CarShots Compliance
Dealer compliance software with a published price
The FTC Safeguards Rule, Red Flags, OFAC checks, Form 8300 and credit notices for independent dealers, in one self-serve app. From $99 per store a month, with a free draft before you pay.
What CarShots Compliance is
CarShots Compliance is a self-serve compliance program for independent car dealers. Essentials is $99 per store a month (or $990 a year) for dealers with customer information on fewer than 5,000 consumers; Plus is $199 per store a month (or $1,990 a year). It writes the FTC Safeguards Rule security plan and the Red Flags program, runs OFAC checks, tracks Form 8300 cash, makes credit and privacy notices, trains staff, checks ads for fee problems and checks deal files with AI. No demo is needed, and a free watermarked draft comes before you pay.
At a glance
- Who it is for
- Independent used and new car dealers, one store or a small group.
- Price
- $99 or $199 per store a month; $990 or $1,990 a year.
- Free first
- Questionnaire, score, gap list and a watermarked draft plan.
- Rules
- Federal rules for every dealer, plus the California CARS Act in Plus.
- Your data
- No SSNs or ID photos kept. MFA required. Deal files deleted after 30 days by default.
How it works
See your gaps and read your draft before you pay anything.
- 1
Answer about ten minutes of questions
Do you arrange financing? Which systems hold customer data? Is MFA on? Where do paper deal jackets live? Plain questions, skipped when they do not apply.
- 2
See your score and your gaps
A compliance score, the plan you need, and a ranked list of gaps, each with the rule it comes from and the fix.
- 3
Read your free draft
AI writes a watermarked draft of your security plan, Red Flags program and privacy notice from your answers, using clauses written from the rule text. No card needed.
- 4
Pay to finalize and sign
Pick Essentials or Plus. The owner signs, names the Qualified Individual and sends staff their online lessons.
- 5
Run the year
Check buyers, log cash, send credit notices, check ads and deal files. The calendar reminds you of every deadline.
Plans and prices
One price per store. Pay monthly, or yearly for two months free.
Free
$0no card
For any dealer who wants to see where they stand.
- All the free tools on this site
- OFAC search: 5 a day signed out, 25 with a free account (nothing saved)
- The questionnaire, your compliance score and your gap list
- A watermarked draft of your security plan, Red Flags program and privacy notice
EssentialsMost dealers
$99per store a month
or $990 a year (two months free)
For dealers with customer information on fewer than 5,000 consumers. That's most independents.
- Signed security plan, Qualified Individual letter, Red Flags program and privacy notice
- Systems and vendor list, with an MFA tracker
- Unlimited saved OFAC checks with certificates
- ID and Red Flags log, Form 8300 cash tracker and credit notices
- Self-paced online lessons for 10 staff
- Breach helper with the FTC 30-day notice
- 10 AI deal file checks and 20 ad and price scans a month
- Calendar and reminders for every deadline
Plus
$199per store a month
or $1,990 a year (two months free)
For 5,000 or more consumers, California dealers and groups with more than one store.
- Everything in Essentials
- Written risk assessment, incident response plan and the yearly owner or board report
- Testing tracker: scans every 6 months, a yearly pen test and vendor proof uploads
- Self-paced online lessons for unlimited staff
- 100 AI deal file checks and 200 ad and price scans a month
- A weekly website price monitor
- The California CARS Act module
- A group view across your stores
We recommend Plus when you hold information on 5,000 or more consumers, sell in California or run more than one store. Otherwise Essentials covers you.
Prices are per store. There is no free trial: the questionnaire, score, gap list and watermarked draft are free, and you pay to finalize, sign and run the program.
What's inside
Each part answers a specific rule, cited on the card.
Security plan
Your written information security program, built from your answers and kept current with your systems. A checker blocks signing until every required part is there.
16 CFR Part 314
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolQualified Individual and owner sign-off
Name the person in charge with an appointment letter. If an outside IT firm holds the role, it adds the senior staff overseer the rule asks for. E-signatures keep an audit trail.
16 CFR 314.4(a)
Essentials and Plus
Read the guideRisk assessment
Essentials: a guided, dated periodic review. Plus: the written assessment with rating criteria, a review of your controls and a decision on each risk.
