Florida Wholesale Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond (VW)-- $25,000 Fla. Stat. 320.27 Bond

The VW license is one of five motor vehicle dealer classes under Fla. Stat. 320.27. It authorizes the holder to buy and sell motor vehicles dealer-to-dealer -- meaning the customer base is restricted to other licensed motor vehicle dealers. A VW dealer cannot sell to the retail public. The license is issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) Bureau of Dealer Services. The bond requirement is $25,000 on Form HSMV 86020, the same uniform amount that applies to the VF, VI, VA, and SD classes.

No. This is the defining limitation of the VW license. Fla. Stat. 320.27 restricts wholesale dealers to dealer-to-dealer transactions. Selling a vehicle to a retail consumer under a VW license is unlicensed retail activity and exposes the dealer to license revocation, administrative fines, and a bond claim for any consumer harm. A VW dealer who wants to sell to the public must upgrade to a VI (independent / used motor vehicle dealer) license. The two licenses cannot be combined in a single credential -- they are separate filings, separate bonds where the same surety covers them, and separate facility approvals.

The bond face amount is $25,000, fixed by Fla. Stat. 320.27(1)(c). The amount is the same across all five motor vehicle dealer classes (VF, VI, VW, VA, SD). The premium the principal pays -- the actual out-of-pocket cost -- is a small percentage of that face amount and is driven primarily by the principal’s personal credit. Annual premium typically ranges from $250 for excellent-credit applicants to $3,750 for substandard-credit submissions. The bond is filed on Form HSMV 86020 to the FLHSMV obligee.

Yes. Fla. Stat. 320.27(3) requires VF, VI, VW, and VA licensees to maintain garage liability insurance at $25,000 combined single-limit (bodily injury plus property damage) plus $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP). The VW license is not exempt from this requirement -- only the SD (salvage) class carries the statutory exemption. The certificate of insurance is filed with the license application and renewals. Lapsed coverage is an independent ground for license suspension under Fla. Stat. 320.27(9), separate from any bond issue.

Yes. Fla. Stat. 320.27(3) requires every motor vehicle dealer -- including wholesale -- to maintain a permanent, non-residential business location with an equipped office, exterior signage identifying the dealership, posted business hours, and a working telephone listed in the dealer’s name. Home-based applications are routinely denied. Shared offices and virtual addresses do not satisfy the permanent-location standard. The facility is inspected by FLHSMV before the license is issued. The display-area requirement is interpreted less rigidly for VW than for VI because the wholesale dealer is not customer-facing, but a physical office and signage are still mandatory.

Yes -- and this is the primary business reason many operators pursue the VW license rather than the VI (independent / used) credential. Manheim, ADESA, Copart’s dealer-only lanes, and most wholesale auctions restrict bidder access to licensed motor vehicle dealers. The VW license credentials the holder for buyer access on the same footing as a VI or VF dealer. The VW dealer can stock inventory from auctions, hold it briefly, and resell it to other licensed dealers -- the typical wholesaler flip model. Selling that auction-sourced inventory to a retail consumer remains prohibited under the VW class.

Under Fla. Stat. 320.27(4)(b), VW applicants complete an 8-hour FLHSMV-approved pre-licensing course on the VI/VW/VA/SD track -- the same combined curriculum used for independent, wholesale, auction, and salvage applicants. Franchise (VF) applicants take a separate 8-hour course. The provider must be FLHSMV-approved; certificates from unapproved providers are rejected regardless of curriculum content. The completion certificate is filed with the dealer license application (Form HSMV 86056). Continuing education is not statutorily mandated for VW dealers under the same biennial scheme that applies to VI dealers, although approved providers typically offer industry-aligned refresher content.

The VW license expires April 30 annually, on the same cycle as VI, VA, and SD licenses. (Only VF franchise licenses are on the December 31 cycle.) Renewals must be filed at least 30 days prior to expiration under Fla. Stat. 320.27. A late renewal filed within 45 days of expiration carries a $100 late fee; after 45 days, a full new application is required, including a fresh $300 application fee and a new background check. The annual renewal fee is $75, not the $300 initial application fee. The surety bond renews on the same April 30 cycle; the surety company will typically send a renewal premium notice 30-60 days before expiration.

The same statutory conditions that apply to VI and VF dealers apply to VW: failure to deliver clear title to the buying dealer, odometer fraud, failure to remit sales tax or registration fees collected on a sale, deceptive trade practices, and curbstoning or unlicensed activity. The wrinkle for VW is that the most catastrophic claim category is unlicensed retail activity itself -- a VW dealer caught selling to the retail public faces both a bond claim from the consumer and license revocation. Title-pipeline failures are also disproportionately common for wholesalers because vehicles change hands quickly and the title may not catch up before resale.

The VW dealer buys and sells inventory dealer-to-dealer, taking title to the vehicles it transacts. The VA license is for the entity that operates the auction venue itself -- the company running the lanes, the ring, and the bidder credentialing. A VA licensee does not typically take title to the inventory crossing its lanes; the auction is an intermediary venue. Bond amount is the same ($25,000 on Form HSMV 86020). The two licenses are commonly conflated by applicants who plan to "wholesale through auctions"; if you are buying and reselling, you need the VW. If you are operating the auction, you need the VA.

For applicants with strong credit, the $25,000 VW bond can be issued the same business day after the quote is bound -- many submissions clear automated underwriting in minutes. Substandard credit submissions typically take 1-2 business days because the file routes to a high-risk market and may require a personal financial statement or recent tax returns. The bond must be signed by the principal and carry the surety’s seal and power of attorney before it can be filed with the FLHSMV Bureau of Dealer Services alongside Form HSMV 86056 (the license application). License issuance after a complete filing typically runs 30-60 days, dominated by background checks and facility inspection.