Understanding the Buyer's Order Following FTC Advertising Guidance

June 22, 2026 | Pennsylvania Automotive Association

PAA: Understanding the Buyer’s Order Following FTC Advertising Guidance

As dealers seek to comply with recent FTC advertising guidance, questions have been raised regarding how the documentary fee should be disclosed on a buyer’s order.

The FTC has indicated that they intend to aggressively enforce Section 5 of the FTC Act and has provided direction to the industry through the warning letters and subsequent NADA webinars. The FTC warning letter is available online at: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/AutoWarningLetter.pdf

The FTC’s focus is on dealer advertising and transparency. In addition to standard advertising channels, this includes websites, social, BDC responses, oral representation on the lot, and pricing information used by salespeople to respond to calls/texts.

The most prominent price in all advertisements must be the all-in price (everything except for government fees). This must be the out-the-door price at which any consumer can purchase the vehicle. Documentary fees must be included.

The purpose of the buyer’s order is to serve as the contract between the dealer and the customer for a vehicle purchase.

If the advertisement includes a clear disclosure that the total price includes an amount certain documentary fee (maximum $490 in 2026), there is no change to the way a buyer’s order is completed today. On the buyer’s order, the documentary fee is separately itemized and non-taxable/”below the line”. It cannot be pre-printed on the buyer’s order.

When completing the buyer’s order, dealers must consider what is a taxable item. Pennsylvania documentary fees are not subject to sales tax.

Dealers should begin calculating the buyer’s order with the taxable selling price of the vehicle. Rebates and trade-in values are deducted and extended warranties and accessories are added, to arrive at the total taxable amount due.

Pennsylvania taxes are then calculated. The dealer must clearly explain charges to the purchaser and itemize charges on the buyer’s order.

All fees must be separated and may only be charged if actually incurred (i.e. a notary or messenger fee may be charged and itemized, but only if a messenger service or notary was used.)

In Pennsylvania, the documentary fee:

• can be a maximum fee of $409 for processing titlework manually in 2026 ($490 if dealers perform on-line registrations);
• is not taxable;
• is a negotiable item, so the actual dollar amount may not be pre-printed on the buyer’s order; and
• is a dealer-imposed charge, not a state-mandated fee.

If a dealership’s documentary fee exceeds the permissible charge, the Attorney General’s Office may consider it to be deceptive, as to what services are being performed, and may find it subject to enforcement action.

The dealer should remind the customer that completing the buyer’s order, including the customer and dealer signatures, documents the sale’s terms and constitutes a binding contract.

Recording of PAA Webinar Available Online

On May 12, PAA hosted a webinar to address dealer questions regarding the FTC’s Advertising Guidance. The recording of the webinar is available online at: https://www.paa.org/webinars

Dealers continue to question when they should begin complying with the new guidance. The FTC has indicated that they can enforce the guidance under existing law and that dealers should immediately comply to avoid enforcement action.