Ask most car shoppers in 2026 and they'll tell you the same thing: the government finally made dealers put every fee in the advertised price. It's a great story. It's also wrong.

The federal rule everyone's thinking of — the FTC's Combating Auto Retail Scams ("CARS") Rule — was struck down in court before it ever took effect. What actually governs the price on the window sticker and the online ad is a patchwork of state laws, and if you're shopping in California, one law in particular. Here's the real picture, from someone who prices these deals for a living.

What the FTC's CARS Rule would have done

The Federal Trade Commission finalized the CARS Rule in December 2023. It was aggressive, and genuinely pro-consumer. It would have required dealers to:

  • Advertise a true "offering price" — the full price to buy the vehicle, excluding only government charges (tax and registration).
  • Stop charging for add-ons that provide no benefit — the classic example being a service plan that doesn't cover the car you're buying.
  • Get express, informed consent for every charge, and prove it.

If it had stuck, it would have been the single biggest change to car advertising in a generation.

Why it never took effect

Industry groups challenged the rule, and in January 2025 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated it — not on the merits, but on procedure. The court held the FTC skipped a required step (an advance notice of proposed rulemaking) when it wrote the rule. The FTC subsequently withdrew it.

So the practical bottom line: there is no federal all-in car-pricing rule in force today. Anyone telling you "the FTC requires dealers to show the full price" is describing a rule that doesn't exist.

So what actually governs advertised prices now?

State law. Disclosure rules for car advertising have always lived primarily at the state level, and with the federal rule gone, that's where the entire fight now sits. States vary widely — but the most consequential new law belongs to the country's biggest car market.

California's SB 766: the real all-in-price law

California enacted SB 766 (Chapter 354, Statutes of 2025), and it becomes operative October 1, 2026. It does much of what people mistakenly credit to the FTC — but only in California. In plain terms, when a dealer advertises a specific vehicle or a monetary/financing term, the advertised price must be clear and conspicuous and must include dealer-installed accessories and hard add-ons. What it means for you:

  • No surprise "market adjustment" or "dealer prep." If it isn't in the advertised number, the dealer can't add it as a mandatory charge later.
  • Government fees are still separate. Sales tax and registration are excluded from the advertised total — those follow your ZIP code, not the dealer's ad.
  • First-response disclosure. The advertised price has to be disclosed in the dealer's first reply to an inquiry about a specific car; if that inquiry is in writing, the disclosure must be in writing and kept for two years.
  • Add-ons must be optional and beneficial. A dealer can't charge for a product you can't actually use (an oil-change plan on an EV is the textbook example), and optional products must be clearly labeled optional.
  • A limited three-day right to cancel used vehicles of $50,000 or less, driven under 400 miles and undamaged, subject to a capped restocking fee.
  • Inventory has to be real. An advertised car must be on the lot or available from the manufacturer, and sold units have to come off the website within 48 hours.

It applies to licensed dealers selling light-duty consumer vehicles (under 10,000 lbs GVWR); wholesale, fleet, and commercial sales are exempt. Enforcement runs through the Attorney General, district attorneys, and California's Unfair Competition Law (Business & Professions Code §17200).

The catch: the doc fee and the FTC-vs-California standoff

Here's the wrinkle that even a lot of dealers get wrong. California's SB 766 — and existing law under Vehicle Code §11713.1 — treats the documentation fee as separately disclosed and excluded from the advertised total price. The doc fee is capped ($85 for dealers who e-file, $70 for those who don't) and shown as its own line.

But in March 2026, the FTC sent warning letters to 97 dealers taking the opposite position under Section 5 of the FTC Act: that dealer-imposed fees, including the documentation fee, belong inside the advertised price because leaving them out is deceptive. So you have a genuine state-versus-federal conflict — California says the doc fee is disclosed separately, the FTC says it should be baked in — and it is not yet resolved. Whichever way it lands, the number that matters to you is the same: the real out-the-door total, doc fee included.

What this means when you're shopping

Strip away the regulatory noise and it comes down to one habit: never negotiate against a number that isn't the out-the-door total. An advertised price — even a fully SB 766-compliant one — still won't include your sales tax or registration, because those depend on where you live. And in states without a law like California's, the advertised price may not include much of anything.

That's the whole reason this site exists. Put in the vehicle price and your ZIP code and our out-the-door calculator computes the real total — tax at your actual local rate, registration, the doc fee cap or benchmark for your state, and every government surcharge — with each line labeled so you can see what's mandatory and what's dealer profit. If you're in California, the California OTD guide walks through exactly how the state's rules apply to your deal.

The rules will keep shifting. The math won't. Know your out-the-door number before you walk in, and no advertising change — or lack of one — can catch you off guard.