SB 766 (Chapter 354, Statutes of 2025), Civil Code Title 1.5B and Vehicle Code 11709.2

SB 766 total price advertising rules for California dealers

SB 766 total price advertising from 1 October 2026: what total price includes, where it must appear, rebates, markups, first replies and sold listings.

Updated 4 September 2026 · 9 min read · Written from the public text of the law; sources at the end.

From 1 October 2026, every California dealer advertisement that names a specific vehicle, or states any dollar amount or financing term for one, must show the vehicle's total price, and so must the dealer's first written reply to a customer about that vehicle. "Total price" is defined in Civil Code 1784.31(j) as the full sale price minus only taxes and the government and dealer charges listed in Vehicle Code 11713.1(e). It includes dealer markups and anything already installed on the vehicle, and it cannot be shown net of a rebate.

These rules come from SB 766, the California Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act (Chapter 354, Statutes of 2025). Unlike the three-day right to cancel, they apply to new and used vehicles at any price.

What "total price" means

Civil Code 1784.31(j):

(1) "Total price" means the total sale price of a vehicle, excluding the taxes, fees, and charges described in subdivision (e) of Section 11713.1 of the Vehicle Code. (2) "Total price" includes any dealer price adjustment and the cost of any item installed on the vehicle at the time of the advertisement or communication. (3) "Total price" does not include any deduction for a rebate.

Vehicle Code 11713.1(e) is the long-standing rule that a dealer may not fail to sell a vehicle at its advertised total price while it remains unsold. The charges it allows a dealer to leave out of an advertised price are: taxes, vehicle registration fees, the California tire fee, the state fee for a certificate of compliance or noncompliance, finance charges, mobilehome escrow fees and local mobilehome fees or taxes, a dealer document processing charge, an electronic registration or transfer charge, and a charge for emission testing not exceeding $50 plus the actual certificate fees under Health and Safety Code 44060. Everything else the buyer pays for the vehicle is inside the total price.

Item	In the total price?
Base selling price of the vehicle	Yes
Dealer markup, "market adjustment" or any other dealer price adjustment	Yes (1784.31(j)(2))
Accessories or protection products already installed when the ad runs (wheel locks, alarm, paint or fabric protection, nitrogen fill)	Yes (1784.31(j)(2))
Reconditioning or certification charges built into the price	Yes, they are part of the sale price
Manufacturer or other rebate	Not deducted (1784.31(j)(3)); may be shown separately
Sales tax	Excluded (11713.1(e))
Registration, transfer, title and license fees; California tire fee	Excluded (11713.1(e))
Document processing charge; electronic registration or transfer charge	Excluded (11713.1(e))
Smog certificate fee and emission testing charge up to $50 plus certificate fees	Excluded (11713.1(e))
Finance charges	Excluded (11713.1(e))
Optional add-ons offered at the desk but not installed	Not part of the total price; they are add-ons subject to 1784.41(b) and 1784.42

Civil Code 1784.41(f) says the total price rule does not modify the advertising requirements in Vehicle Code 11713.1 or 11713.16, and adds: "This includes, but is not limited to, the advertisement or communication of rebates and incentives that are disclosed separately from a vehicle's total price." So the existing advertising code stays in force alongside the new definition.

Where the total price must appear

Civil Code 1784.41(a) lists three places:

(1) In any advertisement that references a specific vehicle for sale. (2) In any advertisement that represents any monetary amount or financing term for a specific vehicle. (3) In the first written communication with a consumer that includes a reference regarding a specific vehicle for sale, or any monetary amount or financing term for any vehicle.

For the first written communication, two more rules apply:

(A) The total price for the vehicle shall be disclosed at least once in the dealer's first response regarding that specific vehicle to the consumer. (B) A dealer shall retain a copy of the communication identified by this paragraph for at least two years and shall provide a copy of the communication to the customer upon written request.

"Advertisement" is not limited to paid media. Civil Code 1784.44(a)(1) says it "includes internet-based listings that display a vehicle's total price, features, or financing terms disseminated by the dealer," which covers your website, third-party marketplaces fed from your inventory system, and social posts about a specific unit. A brand-level ad that names no specific vehicle and no amount is outside (a)(1) and (a)(2).

