Automobile Information Disclosure Act — Monroney Window Sticker

The Automobile Information Disclosure Act (1958) is the federal law that requires manufacturers to attach a Monroney sticker — the window sticker — to every new car before it is delivered to a dealership. For the dealer franchise protection law that governs the manufacturer-dealer relationship, see Automobile Dealers' Day in Court Act. Named after Senator A.S. "Mike" Monroney of Oklahoma who sponsored the original law, the sticker must disclose the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), the price of any optional equipment, the transportation charge, and where the car was assembled. Removing or altering the sticker before the car is delivered to the buyer is a federal crime.

The law is the reason every new car in a U.S. dealership has a specific price disclosure prominently posted — making it harder to obscure what the manufacturer actually charges versus what the dealer has added. It does not cap prices or require dealers to sell at MSRP, but it ensures the manufacturer's own pricing is visible at the point of sale.

Current Law (2026)

Legal Authority

• 15 U.S.C. § 1231 — Definitions: "manufacturer" (makes/assembles new cars or imports for sale), "automobile" (passenger cars and station wagons), "new automobile" (never had title transferred to a non-dealer buyer), "dealer," "final assembly point," "ultimate purchaser," "commerce"
• 15 U.S.C. § 1232 — Label requirements: manufacturer must firmly attach the required sticker before delivery to a dealer; must include all pricing components, assembly location, and dealer delivery information; if NHTSA has crash-tested the vehicle, safety ratings must appear prominently
• 15 U.S.C. § 1233 — Penalties: intentional failure to attach or false marking — up to $1,000 per vehicle; intentional removal or alteration before delivery to buyer — up to $1,000 fine, 1 year prison, or both

How It Works

The Monroney Act requires the manufacturer — not the dealer — to attach the sticker before the car is shipped, ensuring pricing information comes from the party that sets manufacturing-level prices before the dealer can substitute alternatives. The dealer may add a supplemental sticker showing dealer-added options or their own asking price, but the original Monroney sticker must remain. Removing or altering the sticker before delivery to the first consumer is a federal criminal offense for anyone — dealers included — punishable as a misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine and one year imprisonment per vehicle (15 U.S.C. § 1233). The sticker shows the manufacturer's suggested retail price, not a regulated sale price: dealers legally sell cars above or below, and in tight supply markets (like the 2021–2022 chip shortage) dealers routinely added "market adjustment" markups via a separate dealer sticker placed alongside the unaltered Monroney.

NHTSA crash test safety ratings are now required on the sticker for any model NHTSA has tested: the sticker must display frontal, side, and rollover ratings using a clear graphic, show the maximum possible rating for comparison, and direct consumers to safecar.gov; models with missing or untested categories must say so, and the safety section must occupy at least 8% of the sticker area or 4½ by 3½ inches (15 U.S.C. § 1232). The Act applies only to new automobiles — defined as new passenger cars, trucks, and station wagons where title has never passed to a non-dealer buyer; used cars, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles are not covered (the FTC's Used Car Rule governs used vehicle disclosure). If a vehicle was transported to the dealership by carrier, the transportation charge — what the manufacturer billed the dealer for shipping — must appear as its own itemized line on the sticker, giving buyers visibility into that component of the total price.

How It Affects You

If you are buying a new car and want to understand what you're actually looking at: The Monroney sticker is the manufacturer's own document — not the dealer's — showing the actual retail price structure before the dealer touches it. Read it as four layers: (1) Base MSRP — the price of the vehicle without any options; (2) Factory-installed options — each listed separately with its own MSRP so you can see what each package actually costs; (3) Destination and delivery charge — the fixed manufacturer's fee to ship the car to the dealer, not negotiable and the same at every dealer nationwide for that model; (4) Total MSRP — the sum of all three. The sticker also includes EPA fuel economy estimates (on a separate federally required label integrated or adjacent to the Monroney), NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for crash and rollover, and on EVs and PHEVs, range and charging cost estimates. If a sticker is missing when you arrive at the dealership — or has clearly been removed and reattached — that is a federal law violation (15 U.S.C. § 1232) and a negotiating signal: a dealer who removes or alters the sticker is a dealer trying to obscure price information. Walk away or use it as leverage.

