Section 286.
Cal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 286.
in effectThe term “dealer” does not include any of the following:
(a)
Insurance companies, banks, finance companies, public officials, or any other person coming into possession of vehicles in the regular course of business, who sells vehicles under a contractual right or obligation, in performance of an official duty, or in authority of any court of law, if the sale is for the purpose of saving the seller from loss or pursuant to the authority of a court.
(b)
Persons who sell or distribute vehicles of a type subject to registration or trailers subject to identification pursuant to Section 5014.1 for a manufacturer to vehicle dealers licensed under this code, or who are employed by manufacturers or distributors to promote the sale of vehicles dealt in by those manufacturers or distributors. However, any of those persons who also sell vehicles at retail are vehicle dealers and are subject to this code.
(c)
Persons regularly employed as salespersons by vehicle dealers licensed under this code while acting within the scope of that employment.
(d)
Persons engaged exclusively in the bona fide business of exporting vehicles or of soliciting orders for the sale and delivery of vehicles outside the territorial limits of the United States, if no federal excise tax is legally payable or refundable on any of the transactions. Persons not engaged exclusively in the bona fide business of exporting vehicles, but who are engaged in the business of soliciting orders for the sale and delivery of vehicles, outside the territorial limits of the United States are exempt from licensure as dealers only if their sales of vehicles produce less than 10 percent of their total gross revenue from all business transacted.
(e)
Persons not engaged in the purchase or sale of vehicles as a business, who dispose of any vehicle acquired and used in good faith, for their own personal use, or for use in their business, and not for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of this code.
(f)
Persons who are engaged in the purchase, sale, or exchange of vehicles, other than motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, or trailers subject to identification under this code, that are not intended for use on the highways.
(g)
Persons temporarily retained as auctioneers solely for the purpose of disposing of vehicle stock inventories by means of public auction on behalf of the owners at the owners’ place of business, or as otherwise approved by the department, if intermediate physical possession or control of, or an ownership interest in, the inventory is not conveyed to the persons so retained.
(h)
Persons who are engaged exclusively in the business of purchasing, selling, servicing, or exchanging racing vehicles, parts for racing vehicles, and trailers designed and intended by the manufacturer to be used exclusively for carrying racing vehicles. For purposes of this subdivision, “racing vehicle” means a motor vehicle of a type used exclusively in a contest of speed or in a competitive trial of speed which is not intended for use on the highways.
(i)
A person who is a lessor.
(j)
A person who is a renter.
(k)
A salvage pool.
(
l
)
A yacht broker who is subject to the Yacht and Ship Brokers Act (Article 2 (commencing with Section 700) of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code) and who sells used boat trailers in conjunction with the sale of a vessel.
(m)
A licensed automobile dismantler who sells vehicles that have been reported for dismantling as provided in Section 11520.
(n)
The Director of Corrections when selling vehicles pursuant to Section 2813.5 of the Penal Code.
(o)
(1)
Any public or private nonprofit charitable, religious, or educational institution or organization that sells vehicles if all of the following conditions are met:
(A)
The institution or organization qualifies for state tax-exempt status under Section 23701d of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
(B)
The vehicles sold were donated to the nonprofit charitable, religious, or educational institution or organization.
(C)
The vehicles subject to retail sale meet all of the applicable equipment requirements of Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000) and are in compliance with emission control requirements as evidenced by the issuance of a certificate pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44015 of the Health and Safety Code. Under no circumstances may any institution or organization transfer the responsibility of obtaining a smog inspection certificate to the buyer of the vehicle.
(D)
The proceeds of the sale of the vehicles are retained by that institution or organization for its charitable, religious, or educational purposes.
(2)
An institution or organization described in paragraph (1) may sell vehicles on behalf of another institution or organization under the following conditions:
(A)
The nonselling institution or organization meets the requirements of paragraph (1).
(B)
The selling and nonselling institutions or organizations enter into a signed, written agreement pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 1660.
(C)
The selling institution or organization transfers the proceeds from the sale of each vehicle to the nonselling institution or organization within 45 days of the sale. All net proceeds transferred to the nonselling institution or organization shall clearly be identifiable to the sale of a specific vehicle. The selling institution or organization may retain a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of a particular vehicle. However, any retained proceeds shall be used by the selling institution or organization for its charitable, religious, or educational purposes.
(D)
At the time of transferring the proceeds, the selling institution or organization shall provide to the nonselling institution or organization, an itemized listing of the vehicles sold and the amount for which each vehicle was sold.
(E)
In the event the selling institution or organization cannot complete a retail sale of a particular vehicle, or if the vehicle cannot be transferred as a wholesale transaction to a dealer licensed under this code, the vehicle shall be returned to the nonselling institution or organization and the written agreement revised to reflect that return. Under no circumstances may a selling institution or organization transfer or donate the vehicle to a third party that is excluded from the definition of a dealer under this section.
(3)
An institution or organization described in this subdivision shall retain all records required to be retained pursuant to Section 1660.
(p)
A motor club, as defined in Section 12142 of the Insurance Code, that does not arrange or negotiate individual motor vehicle purchase transactions on behalf of its members but refers members to a new motor vehicle dealer for the purchase of a new motor vehicle and does not receive a fee from the dealer contingent upon the sale of the vehicle.
References
referencesCal. Harbors and Navigation Code - HNC § 700.
referencesCal. Penal Code - PEN § 2813.5.
referencesCal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23701d.
referencesCal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44015.
referencesCal. Insurance Code - INS § 12142.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 5014.1.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 11520.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 501.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 24000.
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 1660.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026