OMVIC's 2026 Offsite Trade Permit: what General-class dealers need before tent sales and auto shows

OMVIC’s December 23, 2025 dealer bulletin streamlined the Offsite Trade Permit process. As of January 1, 2026, General-class dealers apply individually through their portal account. The dollar terms and procedural detail are administrative; the underlying rule the permit answers to is older and unchanged: s. 28(4) of O. Reg. 333/08 prohibits a registered dealer from trading “except from a place authorized by the dealer’s registration.”

If a dealer wants to sell vehicles at a tent sale, an off-property event, the Canadian International Auto Show, or the Toronto Motorcycle and Powersports Show, the address of the venue is not on the dealer’s registration certificate. The Offsite Trade Permit is the Registrar’s mechanism for temporarily adding that address to the list of places the dealer is authorised to trade from, for the duration of the event.

The rule the permit answers to

s. 28(1) of O. Reg. 333/08 says the certificate of registration lists the places from which the dealer is authorised to trade. s. 28(4) puts that list to work: a dealer (other than one registered only as a broker) cannot trade anywhere else. The carve-outs in s. 28(5) are narrow: consignment trades through another registered dealer’s authorised place, auctions, and inter-dealer trades that happen at one of the participating dealers’ authorised places. A tent sale at a hotel parking lot is none of those.

The bulletin describes the consequence of getting this wrong in plain terms: “Trading motor vehicles outside of the approved location constitutes a violation under MVDA Section 28 of Ontario Regulation.”

s. 12 of O. Reg. 333/08 explains why a multi-location dealer still needs the permit. A dealer that trades from more than one place can be registered as only one motor vehicle dealer, but the registration lists every place. The Offsite Trade Permit extends the list, temporarily, to one more.

When you need a permit

The bulletin gives a clear scope. Any event where salespersons conduct trade on behalf of the dealership requires a permit:

• Individual shows and major auto shows, including the Canadian International Auto Show and the Toronto Motorcycle and Powersports Show.
• Tent sales.
• Off-property displays where consumers can sign a deal.

The triggering activity is trade. Displaying a vehicle at a community event without taking orders is a different question and the bulletin does not address it; trading from the venue is what the permit gates.

The bulletin is also explicit that this regime is for General-class dealers (the class defined in s. 18(1) paragraph 1 of O. Reg. 333/08). Wholesalers, brokers, exporters, outside Ontario dealers, lease finance dealers, and fleet lessors have different authorised-place rules. Brokers, for example, are carved out of s. 28(4) entirely because the broker model does not turn on a fixed place of business.

How the application works

The streamlined process puts the application in the dealer’s portal account. The bulletin sets four parameters:

1. Each dealer entity submits its own application. A multi-store group cannot apply once for everyone. If three corporate entities will sell at the same show, three permits are issued.
2. Apply at least two weeks before the event. “To ensure timely processing, Offsite Trade Applications must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event.”
3. The permit covers up to 30 consecutive days. Anything longer needs a separate registration of the location as an authorised place under s. 28(1) rather than a temporary permit.
4. The application includes supporting documents. A valid municipal permit to conduct trade at the location (where applicable), and a copy of the lease, rental agreement, or a letter from the event organiser made out in the dealership’s name.

The municipal permit requirement and the zoning requirement together pick up s. 28(9) of O. Reg. 333/08, which makes it a condition of registration that the dealer comply with every municipal by-law that applies to every place the dealer trades. The supporting-document requirement is OMVIC’s way of confirming that the dealer has actually arranged the offsite location lawfully, not just that the dealer plans to be there.

On-site rules at the event

Once the permit issues, the bulletin spells out what the dealer must do at the venue:

• Display the permit prominently. This is the on-site analogue to the s. 29(1) requirement to post the registration certificate at each authorised place.
• Label every vehicle on display with the selling dealer’s name. At a multi-dealer show, consumers must be able to tell which dealer they would be buying from before they ask.
• Identify both participating dealers and the organising entity in all advertising for the event. This pairs with the dealer-name signage rule and supports the registered-name rule in s. 30(1), which requires a sign displaying a registered name of the dealer at each place from which it trades.
• Every salesperson who interacts with customers must be currently registered with OMVIC. s. 4(1) and s. 4(3) of the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002 apply on the show floor the same way they apply at the registered premises. A non-registrant on the booth floor is the same compliance problem as a non-registrant on the showroom floor. The Maceka case and the Gran Turismo discipline decision are the recent reminders that the Registrar treats unregistered-salesperson cases as among the more serious breaches.

What changed on January 1, 2026

The substantive offsite-trade regime did not change. What changed is the entry point: each dealer applies through its own portal account rather than waiting for a centralised submission from a show organiser. That is OMVIC’s stated reason for the bulletin, and the only practical difference for a dealer that has run booths at the Canadian International Auto Show in past years is the location of the form.

The two-week processing window and the 30-day permit duration are not in O. Reg. 333/08; they are OMVIC’s administrative parameters under the streamlined process. A dealer planning a five-week tour through three counties cannot stretch one permit; the right structure is a separate application for each segment.

What to learn

• The default is that a dealer cannot trade outside its registered location. s. 28(4) of O. Reg. 333/08 is the rule. The Offsite Trade Permit is the Registrar’s mechanism for adding a temporary location to the list of authorised places under s. 28(1).
• Apply at least two weeks ahead, one application per dealer entity, 30-day maximum. The portal-based application starts January 1, 2026. Multi-store groups cannot bundle applications; the lease, rental agreement, or organiser letter must be in the dealership’s name.
• The on-site rules track the showroom rules. Display the permit, label every vehicle with the selling dealer’s name, identify the dealer and the organiser in event advertising, and verify that every salesperson on the booth is currently registered with OMVIC. The municipal by-law condition in s. 28(9) applies at the venue just as it applies at the registered premises.