California is home to over 31 million vehicles and more than 24 million licensed drivers. The sale and use of cars in California has created diverse businesses that provide many services to meet the various needs of California drivers, including:

• Schools and Training such as driving schools, traffic violator schools, and safety training.
• Vehicle Industry Services such as dealers, dismantlers, manufacturers, and transporters.
• Certifications and Agreements such as employer testing programs and ignition interlock device programs.

To protect consumers, Occupational Licensing (OL) oversees the licensing, monitoring, and regulating of these and many other motor vehicle-related businesses and professions. You can apply for, renew, or update your OL online.

Vehicle industry service providers such as manufacturers, distributors, and salespeople are licensed, monitored, and regulated by Occupational Licensing (OL).  These businesses and professions include:

Occupational Licensing for the Vehicle Industry

Vehicle-related educational services such as schools and training are licensed, monitored, and regulated by Occupational Licensing (OL).  These businesses and professions include:

Occupational Licensing Schools & Training

Many vehicle-related businesses and service providers in California are certified, monitored, and regulated by Occupational Licensing (OL).  These businesses and professions include:

Occupational Licensing Certifications & Agreements

• New surety bonds and the accompanying Power of Attorney, must be submitted one of two ways:
  • Electronic Submission – Surety Companies and applicants/licensees may submit new surety bond information online, through their account portal. This is the preferred method of submission and has a shorter processing time.
  • By mail – Surety bonds may be submitted by mail to the Occupational Licensing address located in the top left corner of the surety bond form. When submitting by mail, it is required that the original form, with wet signature be submitted.

• Surety Companies may submit cancellations and reinstatements of surety bonds either by electronic submission or by mail.

Submitting the same surety bond information more than once may cause delays in processing. Please only submit once, either by submission through the account portal or by mail.

• A valid surety bond is required for many occupational license types. For these licenses, a valid surety bond must be maintained on the license record at all times to avoid cancellation of the occupational license.
  • Vehicle Dealers
  • Registration services
  • Driving School Owners
  • Remanufacturers
  • Vehicle Verifiers
  • Traffic Violator School Owners
  • ETP Participants
  • Lessor-Retailors

• A surety bond must be issued by a surety company authorized through the California Department of Insurance to provide surety bonds.
• An acceptable surety bond without needed corrections, must be received and processed by DMV Occupational Licensing Operations (OLO) prior to the effective date of the bond. Please allow ample time for processing, by submitting the new bond as soon as it has been obtained.
• A bond remains in effect until DMV receives a notice from the issuing Surety Company cancelling the bond or when a new surety bond is submitted for an existing license, at which point the prior bond would automatically be cancelled upon the effective date of the new bond.

• Surety bonds are not transferable. A surety bond cannot be transferred to another license or application, if it was already associated with an active OL license prior. OLO cannot return any bond that has been accepted for an active license.
• A lapse in surety bond coverage is not permitted. If purchasing a new bond to replace an existing surety bond for an active license, make sure that the effective date of the new surety bond does not create a lapse in coverage.  Any lapse in surety bond coverage would lead to a cancellation of the impacted license.
• DMV cannot recommend surety companies. You can locate surety (bonding) companies by checking the California Department of Insurance website.
• Be sure to renew or replace your existing bond promptly. You should receive notice from your surety company or insurance agent prior to the cancellation of surety bond. If you do not receive an invoice/renewal notice, contact your surety company or insurance agent.
• License renewal dates and bond effective dates rarely coincide. Be sure to know the dates for both.
• If you receive a bond cancellation notice, resolve the problem immediately.
• Keep accurate records on your agent, surety company, bond numbers, effective dates, and terms of the bonds.

Remember, it is ultimately the responsibility of the licensee to make sure the license is in compliance with the surety bond requirements. Failure to maintain continuous bond coverage will result in the license being cancelled. Any work performed under a cancelled license is considered to be unlicensed activity and may lead to disciplinary action against the licensee.

You’ll need a MyDMV account to access online services for Occupational Licensing. You can use the same MyDMV account you use to manage your driver’s license.

Tip: If you already have a MyDMV account, please make sure you use the same email address associated with that account when setting up your access to online services.

• Existing Occupational License holders: If you have a current Occupational License with California DMV, you’ll need to go through an identification verification process to connect to your Occupational License information. You’ll need your California Driver’s License/ID (if applicable), social security number, date of birth, and Occupational License number to complete this step.
• New applicants: If you don’t yet have an Occupational License with DMV, you will register as a new user.

Help and troubleshooting

• For help accessing online services, refer to the Occupational Licensing Get-Started Guide.
• If you are having issues verifying your identity to connect to your current Occupational License information, please double check that you are entering the information correctly in each field. You will have only five (5) chances to attempt the verification process. After five (5) failed attempts, you must call DMV for assistance setting up your access.
• If you continue to have technical issues or get locked out, contact technical support.

These online services are supported by the newest version of these browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari (iOS/OS X).

The Occupational License Lookup (OLL) is an online lookup tool used to verify the DMV license status of businesses across several categories.

Search OLL

Holding an occupational license shows that your vehicle industry service or business meets the standards set by California State law and the Vehicle Code. As part of the application process, OL inspectors will perform background verifications and physically inspect places of business for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Your business locations will be periodically reviewed for continued compliance.