The Dealer Fee Index: What Car Dealers Charge in Every State
Car buyers in Florida pay a median $995 in dealer documentation fees — 11.7 times the $85 median in California, where state law caps the fee. Across 4,147 verified buyer purchase quotes in 49 states, the national median doc fee is $490 — a charge the dealer keeps, on top of the negotiated price.
By Sam Reynolds, Lead Researcher · Updated 2026-06-11 · Download full table (CSV) · Press inquiries: [email protected]
“The doc fee is the clearest example of a charge that has nothing to do with the car and everything to do with the state you buy it in. The same paperwork costs $85 in California and $995 in Florida — buyers should treat anything far above their state's median as negotiating room.”— Sam Reynolds, Lead Researcher, CarWhere
Key findings
- Florida has the highest median dealer doc fee: $995 across 189 verified quotes.
- California has the lowest: $85 (state-capped) — a 11.7× spread.
- The national median doc fee across 49 states is $490.
- States with no statutory cap dominate the top of the table; capped states cluster at the bottom.
- Based on 4,147 fee-itemized quotes from 5,208 verified buyer transactions; updated 2026-06-11.
Median dealer doc fee by state
| Rank | State | Median doc fee | Average | State cap | Verified quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | $995 | $926 | none | 189 |
| 2 | Virginia | $899 | $862 | $250 | 78 |
| 3 | Tennessee | $799 | $800 | none | 85 |
| 4 | Alabama | $799 | $742 | none | 101 |
| 5 | Georgia | $799 | $798 | none | 169 |
| 6 | North Carolina | $799 | $775 | none | 242 |
| 7 | Maryland | $799 | $791 | $800 | 88 |
| 8 | Connecticut | $799 | $790 | none | 79 |
| 9 | Delaware | $799 | $747 | none | 18 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $789 | $758 | none | 89 |
| 11 | Colorado | $779 | $679 | none | 91 |
| 12 | Kansas | $699 | $606 | none | 67 |
| 13 | Nevada | $637 | $660 | none | 55 |
| 14 | Hawaii | $629 | $664 | none | 10 |
| 15 | Arizona | $599 | $689 | none | 149 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $599 | $628 | none | 55 |
| 17 | Maine | $599 | $596 | none | 23 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | $599 | $557 | none | 63 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $599 | $586 | none | 15 |
| 20 | Kentucky | $598 | $609 | none | 80 |
| 21 | Massachusetts | $595 | $583 | none | 97 |
| 22 | Missouri | $587 | $516 | $585 | 76 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $575 | $503 | $250 | 14 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $499 | $516 | none | 177 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | $490 | $502 | $477 | 207 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $489 | $466 | none | 45 |
| 27 | Utah | $449 | $419 | none | 27 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $436 | $500 | $425 | 57 |
| 29 | Mississippi | $425 | $388 | none | 29 |
| 30 | Rhode Island | $420 | $403 | $420 | 21 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $399 | $443 | none | 54 |
| 32 | Idaho | $399 | $426 | none | 36 |
| 33 | Montana | $399 | $421 | none | 21 |
| 34 | Vermont | $399 | $435 | none | 25 |
| 35 | Ohio | $398 | $438 | $387 | 180 |
| 36 | Illinois | $378 | $404 | $377.63 | 207 |
| 37 | Minnesota | $350 | $344 | $350 | 57 |
| 38 | Nebraska | $316 | $263 | none | 11 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $299 | $322 | none | 13 |
| 40 | Michigan | $280 | $291 | $280 | 110 |
| 41 | Indiana | $251 | $257 | none | 159 |
| 42 | Oregon | $250 | $279 | $250 | 81 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $249 | $248 | none | 20 |
| 44 | Texas | $225 | $249 | none | 189 |
| 45 | Washington | $200 | $208 | $200 | 47 |
| 46 | Iowa | $180 | $265 | $180 | 59 |
| 47 | New York | $175 | $223 | $175 | 119 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $129 | $165 | $129 | 51 |
| 49 | California | $85 | $173 | $85 | 207 |
Methodology
CarWhere analyzed 4,147 verified buyer-submitted purchase quotes containing itemized dealer documentation fees, drawn from 5,208 total verified transactions in the CarWhere deal database as of 2026-06-11. Figures are dealer documentation fees only — taxes, registration, and title charges are excluded. States with fewer than 3 fee-itemized quotes are omitted. Unlike studies based on advertised listing prices, these figures reflect actual fees printed on deal sheets buyers received. State cap data from published state statutes. The full table is available as CSV and may be republished with attribution to CarWhere (carwhere.com).
Cite this study
CarWhere, “The Dealer Fee Index: What Car Dealers Charge in Every State,” updated 2026-06-11 — analysis of 4,147 verified buyer-submitted purchase quotes. Suggested attribution: “According to CarWhere's analysis of 4,147 verified buyer quotes, the median dealer doc fee ranges from $85 in California to $995 in Florida, with a national median of $490.” Data: full CSV · press: [email protected] · may be republished with attribution.
Why trust this data — and how the counts fit together
Quotes are buyer-submitted deal sheets, reviewed for internal consistency (MSRP vs. selling price vs. fees) and deduplicated before entering the dataset. Doc fees are read from the itemized fee lines of each sheet — not estimated. Dataset note: different CarWhere figures describe different slices: 5,208 total verified transactions in this analysis window; 4,147 of them carry an itemized doc fee (this study's sample); the public market snapshot and PRO benchmark elsewhere on CarWhere use their own windows and filters, so their counts differ by design. States with fewer than 3 fee-itemized quotes are excluded. Statutory cap values reflect published state rules as compiled on CarWhere's per-state pages (each state's VIN-check page carries its fee facts) — verify current caps with the state, as legislatures change them.
FAQ
What is a dealer doc fee?
A documentation (doc) fee is a dealer-set charge added to nearly every car purchase, nominally for paperwork processing. Unlike taxes or registration, the dealer keeps it — it is effectively additional profit. Some states cap it (California at $85); most set no limit, and median charges reach $995 in Florida.
Which state has the highest dealer doc fees?
Florida, at a median of $995 across 189 verified purchase quotes — 11.7 times the median in California ($85, where state law caps the fee). The national median is $490.
Can you negotiate the doc fee?
Dealers rarely remove the doc fee itself (in some states they must charge it equally to all customers), but you can negotiate an equivalent discount on the vehicle price to offset it. Knowing your state's typical fee — the table above — is the leverage: a dealer charging far above the state median is padding.
Where does this data come from?
CarWhere analyzed 4,147 verified buyer-submitted purchase quotes containing itemized dealer fees, from a total pool of 5,208 verified transactions. Unlike studies based on advertised listing prices, these figures reflect fees on real deal sheets buyers received. States with fewer than 3 fee-itemized quotes are excluded.