"Written communication" is not defined, but email, text message, website chat and a reply to a lead form are all writing. If a customer emails about a stock number and your first reply talks about the vehicle or quotes any payment, the total price goes in that reply. A phone call is not a written communication; the follow-up text after the call is.

The disclosure must be "clear and conspicuous" (the opening line of 1784.41). A price in the body of a listing in the same type as the description meets that; a price hidden in a disclaimer in smaller type does not.

Rebates, MSRP and dealer markups

Rebates. You may not advertise a price that has a rebate taken off it as the total price. You may show the rebate next to the total price, and if you do, Vehicle Code 11713.1(j) still requires it to be a specific dollar amount and an actual rebate from the manufacturer, distributor, an affiliated finance company, a regulated utility or a government body, paid directly to the retail buyer.

MSRP. The statute does not mention MSRP. Because total price "includes any dealer price adjustment", an advertised MSRP is only a valid total price when MSRP is the price you will actually sell at. A listing at MSRP with a markup added at the desk misstates the total price and, under Civil Code 1784.40(d), the vehicle's availability at the price communicated.

Installed items. The line is "installed on the vehicle at the time of the advertisement or communication." A product that is on the car when the ad runs is in the price. A product offered later is an add-on, and any written mention of it during the negotiation must say at least once that it is not required and the customer can buy the vehicle without it (1784.41(b)).

Availability and the 48-hour rule for sold vehicles

Civil Code 1784.40(d) makes it a violation to misrepresent "the availability of vehicles at a total price communicated by the dealer," and then gives a safe harbor:

A dealer is not in violation of this subdivision if the advertisement in question is withdrawn following the sale of the vehicle in compliance with subdivision (c) of Section 11713 of the Vehicle Code.

Vehicle Code 11713(c) is existing law, not something SB 766 created. It prohibits a dealer from failing, "within 48 hours, to withdraw in writing an advertisement of a vehicle that has been sold or withdrawn from sale." What SB 766 adds is a second consequence for missing the deadline: a stale listing at a price is now also a misrepresentation about availability under the CARS Act. Check that your inventory feed pushes removals to every marketplace within 48 hours of a sale, and keep the removal confirmation.

Add-ons and written payment quotes

The same section that fixes the total price also governs what you write during the negotiation:

Add-ons (1784.41(b)): every written representation about an add-on must say at least once that it is not required and the vehicle can be bought or leased without it. Give it in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Korean as well if the deal is negotiated primarily in that language.
Monthly payments (1784.41(c)): every written monthly payment figure must be accompanied at least once by the total the customer will pay over the term at that payment, and by any down payment or trade-in value the total assumes.
Payment comparisons (1784.41(d)): a written comparison that discusses lower monthly payments must say that lower payments often increase the total paid. An online payment calculator the customer adjusts is not a violation.
Worthless add-ons (1784.42(a)): you may not charge for an add-on the buyer cannot benefit from. The statute's own examples are nitrogen fills under 95 percent purity, products that provide no coverage for the vehicle, the consumer or the transaction, GAP that does not comply with Civil Code 2982, 2982.2 or 2982.12, a service contract void because of pre-existing conditions, oil changes for an electric vehicle, catalytic converter etching on a vehicle without one, and surface protection that voids the paint warranty.
Paying the provider (1784.42(b)): you must pay the add-on provider within 10 days of signing unless your agreement with the provider allows later payment without affecting the customer's coverage.

These disclosures may be combined into the pre-contract disclosure document already required by Civil Code 2982.2 (1784.41(e)). The sign and contract notices for the cancellation right are in /california-sb-766/sb-766-notice-wall-sign-contract-warning/.

Who the advertising rules cover

Every "dealer" (a licensed California dealer or a dealer under Vehicle Code 285) selling or leasing a "vehicle" (Vehicle Code 415). The exclusions in Civil Code 1784.31(f) take out wholesale sales, vehicles not required to be registered, fleet sales of more than one vehicle in a single business transaction, sales to commercial purchasers buying five or more vehicles a year from you for business use, and vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. Civil Code 1784.41(g) also takes used vehicles sold at auction out of the disclosure section.

