# California license plate: Dealer

> The California dealer license plate: format 99999, for example 123SBX4, documented since 2026, car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, and trailer.

Page: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--california/dealer · Markdown version of the HTML page, which is canonical. Site map: https://vehiclesdb.com/llms.txt · Terms of use: https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/terms

Part of [California license plates](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--california) (14 registration series).

![California (United States) license plate, Dealer (documented since 2026)](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/us-ca/us-ca-dealer/california-license-plate-dealer.svg)

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | `99999` (9 any digit) |
| Years | ~2026 → today (documented from 2026; the format is likely older) |
| Class | dealer |
| Issued for | car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer |
| Plate size | 12 × 6 in |
| Checking a registration | The format above is broad: a registration that fits it has the right shape, which does not show that this series issued it. |
| Series id | `us-ca-dealer` (https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/united-states--california/dealer) |

The digits are not a series at all: California prints the dealer's own DMV occupational licence number as the serial, so the plate literally names the business that holds it — and it moves freely between that firm's vehicles.

Sources:

- [VIRPM 2.090: plates bear the firm's licence number (VC § 11714); the § 11715 permitted-use and prohibited-use lists; additional sets and replacements via form OL 22](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2/general-information-licensees/special-dealer-manufacturer-remanufacturer-and-distributor-license-plates/)
- [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_California)

## Permitted use

VC § 11715 via VIRPM 2.090: special plates may be used on any vehicle owned or lawfully possessed by the licensee, including to tow or transport other vehicles, and by a dealer for delivery to a buyer where the sale is consummated at the place of delivery. They may NOT be used on work or service vehicles, on vehicles being moved under a DMV permit from a vessel/railroad depot/warehouse, on an unregistered vehicle transporting more than one load of vehicles for sale, or on a currently-registered dealer-owned vehicle whose former owner filed a release of liability and whose report of sale is displayed.

## Use it

- Plate image (SVG): https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/us-ca/us-ca-dealer.svg
- Make it with your own text: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plate-generator/california?series=us-ca-dealer
- API: `GET https://vehiclesdb.com/api/v1/plates/us-ca` returns this series as the entry with `"id": "us-ca-dealer"` (https://vehiclesdb.com/api)

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Open data, CC BY 4.0: reuse it with a visible credit to VehiclesDB and a link (https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/attribution). Plate images show sample serials and are not open data (https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/image-license). Dataset commit db0ec0a: https://github.com/vehiclesdb/vehiclesdb