§ 9-32-16-11 — Filings with business services division; background check; change of dealer owner or dealer manager; notification of certain convictions

Indiana § 9-32-16-11

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Title 9: MOTOR VEHICLES
• Art. 32: DEALER SERVICES
• Ch. 16: Administration and Legal Proceedings

Text

(a) All dealers and transport operators
operating as a:
(1) corporation;
(2) limited liability company;
(3) limited partnership; or
(4) limited liability partnership;
shall file and maintain all filings required to remain in good standing
with the secretary of state business services division.
(b) The dealer must, for the entire licensing period, have an
established place of business with a physical Indiana address. The
dealer may not have a mailing address that differs from the actual
location of the business. At the discretion of the secretary, an
exemption for the mailing address may be granted for:
(1) dealers with an established place of business in a location not
serviced by the United States Postal Service to allow a post office
box to be used as a mailing address. A dealer using a post office
box for this reason must notify the division in writing with the
dealer's application; or
(2) a manufactured home dealer.
(c) Before the secretary may issue a license to a dealer or license
plates to a transport operator, the following must occur:
(1) A dealer or transport operator must disclose to the secretary
the following:
(A) Each dealer owner.
(B) For a dealer owner that is a business entity, the following:
(i) If a corporation, each officer, director, and shareholder
designated in writing by the board of directors.
(ii) If a limited liability company, each member of the
company designated in writing by all members.
(iii) If a partnership, each partner.
(iv) If a sole proprietorship, the proprietor.
(C) Except for a transport operator, each dealer manager.
(2) A person under subdivision (1) must submit to a national
criminal history background check (as defined in IC 10-13-3-12)
or expanded criminal history check (as defined in IC 20-26-2-1.5)
administered by the state police.
The secretary shall make the determination whether an individual must
submit to a national criminal history background check or an expanded
criminal history check under this subsection.
(d) A national criminal history background check or expanded
criminal history check conducted under subsection (c):
(1) is at the expense of the dealer or transport operator, and the
dealer owners; and
(2) may be completed not more than sixty (60) days before the
dealer applies for a license under this article.
(e) The secretary may deny an application for a license or transport
operator license plates if the division finds that a dealer owner or a
dealer manager has been convicted of a:
(1) felony within the previous ten (10) years;
(2) felony or misdemeanor involving theft or fraud; or
(3) felony or misdemeanor concerning an aspect of business
involving the offer, sale, financing, repair, modification, or
manufacture of a motor vehicle or watercraft.
(f) If a dealer or transport operator adds, removes, or changes a
dealer owner or dealer manager after issuance of the initial license, the
dealer or transport operator must submit an application for a change in
ownership in a manner prescribed by the secretary not later than ten
(10) days after the change. The new dealer owner or dealer manager
shall submit to a national criminal history background check or
expanded criminal history check as set forth in subsection (c).
(g) Following licensure under this article, a dealer or transport
operator shall, not later than ninety (90) days after the entry of an order
or judgment, notify the division in writing if the dealer owner or dealer
manager has been convicted of a:
(1) felony within the past ten (10) years;
(2) felony or misdemeanor involving theft or fraud; or
(3) felony or misdemeanor concerning an aspect of business
involving the:
(A) offer;
(B) sale;
(C) financing;
(D) repair;
(E) modification; or
(F) manufacture;
of a motor vehicle or watercraft.
(h) The dealer or transport operator, and the corporation, company,
or partnership must be in good standing with the bureau, the
department of state revenue, the department of financial institutions,
and the state police department during the entire period for which a
license is valid. A manufactured home dealer that owns a manufactured
home community must be in good standing with the Indiana
department of health during the entire period for which a license is
valid.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.92-2013, SEC.78. Amended by P.L.62-2014, SEC.42; P.L.174-2016, SEC.114; P.L.179-2017, SEC.95; P.L.137-2018, SEC.12; P.L.284-2019, SEC.38; P.L.120-2020, SEC.77; P.L.182-2021, SEC.24; P.L.20-2022, SEC.16; P.L.56-2023, SEC.63.