16 CFR 314.4(b)
Review in Essentials, written in Plus
Systems and vendors
Every system that touches customer data, MFA on each, encryption and data disposal. Common dealer vendors come prefilled, and each gets a request for proof of its security.
16 CFR 314.4(c), (f)
Essentials and Plus
Self-paced staff lessons
Short online lessons with quizzes that staff take on their own phone or computer, with no trainer or class: security basics, phishing, Red Flags and ID checks, OFAC, cash and Form 8300, privacy notices and honest pricing. Certificates and a completion log.
16 CFR 314.4(e)
10 staff in Essentials, unlimited in Plus
Buyer check: OFAC
Every buyer and co-buyer against Treasury's SDN and consolidated lists, refreshed daily. Possible matches are cleared with a reason, and each check makes a certificate kept 10 years.
31 CFR Part 501
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolBuyer check: ID and Red Flags
Your written Identity Theft Prevention Program plus a per-deal ID checklist. The phone camera can read the license to fill the form; we keep the result, not the photo.
16 CFR Part 681
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolCash reports: Form 8300
A cash ledger per buyer that adds up related payments over 12 months and counts cashier's checks the IRS way. It alerts at more than $10,000, fills a worksheet and makes the January 31 statements.
26 CFR 1.6050I-1
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolCredit notices
Risk-based pricing or credit score disclosure notices when you are the original creditor, adverse action notices, and a log kept 25 months.
12 CFR 1022.72 / 16 CFR 640.4(b); 12 CFR 1002.9
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolPrivacy notices
A privacy notice on the federal model form, matched to how you share data, in the FTC or CFPB version. Plus a website privacy policy.
16 CFR Part 313 / 12 CFR Part 1016
Essentials and Plus
Try the free toolAd and price check
Paste an ad or a link. It flags prices that leave out doc fees or other required fees, rebates not every buyer gets, and credit or lease terms without their disclosures.
FTC Act section 5; 12 CFR 1026.24; 12 CFR 1013.7
20 scans in Essentials; weekly monitor in Plus
Try the free toolDeal file check (AI)
Upload a deal file. AI reads every page and checks for the Buyers Guide, privacy notice, OFAC record, ID check, signed contract and credit notice, and flags missing signatures. Files are deleted after 30 days unless you keep them.
16 CFR Part 455 and the rules above
10 a month in Essentials, 100 in Plus
Read the guideBreach response
A step-by-step helper. At 500 or more consumers it starts the 30-day FTC countdown and drafts the answers for the FTC's online form.
16 CFR 314.4(j)
Both; written plan in Plus
Read the guideCalendar, reminders and owner report
Every deadline in one calendar, with email reminders: plan review, training, vendor reviews, Form 8300 dates, January 31 statements and the September 30 OFAC report. Plus writes the yearly owner report.
16 CFR 314.4(i) and the rules above
Both; owner report in Plus
Free tools, no signup
Use them on their own. Each one leads into the matching part of the app.
- OFAC searchSearch a name against OFAC's SDN and consolidated lists, refreshed daily, and print the result.
- Form 8300 worksheetAdd up cash over 12 months, count cashier's checks the IRS way and get your 15-day deadline.
- Safeguards Rule checklistCheck your store against every part of 16 CFR 314.4, with the 5,000-consumer calculator.
- WISP templateAnswer a few questions and preview a written information security plan built for a dealership.
- Red Flags programGenerate a written Identity Theft Prevention Program for your dealership.
- GLBA privacy noticeBuild a privacy notice on the federal model form.
- Adverse action noticeMake a notice for a declined or countered credit application, due within 30 days.
- Risk-based pricing noticeSee who sends it on an assigned contract, then make the notice.
- Dealer price checkPaste a listing link or ad text and see fee and price problems.
What it does not do
- It is software, not a law firm or a consultant. There is no phone hotline or on-site visit; you get a cited "Ask a compliance question" chat and email support.
- We prepare Form 8300 and the FTC breach notice; you file them.
- Documents are written from a clause library based on the rule text, and AI only tailors the parts about your systems, people and controls.
