SIC code for a car dealership: 5511, 5521 and the NAICS codes

This page is for dealers filling in a lender, insurer, floor plan or government form that asks for a SIC or NAICS code, and for sellers of dealer software, marketing, F&I products and services building a list of dealerships.

The codes for car dealerships

The SIC titles and scope come from the 1987 SIC manual; OSHA publishes it online. The NAICS definitions come from the Census Bureau, whose concordance maps 5511 to 441110 and 5521 to 441120 one to one.

How to choose

The test is new car sales, not the mix. The Census definition of 441110 includes dealers retailing new vehicles "in combination with activities, such as repair services, retailing used cars, and selling replacement parts." So a franchised dealer whose used car department outsells its new car department is still 441110 and 5511.

A buy here, pay here dealer that finances its own sales stays 441120 while vehicle sales earn more than the loans; a separate finance subsidiary takes 522220. Dealer groups usually have one code per rooftop: each franchised store is 441110, a standalone used car supercenter 441120 and a group's wholesale or auction arm 423110.

How many dealerships there are

County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, the Census Bureau's count of establishments with paid employees:

There are more used car lots, but new car dealers are much bigger: about 52 employees per location against about 6.

For new car dealers, California leads (2,073), then Texas (1,720), Florida (1,303), New York (1,130) and Pennsylvania (1,046). For used car dealers, Texas leads (2,549), then Florida (2,124), California (1,552), North Carolina (1,143) and Pennsylvania (1,031).

CBP counts each rooftop with paid staff, so a group with 30 franchised stores counts 30 times. It uses NAICS 2017; the car dealer codes didn't change in 2022, though the motorcycle and other vehicle dealer code (441227) is new, so CBP has no count under it.

SBA size standards

The SBA uses different measures for the two dealer types. From its Table of Size Standards, effective March 17, 2023 (13 CFR 121.201 on the eCFR shows no later change):

So a new car dealer with $90 million in sales and 150 employees is small, while a used car dealer with 40 employees and $35 million in sales isn't. Employees are averaged over the latest 24 months and receipts over the latest five fiscal years, including affiliates, which for a dealer group means every store.

Where the code is used

• Lenders and floor plan providers. Banks and SBA lenders check the code against the size standard and their own industry exposure rules.
• Tax returns. The IRS activity codes match NAICS: 441110, New car dealers, and 441120, Used car dealers.
• Federal contracts. Contracting officers set one code per contract; a solicitation coded 441110 measures you against the 200-employee standard, including affiliates.

Finding dealerships by code

Public dealer groups file on EDGAR under SIC 5500, Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations, which also holds Murphy USA and Casey's (fuel and convenience) and Copart (vehicle auctions). The SEC list has no 5511 or 5521. The largest filers by revenue:

CarMax shows why one company can need several codes: its 10-K describes it as the nation's largest retailer of used vehicles, with 780,684 used vehicles sold at retail in the year to 28 February 2026, and one of the largest operators of wholesale vehicle auctions, with 538,203 vehicles sold. The retail stores fit 441120 and the auctions 423110.

Lithia, the largest by revenue, reports more than 300 US stores, so even the biggest group owns a small share of the 21,910 new car rooftops. State motor vehicle agencies license dealers and many publish license lookups, and manufacturers' dealer locators list every franchised store. The guide to selling to car dealerships covers who decides inside a store and a group. A Bebop search can describe the stores you want (independent used car dealers in Texas with 10 to 50 employees and an in-house finance department) and return the businesses and owners with the reason each fits.

Worked example: coding a dealer group

Illustrative example. The group and figures are invented.

Prairie Motor Group (prairiemotor.example) in Kansas owns three franchised stores, one used car supercenter and a small wholesale operation that sells trade-ins to other dealers. It has 410 employees across the group.

1. Each store. The franchised stores are 441110 and SIC 5511. The supercenter sells no new cars, so it's 441120 and SIC 5521. The wholesale arm is 423110.
2. The group's primary code. New car stores bring in most of the revenue, so the group reports 441110 on loan and vendor forms.
3. Size. With 410 employees across all affiliates, the group isn't small under 441110 (200 employees), whatever any one store's headcount.
4. Lists. A seller targeting the used car supercenter would miss it on a 441110 list; search 441120 or SIC 5521 too.

Next step: read selling to car dealerships for who buys at a dealership, how groups decide and when to call.