At a glance
- Starts from
- The VIN, decoded with NHTSA's vPIC data
- You add
- Price, mileage, stock number, features, warranty line, dealer name, logo and phone
- QR code opens
- The car's listing on your website, or its CarShots page if the car is in your CarShots feed
- Prints as
- A letter-size page (portrait) to print or save as a PDF, in 3 styles
- Cost
- Free; a free account saves your logo and settings
On this page
- How to make a dealer window sticker from a VIN
- What to put on a used car window sticker
- Do you still need the FTC Buyers Guide?
- Car dealer window sticker template or generator?
- What should the QR code on a window sticker open?
- What does a free account add?
- Can you put your own sticker on a new car?
- Common questions
- Sources
How to make a dealer window sticker from a VIN
The window sticker maker starts from the VIN, so the year, make and model are right before you type a word.
Enter the VIN
The maker checks it (17 characters, no I, O or Q, a valid check digit) and decodes the year, make, model, trim, engine and drive type with NHTSA's vPIC data.
Add price, mileage and stock number
Use the same price you advertise online, and read the mileage off the odometer the day you print.
Pick the features
Equipment the VIN decode reports comes pre-checked. Untick anything that's wrong, then type in what a decode can't see, like a sunroof, a tow hitch or new tires.
Write the warranty line
One short line, consistent with the Buyers Guide on the same car, whether that's a dealer warranty or As Is.
Add your dealership
Name, phone and logo. Without an account, stickers carry a small "Made with CarShots" footer.
Point the QR code
Paste the link to the car's page on your website, its vehicle detail page. Shoppers who scan the code land on the full listing, photos and all. If you're signed in to CarShots and the car is in your inventory feed, the code opens its CarShots page unless you paste a link. With no link, the sticker prints without a QR code.
Pick a style and print
Choose one of 3 styles, then print it on letter-size paper in portrait, or save it as a PDF.
What to put on a used car window sticker
A shopper walking your lot gives a sticker a few seconds. Put the answers to their first questions where they'll see them:
- Year, make, model and trim, large enough to read from a few steps back.
- Price, the same number you advertise online.
- Mileage, read off the odometer.
- The features people filter for online: drive type, engine, seating, safety and driver-assist tech, towing gear. Six to ten lines beat a wall of text.
- A warranty line that matches the Buyers Guide.
- Stock number and VIN, so your team can match the sticker to the car and the deal file.
- Dealer name and phone.
- A QR code to the car's listing on your website, for the shopper on the lot after hours.
Want MPG on the window too? EPA's used car label tool on fueleconomy.gov prints the car's original EPA estimates as a window label, free.
Do you still need the FTC Buyers Guide?
Yes. Under the FTC's Used Car Rule, if you sell more than five used vehicles in 12 months, every used vehicle you offer for sale needs a Buyers Guide displayed on or in it, in plain view with both sides visible. You can take it down for a test drive, but it goes back up as soon as the drive is over, and one sitting in the glove box doesn't count.
Your window sticker doesn't replace it, so plan for both on every car. Make the Buyers Guide free with our Buyers Guide generator, in English or Spanish.
This is general information, not legal advice. The FTC's dealer guide has the full rule, and your state may add requirements of its own.
Car dealer window sticker template or generator?
A blank template in Word or a design app is fine for one car. By the tenth, you're retyping specs, the fonts drift, and one wrong digit in a VIN goes straight onto the glass.
A window sticker generator works from the VIN instead. The specs come from the decode, the VIN is checked before anything prints, and every sticker on the row uses the same layout. Pick one of 3 styles once and every car matches, which is what makes a lot look organized from the street.
What should the QR code on a window sticker open?
Point it at the car's listing on your own website, its vehicle detail page (VDP). A shopper standing at the car after hours can scroll the photos, check the details and get in touch, without waiting for anyone to come out.
- Use the car's own page, not your inventory home page, so the scan lands on the right car. If you're signed in to CarShots and the car is in your inventory feed, the code opens its CarShots page by default, with the car's photos, walkaround video and a contact form.
- Scan the preview before you print to make sure the link opens.
- Make the listing worth the scan. On a phone screen, clean and consistent photos do the selling. With CarShots, a car's photos and walkaround video can reach your website through your inventory feed.
QR codes on window stickers aren't new. EPA's fuel economy label on new cars carries one, and Ford puts one on the window sticker of every new Ford on a dealer's lot. Yours just points at the listing for the car you're selling.
What does a free account add?
You can make and print stickers without an account; those carry a small "Made with CarShots" footer. A free account saves your logo and settings, so every sticker comes out the same.
Cars you shoot with CarShots get each photo back on a clean backdrop in about 20 seconds, ready for the listing your QR code opens.
Can you put your own sticker on a new car?
Not in place of the factory one. Federal law requires the manufacturer's label on every new car until it's delivered to the first buyer, and willfully removing or altering it before then can bring a fine of up to $1,000 per car, up to a year in prison, or both. This maker is built for used cars. To find a car's original factory sticker, use the free window sticker lookup.