- It covers federal rules plus the California CARS Act. Other state laws are not covered yet.
Rules checked . Templates and tools, not legal advice.
How it compares
The big dealer compliance vendors mostly sell through demos and quotes. We publish our price and show you the work first. Each comparison is sourced and says when the other vendor fits better.
Questions dealers ask
How much does CarShots Compliance cost?
Essentials is $99 per store a month, or $990 a year. Plus is $199 per store a month, or $1,990 a year. The questionnaire, your score, your gap list and a watermarked draft are free.
Is there a free trial?
No. Instead, you see the work before you pay: answer the questions and read a watermarked draft of your security plan, Red Flags program and privacy notice with no card. You pay when you want to finalize, sign and run the program.
Which plan do I need?
We recommend Plus when you hold information on 5,000 or more consumers, sell in California or run more than one store. Otherwise Essentials covers you.
Do I need a demo or a sales call?
No. Sign up online, answer the questions and pick a plan when you are ready. Prices are published on this page.
Will this make my dealership compliant?
It gives you the written documents, checks, records and reminders the federal rules ask for. You still have to run the program: train staff, check buyers, keep records and fix the gaps it finds. No software can promise an outcome, and we do not.
Is this legal advice?
No. Templates and tools, not legal advice. CarShots is software, not a law firm. Documents come from a clause library written from the rule text, and each page cites the rule it answers. Ask your attorney about your own situation.
Which states does it cover?
The federal rules for every dealer, plus the California CARS Act module in Plus. Other state laws are not covered yet.
Who can be my Qualified Individual?
The Safeguards Rule lets you name an owner, an employee or someone at an outside firm. If an outside firm holds the role, you also name a senior person at the store to oversee it. The app writes the appointment letter either way.
What customer data does CarShots keep?
As little as it can. It never asks for Social Security numbers or keeps ID photos, and uploaded deal files are deleted after 30 days unless you choose to keep them. Sensitive fields are encrypted, and compliance accounts require MFA. See the security page for the details.
Sources
Last verified October 31, 2026.
- 16 CFR Part 314, Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (eCFR)ecfr.gov
- FTC: Automobile Dealers and the FTC's Safeguards Rule, FAQsftc.gov
- 16 CFR Part 681, Identity Theft Rules (eCFR)ecfr.gov
- 31 CFR Part 501, Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations (eCFR)ecfr.gov
- IRS Form 8300 Reference Guideirs.gov
- Regulation B, 12 CFR 1002.9: notifications (eCFR)ecfr.gov
- 16 CFR Part 313, Privacy of Consumer Financial Information (eCFR)ecfr.gov
- FTC: Automobile Industry Pricing Transparency FAQsftc.gov
Keep reading
- FTC Safeguards Rule checklist for car dealersEvery part of the FTC Safeguards Rule in one checklist, the 5,000-consumer exemption, and the 30-day breach notice. Score your dealership free.
- Free OFAC sanctions list searchSearch a name against OFAC's SDN and consolidated sanctions lists, refreshed daily. See match scores and print a dated result for the deal file. Free, no signup.
- Form 8300 worksheet and deadline calculatorWhen cash passes $10,000, Form 8300 is due in 15 days. Add up payments over 12 months, count cashier's checks the IRS way and print a worksheet.
- Car dealer compliance by stateDealer compliance in all 50 states and DC: each state's data breach notice deadline and privacy law, next to the federal rules every dealer follows.
- Best dealer compliance software in 2026, with pricesComplyAuto, KPA (ComplyNet), DealSafe and CarShots Compliance compared on price, how you buy, people to call and what each covers. Prices sourced and dated.
- How CarShots protects dealer and buyer dataHow CarShots protects dealer and buyer data: MFA, field encryption, collecting less, an audit log, private file storage and our breach notice promise.
- CarShots Compliance vs ComplyAutoComplyAuto against CarShots Compliance: published price ($99 a store), demo or no demo, hotline, products and when ComplyAuto fits better. Every fact sourced.
See your compliance gaps and a free draft plan
Answer about ten minutes of questions. Get your score, your gap list and a watermarked draft of your security plan, free with no card. Essentials is $99 per store a month when you're ready.