quick reference: 2026 OMVIC fees

Fees change — OMVIC raised most of them in recent years — so always confirm the current numbers on the official fee page before you budget.

Where the real money goes: the paperwork

Once you're registered, the recurring cost that actually eats your margin isn't the $22 transaction fee — it's the hours each deal takes. Every sale needs a bill of sale with itemized fees, the written disclosures, a garage-register entry, lien checks, and a delivery record, all kept for six years. That's the problem Lot Jacket was built for: an AI-powered deal jacket for independent Ontario dealers that scans documents into the right deal, preps the bill of sale for e-sign, and keeps every file audit-ready from your first sale.

Working out whether the numbers add up for a new lot? Book a free 15-minute demo and bring a real deal, or read the full path in how to become a licensed used-car dealer in Ontario.