--- title: "How to Verify a California Auto Broker's License" canonical: "https://www.caroracle.com/article/how-to-verify-a-california-auto-broker-license" author: "Andrea Nanigian" datePublished: "2026-10-06T05:44:25.704Z" dateModified: "2026-10-06T06:30:36.104Z" licence: "CarOracle is a California-licensed auto broker, Lic. #43082." --- # How to Verify a California Auto Broker's License To verify a California auto broker's license, search the business in the California DMV's Occupational License Lookup under the Vehicle Dealer category. A California auto broker holds a vehicle dealer license with an autobroker's endorsement, and the record should show that license as Active under the same business name and address the broker gives you. The lookup does not display the endorsement itself, so confirm that part directly. The Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Insurance and the Department of Real Estate do not license auto brokers, and a search on their sites will not find one. Neither a city business license nor a Secretary of State filing is a dealer license. ## Start with the broker's website A California auto broker's advertising must identify it as an autobroker or auto buying service, so you will often find that designation on a broker's website, usually near the bottom of the page. Look for a license number nearby. Not every broker posts one, so a missing number is a reason to ask rather than a verdict. Ours, 43082, appears at the bottom of every page. ## How to search the DMV lookup 1. Open the DMV's [Occupational License Lookup](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/occupational-licensing/occupational-license-lookup/) and select **Search OLL**. 2. Under **Business Category**, choose **Vehicle Dealer**. There is no separate category for brokers. California does not issue a standalone broker license; brokering is an endorsement on a dealer license. 3. Fill in one search field: business name, address, city, ZIP code or license number. 4. Select the record to expand it. ![The California DMV Occupational License Lookup search form, with Vehicle Dealer selected and CarOracle entered as the business name.](https://www.caroracle.com/api/media/file/verify-license-fig1-search.png) ## What the record tells you The results row shows the business name, license number, address, phone number and license status. Expanding the record adds the owner, the dates the license was issued and expires, any administrative actions such as a suspension, probation or revocation, and the surety bond on file, with the bonding company and the bond's effective date. ![CarOracle L.L.C.'s record in the California DMV Occupational License Lookup, showing license 43082 with an Active status.](https://www.caroracle.com/api/media/file/verify-license-fig2-record.png) Check three things: - **Status.** It should read Active. - **Name.** The licensed business name should match the name on anything you are asked to sign. The name on a website is not always the name on the license. - **Address.** It should be an office. The DMV requires a dealer to keep an established place of business, not a temporary or mobile one. ## What the lookup leaves out The lookup does not show the autobroker's endorsement. We confirmed that on our own record, which carries one, on October 5, 2026. That gap matters, because a dealer license without the endorsement does not [authorize brokering a retail sale](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/occupational-licensing/occupational-licenses/vehicle-dealer-license/autobrokers-endorsement/). Ask to see the license itself. It will not use the word endorsement, so look for Broker: on ours, Vehicle Dealer appears at the top and Broker is listed among the line items on the right. If you want the answer from the DMV rather than from the broker, the DMV will print a licensee record for $5 or copy the licensee file for $20 through its [Request for Occupational Licensing Information](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/occupational-licensing/request-for-information/), form OL 100. ## If the broker does not appear Search by license number or by city instead of by name. The licensed business name can differ from the name a service uses on its website. If the record still does not appear, ask for the license number and the exact licensed name. A licensed dealer can give you both in seconds. ## What "licensed" means in California Clients sometimes ask us what the license actually means. In California it means a dealer license, and getting one is not a formality. For an independent dealer like us, it meant completing the DMV's [dealer education program](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-industry-services/occupational-licensing/occupational-licenses/vehicle-dealer-license/) and passing its dealer test, posting a surety bond, submitting Live Scan fingerprints so the DMV could vet each owner, and keeping an office that meets the DMV's place-of-business requirements. The DMV's [dealer bond form](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/04/ol25.pdf) sets the bond at $50,000. The autobroker's endorsement sits on top of the dealer license. Holding it costs money every year: the bond, the office, the renewals. Anyone can call themselves a car buying service without any of that. The license tells you the business has passed the DMV's test, carries a bond, has a public record anyone can check, and has had to learn the parts of the Vehicle Code that govern how a sale is structured. For more on the role itself, see [what an auto broker does](/article/what-is-an-auto-broker-why-should-you-use-one). Rules vary by state. Everything here is California. ## Dealers check, too Buyers are not the only ones who ask. When we work with a dealership for the first time, sales management often asks to see our license before discussing pricing or agreeing to hold a vehicle. That is a reasonable precaution. Plenty of people present themselves as brokers, and a dealer has no reason to spend a manager's time on a counterparty it cannot verify. In our experience, many stores will not discuss pricing or hold a unit for someone who cannot show a license. For a client, that is the license working on the other side of the transaction: it is what starts a serious conversation with the store. ## Can a licensed broker hold inventory? It can. The license would let us buy at dealer-only auctions and hold vehicles of our own, and we carry dealer plates. We choose not to hold inventory. A vehicle a dealer owns costs money every day it sits on a floor plan, and that cost pulls toward selling that particular vehicle. That does not make a broker who holds inventory biased. It does put the pull there. With no inventory, no vehicle of ours competes with the one a client wants. ## If you hire someone else Make it a California-licensed auto broker. A licensed broker holds a DMV dealer license, carries a bond, and has a record you can look up in two minutes. Whatever a service calls itself, find its dealer license number, on its website or by asking, and look it up before you agree to anything. The [four questions to ask any car buying service](/article/2026-california-guide-auto-buying-services-auto-brokers-and-how-to-choose) cover the rest. CarOracle is a California-licensed auto broker, License #43082, representing buyers and lessees in [San Diego](/auto-broker/san-diego), [Orange County](/auto-broker/orange-county), [Los Angeles](/auto-broker/los-angeles), [Riverside County](/auto-broker/riverside-county), the [Bay Area](/auto-broker/bay-area) and [Sacramento](/auto-broker/sacramento). Search CarOracle in the DMV's lookup and you will find the record shown above. Our [auto buying program](/auto-buying-program) explains how representation works. To talk through a specific purchase or lease, [schedule a complimentary 15-minute call](https://calendly.com/caroracle/15min?hide_gdpr_banner=1). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does California issue an auto broker license? Not a standalone one. Brokering a retail vehicle sale in California requires a vehicle dealer license with an autobroker's endorsement, both issued by the DMV. ### Where can I check whether a car broker is licensed in California? In the California DMV's Occupational License Lookup. Choose the Vehicle Dealer category and search by business name, city, ZIP code or license number. The record shows the license status, issue and expiration dates, any administrative actions and the bond on file. ### Does the DMV lookup show the autobroker's endorsement? No. As of October 5, 2026, the lookup shows the dealer license but not the endorsement. Ask to see the license itself and look for Broker among its line items; the word endorsement does not appear on it. Or request the licensee record from the DMV with form OL 100. ### Do auto brokers in California need a bond? A dealer licensed to broker retail sales posts a surety bond with the DMV, and the DMV's dealer bond form sets it at $50,000. The DMV lookup lists the bonding company and the bond's effective date. ### Is CarOracle licensed? Yes. CarOracle L.L.C. holds California dealer license 43082 with an autobroker's endorsement, and the DMV lookup shows the license as Active. --- CarOracle® is a California Licensed Auto Buying Service, Lic. #43082. All new cars arranged for sale are subject to price and availability from the selling franchised new car dealer.