There is no $50,000 ceiling on the advertising rules. A $90,000 used vehicle is outside the three-day right to cancel and inside the total price rule. For vehicles at $50,000 or less, the restocking fee is computed on the sale price, so the figure you advertise and write on the contract also drives the fee in /california-sb-766/sb-766-restocking-fee-mileage-refund/.

Advertising review before 1 October 2026

Pull every live listing (website, marketplaces, social, print) and confirm the displayed price equals the price you will write on the contract, before taxes and the 11713.1(e) charges.
Remove any "price after rebate", "price with financing through us" or "price with trade" figure shown as the price, or move the rebate and conditions to a separate line next to the total price.
Add any installed accessories or protection products to the advertised price, or remove them from the vehicle.
Rewrite lead-response templates so the first reply about a stock number includes the total price at least once, and so any payment quote carries the total-of-payments and the assumed down payment.
Add the "not required" sentence to every add-on menu, brochure and email template.
Confirm your inventory feed removes sold units from every syndication partner within 48 hours and produces a log.
Set your CRM to keep every first written communication for two years and to export a copy on request.

What to keep on file

Civil Code 1784.44(a)(1) requires records showing that your advertisements and communications met the total price rule, kept for two years from the date each is created. Interactive tools that let a customer adjust down payment, credit tier, rate or term are exempt, provided they do not alter or misrepresent the advertised total price. Paragraph (5) adds written inquiries and responses about advertised vehicles. In practice:

A dated archive of each listing as published (screenshots or feed exports) with the advertised total price.
The first written communication for each lead that names a vehicle or a figure.
Written inquiries about add-ons and your answers.
Feed removal logs showing sold units withdrawn within 48 hours.
Add-on menus and email templates as in use on each date.

The full two-, three- and seven-year retention table for a dealer's deal file is in /california-sb-766/sb-766-compliance-checklist-independent-dealers/. The cancellation right that applies to the vehicles you advertise at $50,000 or less is in /california-sb-766/sb-766-three-day-right-to-cancel/.

Frequently asked questions

What is the total price under SB 766?

The total sale price of the vehicle excluding only the taxes, fees and charges listed in Vehicle Code 11713.1(e), such as sales tax, registration and license fees, the tire fee, the document processing charge and the electronic filing charge. It includes any dealer price adjustment and any item installed on the vehicle when advertised, and it cannot be reduced by a rebate.

Where must the total price appear under SB 766?

In any advertisement that references a specific vehicle for sale, in any advertisement that states a monetary amount or financing term for a specific vehicle, and at least once in the dealer's first written response to a consumer about a specific vehicle or about any amount or financing term.

Can a dealer advertise a price net of a rebate under SB 766?

No. Civil Code 1784.31(j)(3) says total price does not include any deduction for a rebate. A rebate may be shown separately from the total price, subject to the existing rules in Vehicle Code 11713.1.

Does SB 766 total price apply to new cars?

Yes. The advertising and disclosure rules in Civil Code 1784.41 apply to every vehicle a dealer sells or leases at retail, new or used, at any price. Only the three-day right to cancel is limited to used vehicles at $50,000 or less.

How long does a dealer have to remove a sold vehicle listing?

48 hours. Vehicle Code 11713(c) already prohibits failing to withdraw, in writing, an advertisement of a vehicle that has been sold or withdrawn from sale within 48 hours, and Civil Code 1784.40(d) makes withdrawing the ad within that time a defense to an availability misrepresentation.

How long must dealers keep first written communications under SB 766?

At least two years, and the dealer must give the customer a copy on written request. Civil Code 1784.44 requires records showing that ads and communications met the total price rule to be kept for two years, including internet listings.

Template kit · PDF + CSV

CA Used-Car Cancel Notice Kit

For California used-car dealers selling vehicles at $50,000 or less. The SB 766 cancel notice, wall-sign wording, first-page contract warning, add-on and total-price checklist, and a sale log.

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Blank templates built from the public law. Not legal advice, and not a filled-in document.

Sources

This guide is general information written from public statutes and agency materials as of 4 September 2026. Laws and agency rules change, and agencies sometimes read a statute differently from its text. It is not legal, tax or customs advice for your situation. Check the sources above or ask a licensed professional before you rely on it.