Advertising Compliance for Louisiana Motor Vehicle Dealers A Layered Regulatory Framework BY LAUREN BAILEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF STATE LEGAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, COMPLYAUTO Louisiana dealers advertising vehicles, financing or promotions must comply with overlapping federal and state requirements. To help dealers navigate that framework, ComplyAuto and LADA have published a comprehensive advertising guide tailored to Louisiana. Scan the QR code to see the guide. https://complyauto.com/wp-content/uploads/LADAComplyAuto-Advertising-Compliance-Guide.pdf Louisiana’s primary state-level regulator, the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission (LMVC), has codified detailed advertising requirements under Title 46, Part V of the Louisiana Administrative Code. Those rules address dealer identification, price advertising, savings and discount claims, lease disclosures and a list of categorically prohibited statements. A violation of these advertising rules constitutes a violation of the dealer licensing law — with penalties that can include fines and, in serious cases, suspension or revocation of a dealer’s license. Federal obligations run parallel to — and independent of — state law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces truth-in-advertising standards across all media under its UDAP authority, while the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M, impose specific disclosure requirements whenever a dealer advertises a monthly payment, a down payment amount or a specific APR. Within that framework, several areas of the FTC and LMVC’s rules are worth particular attention. PRICE ADVERTISING Price advertising carries strict requirements. An advertised price must represent the true cash price available to any member of the buying public and not a price contingent on trade-in, dealer financing or program eligibility. Dealer-installed accessories must be included in the advertised price; the only permissible exclusions are tax, title, license and dealer documentation fees. Advertised savings must be calculated against the vehicle’s actual Monroney sticker price, not an inflated reference figure. Range-based savings claims, such as “save up to $X,” are prohibited outright. And for used vehicles, “was/now” pricing is not permitted under any circumstances. CREDIT AND LEASE ADVERTISING Credit and lease advertising require a separate level of attention. When a lease advertisement states a monthly payment, it must clearly and conspicuously identify the transaction as a lease, including in the audio of any broadcast ad. For finance advertising, any reference to a payment amount, down payment, number of payments or finance charge triggers the obligation to disclose all of those terms together, and if an advertised payment is available only to well-qualified buyers, the ad should say so. 14
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