1.3 Business Hours / By Appointment Only

Every dealer in California must post and maintain regular business hours. This isn’t optional — it’s a licensing requirement. Your posted business hours must be displayed at your established place of business in a location that’s visible to the public, even when your business is closed. That way, a customer or a DMV investigator who shows up outside your posted hours can see when you’re supposed to be open.
Now, “by appointment only” is a designation that some dealers use, and it comes with specific rules. If you operate by appointment only, you must still have posted hours during which you are available to schedule and conduct those appointments. You cannot simply have a lot full of cars with no indication of when someone can reach you. The by-appointment-only designation must be clearly displayed on your signage, and you must actually be responsive during your stated hours — meaning if someone calls during your posted hours to make an appointment, someone must answer or return that call promptly.
Here’s where dealers get tripped up: some dealers post hours of, say, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, but then they’re consistently not at the dealership during those hours. They might be out buying cars at auction, or running errands, or at another job entirely. If DMV shows up during your posted hours and nobody is there — and this happens more than once — that’s a violation that can lead to disciplinary action. DMV conducts unannounced visits, and they don’t call ahead.

⚠ Key Compliance Point
Your dealership must be open and staffed during your posted business hours. If you need to change your hours, update your signage first. For wholesale-only dealers who operate by appointment, you must still maintain posted hours and be available during those times. DMV requires a minimum number of posted business hours per week — check your license conditions for the specific requirement applicable to your dealer type.

❌ Common Mistake
A dealer posts “Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm” on the sign but routinely closes at 3pm on weekdays. A DMV investigator visits at 4pm on a Tuesday and finds the business closed. This is documented, and a follow-up visit finds the same result. The dealer now faces a formal accusation for failing to maintain posted business hours — a ground for license suspension or revocation.