It has been sixty days since the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced it had delivered "Warning Letters" to ninety-seven dealership groups about alleged deceptive advertising practices. In its letter dated March 13, 2026, The FTC identified six "pricing practices" it considered unfair and deceptive. These practices include:

• advertising a price that does not include all mandatory fees charged by the dealership, excluding only government fees;
• advertising a price that includes discounts which are not available to all condumers;
• requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price;
• advertising a price that fails to consider the amount of an additional required down payment;
• conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing, and
• advertising unavailable or non-existent vehicles.

In response, OADA recommended that dealers include doc fees in their advertised prices of vehicles and review their advertising practices with their legal counsel.

Then, at the urging of OADA, NADA, and other state associations, The FTC offered further clarification of its position on advertising doc fees. In a webinar hosted by NADA on April 17th, dealers were advised that it is the FTC's position that failing to include a doc fee in an advertised price is unfair and deceptive and violates section 5 of the FTC Act. Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, indicated this would be the case regardless of whether state law permitted or required the doc fee to be excluded from the advertised price.

Now and Next...

Dealers understand the importance of a level playing field. Compliance takes time and cooperation, particularly as dealers coordinate between platforms, third-party providers, and OEMs. However, dealers should act quickly. The FTC has provided no grace period for compliance and enforcement is ongoing. The FTC has encouraged dealers to report non-compliance by competitors directly to the Commission.

OADA will continue working with NADA and advocating on behalf of dealers on topics such as MAP policies, manufacturer-controlled advertisements, in-transit vehicles, and MSRP-only advertisements. We anticipate additional information will be provided when the FTC releases FAQs.

OADA partner ComplyAuto offers additional advertising compliance solutions. Interested dealers should review Guardian by ComplyAuto.

Visit OADA's website for a compilation of Federal and state advertising resources HERE. If you have any questions related to advertising, please contact Sara Bruce at sbruce@oada.com or 614-923-2243 or Matthew Smallwood at msmallwood@oada.com or 614-923-2232.