At a glance
- Breach notice to residents
- 45 days at most
- State regulator notice
- Attorney General
- State consumer privacy law
- Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
- Dealer bond
- $25,000
On this page
Federal rules every dealer follows
These apply in every state. Each links to a free tool or guide.
- FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314): a written security plan, a Qualified Individual, a risk assessment, MFA, encryption and the FTC breach notice. Safeguards checklist.
- Red Flags Rule (16 CFR 681): a written identity theft program; most dealers who arrange financing treat themselves as covered. Red Flags program.
- Privacy notice (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act): give it to buyers who finance or lease. GLBA privacy notice.
- OFAC: never sell to someone on the Treasury's sanctions lists; keep records 10 years. Free OFAC search.
- Form 8300: report cash over $10,000 within 15 days. Form 8300 worksheet.
- Credit notices: adverse action within 30 days, and risk-based pricing notices. Adverse action notice.
- Used Car Rule: the Buyers Guide on every used car for sale. Buyers Guide.
- Advertised prices: include doc fees and other required fees, per the FTC's September 2026 FAQs. Ad and price check.
Indiana's data breach notice law
Indiana's breach notice law is Ind. Code § 24-4.9-3. If personal information of Indiana residents is breached, it says to notify them without unreasonable delay, but not more than 45 days after the discovery of the breach (a delay is allowed to restore the system, find the scope of the breach, or at the request of the attorney general or law enforcement).
Who else to tell: the Attorney General. Tell them whenever you notify Indiana residents. If more than 1,000 residents are notified, tell the nationwide consumer reporting agencies too.
The law has a clause for businesses that follow the breach rules of their own federal regulator (Ind. Code § 24-4.9-3-4). Some clauses like this cover only banks and credit unions, so don't count on it: plan to meet the state deadline as well as the FTC's.
The law reads: "A person required to make a disclosure or notification under this chapter shall make the disclosure or notification without unreasonable delay, but not more than forty-five (45) days after the discovery of the breach."
This is on top of the federal rule. Under the FTC Safeguards Rule, a dealer must tell the FTC within 30 days of discovering a breach of unencrypted information about 500 or more consumers. How the FTC notice works.
Indiana's consumer privacy law
Yes. The Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act (Ind. Code § 24-15-1-1 et seq.) has applied since January 1, 2026.
Who it covers: Persons that do business in Indiana or target products/services to Indiana residents and, in a calendar year, control or process personal data of 100,000+ Indiana residents, or control or process personal data of at least 25,000 Indiana residents and derive more than 50% of gross revenue from selling personal data.
The law exempts financial institutions subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as businesses. A dealer that arranges financing or leases is generally treated as one, so ask your attorney whether that covers your store. (IC 24-15-1-1)
The law reads: "Control or process the personal data of at least 25,000 Indiana residents and derive more than 50% of their gross revenue from the sale of personal data."
Whether your store is covered depends on your own numbers, so check them each year, and keep giving financing buyers the federal privacy notice. Make a free GLBA privacy notice.
Indiana dealer license and bond
An Indiana retail dealer license calls for a $25,000 surety bond. Everything about the Indiana dealer license: who needs one, the lot rules and the application.
Indiana dealer compliance checklist
Write and sign your security plan
Name your Qualified Individual, do the risk assessment and turn on MFA for every system with customer data.
Adopt a Red Flags program
Check the buyer's ID on every deal and log what you checked.
Give the privacy notice
To every buyer who finances or leases, at or before signing.
Check every buyer against the OFAC lists
Keep the dated result in the deal jacket for 10 years.
Track cash
Add up related cash payments and file Form 8300 when they pass $10,000.
Train your staff on security
The Safeguards Rule asks for security awareness training for everyone who handles customer data. Keep a record of who finished it.
Put Indiana's breach deadline in your incident plan
45 days for residents, plus the Attorney General, and the FTC within 30 days at 500 or more consumers.
Check your ads
Advertised prices include doc fees and every fee all buyers pay.
Rules checked and limits
Rules checked October 31, 2026. We read every rule on this page in the eCFR or on the agency's own site, and each is linked in the sources below. We re-check them every quarter.
Indiana laws checked October 31, 2026 on the official sources linked below.
Templates and tools, not legal advice. CarShots is software, not a law firm. For a question about your own dealership, ask your attorney or your state dealer association.