State regulation says that in order to obtain an auto dealers license in florida you must have a building?

Question

but it cannot not be residential, I want to start an online auto dealership, is there any way for me to do this

Answer 1

You need a physical address so that the state can be sure you are collecting appropriate taxes on sales, and to be sure they can find you if you don't pay your own taxes (that is, the taxes owed by the dealership).

However, as far as I know, all you need is a lease of some sort.  You don't have to have a showroom, and of course you don't need or want a showroom if your sales are online. So, think your business plan through a little more.  

You are going to sell online.  Will you have your own inventory?  In other words, will you have the cars stored somewhere, at least temporarily?  Will a buyer come to a particular location to pick up the car he's bought?  If so, your storage location is your place of business, and you will probably only need to present the lease for the lot (or whatever) to get your state license.

But what if you are not going to hold the inventory?  In other words, what if your plan is to work as a matchmaker between individual buyers and sellers?  In that case, I think you may not even have to qualify as a dealer.  I suspect that you would be in a different type of business--some sort of referral agency--rather than being a car dealer. (I haven't done any legal research here; I'm just speaking off the top of my head.)

Bottom line:  There should be ways around the licensing problem.  If you have cars in a certain place, that should be sufficient to get the license, and if you don't have any cars at all, then you may not need a license.  

I hope this helps.  However, I think it would be smart to spend a little time with an attorney who can go over your plans with you and see the best approach to take.  It shouldn't cost that much and may save you both money and trouble later on.

For a good, quick summary on Florida dealer's licensing, see this Web page:

http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/dmvdeal.html

Good luck!!