Michigan Licensing Requirements
 | Buying for personal use in Michigan?Without business licenses, private individuals buying in Michigan may purchase clean titled items on their own but will need to go through a Broker for all salvage titled vehicles, as well as boats, jet skis and snowmobiles.
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In Michigan, dealers, dismantlers, general business and exporters will need to provide Copart an operational license, a sales tax license and sales tax exemption forms.
Operational licenses issued by the Michigan Department of State are grouped into three categories: dealer, dismantler and business. Dealer licenses are as follows:
- Class A – New Vehicle Dealer
- Class B – Used or Secondhand Vehicle Dealer
- Class D – Broker
- Class W – Wholesaler
Dismantler licenses include Class C – Used or Secondhand Vehicle Parts Dealer and Class R – Recycler licenses. The Motor Vehicle Repair Facility Registration is an acceptable business license, along with a municipality-issued business license or license certificate.
A signed Buyer Identification Card, known simply as a BID Card or the Class S – Salvage Vehicle Agent License, is also needed when buying salvage vehicles in Michigan.
Don’t forget to get your sales tax license, too, issued by the Michigan Department of Treasury. Wholesalers may submit the Sales & Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (Form 3372) in place of the sales tax license.
These links provide the forms and information you need to get started with licensing and BID Cards:
- MI Bid Card Application
- MI Auto-related Licensing Information
- MI Department of State
- MI Department of Treasury
Additionally, please complete the following forms and submit them to our Licensing Department via our License Uploader. These documents will be processed within one to two business days of receipt. Click here to watch a tutorial video on how to use the License Uploader.
How to Buy
By meeting the necessary licensing requirements, you’ll have a head start on buying vehicles at Copart.
Now it’s time to start making your way through the rest of the buying process. Follow the steps below (and also described in our How to Buy section), and you’ll be a Copart pro before you know it.