If you're negotiating price: The Monroney MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested price, not the floor or the ceiling. In a tight supply market, dealers routinely add "market adjustment" supplements — their own separate sticker added next to the Monroney (which is legal) showing dealer-installed accessories and an inflated asking price (also legal, as long as the original Monroney stays unaltered). In a normal or buyer's market, the actual transaction price is typically below MSRP. The gap between MSRP and dealer invoice (what the dealer paid) is accessible through Edmunds.com/car-reviews-and-news/dealer-invoice-price and TrueCar.com — this tells you the dealer's cost basis and frames realistic negotiation. Be aware of "destination" (listed on the Monroney, non-negotiable), "dealer prep" (often an invented fee worth challenging), and "documentation fees" (state-regulated, often $100-$500). The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's auto loan resources at consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/auto-loans cover the financing side of the transaction, where dealers often recoup discounts off the vehicle price through higher-margin financing arrangements.

If you are a car dealer: Your obligations under 15 U.S.C. § 1232 are clear: the Monroney sticker must be present and unaltered on every new passenger car or station wagon until the moment the buyer takes delivery. You cannot remove it for test drives, detailing, or photography. You can add your own supplemental sticker showing dealer-installed accessories (paint sealant, fabric protection, GPS systems) and your own asking price — that supplement is your document, governed by FTC truth-in-advertising rules. But the original Monroney must remain visible alongside your supplement. Failing to attach, removing, or falsifying a Monroney sticker exposes you to a $1,000 civil penalty per vehicle under federal law, enforceable by the FTC. If a customer reports a missing sticker to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or your state's AG, that complaint can trigger an investigation of your entire inventory. Make this a checklist item at vehicle check-in, not an afterthought at point of sale.

If you're a manufacturer, distributor, or importer: The Monroney sticker requirement (15 U.S.C. § 1231-1233) attaches the moment a new passenger automobile leaves your distribution network for a dealer. The vehicle must carry the sticker before that transfer — not when it arrives at the dealer, not when the dealer displays it. The sticker must accurately reflect the suggested retail price for the vehicle as configured, including all factory-installed options. For manufacturers, the enforcement pathway is through the FTC, with each non-compliant vehicle representing a separate $1,000 violation. The Monroney label intersects with NHTSA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) compliance — the fuel economy numbers on the Monroney label are the same figures used in CAFE fleet calculations, making label accuracy a compliance matter beyond just consumer disclosure. International manufacturers selling into the U.S. market must meet the same labeling requirements as domestic manufacturers.

Implementing Regulations

The EPA regulations implementing the fuel economy disclosure requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act live at 40 CFR Part 600 — Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Exhaust Emissions of Motor Vehicles (46 sections across 6 subparts). Part 600 defines exactly what must appear on the fuel economy label attached to every new car, truck, and SUV sold in the United States, and establishes the test procedures used to generate the values that appear on that label:

Fuel Economy Label Requirements (Subpart D — §§ 600.301–600.311):

• § 600.301 — Label required: every manufacturer must affix (or cause to be affixed) a fuel economy label to each new automobile before it is offered for sale; dealers must maintain the label on the vehicle; the label is a separate required document from the Monroney MSRP sticker but is typically printed as part of the Monroney window sticker package
• § 600.302-12 — Standard label format: the fuel economy label for a conventional gasoline vehicle must display:
  • Estimated city MPG and estimated highway MPG prominently, using a standardized font and layout
  • Estimated combined MPG (calculated at 55% city / 45% highway weighting)
  • Estimated annual fuel cost in dollars (based on a standard mileage assumption and current average fuel prices set by EPA each model year)
  • Fuel economy range showing where this vehicle falls compared to other vehicles of the same type (a scale from "worst" to "best" in the class), helping consumers compare within and across vehicle types
  • A QR code linking to the EPA's fuel economy website (fueleconomy.gov) for detailed model-year comparisons
• § 600.310-12 — Electric vehicle label format: BEV (battery electric vehicle) labels display MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent — a standardized measure converting electric energy use to gasoline-equivalent consumption), estimated range per charge in miles, and estimated annual fuel cost based on the national average electricity rate; the label must also show charging time estimates for different charger levels
• § 600.308-12 — Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) label: displays both the all-electric MPGe and range, and the gasoline MPG when operating in hybrid mode; shows separate annual fuel cost estimates for each mode
• § 600.311-12 — How values are determined: city and highway fuel economy values are derived from EPA's standardized test cycle (the five-cycle test procedure) that adjusts for real-world driving conditions including air conditioning, high speeds, and cold weather; manufacturers test their own vehicles and submit data to EPA, which verifies through its own independent testing of selected models; the city cycle approximates urban stop-and-go driving (average speed ~21 mph), the highway cycle approximates steady highway driving (~48 mph average)

Test Procedures (Subpart B — §§ 600.108–600.116): Manufacturers conduct fuel economy tests on certification vehicles using the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) under controlled laboratory conditions, submitting results to EPA with their vehicle certification data; EPA may independently test any model; test data feeds both the label values and manufacturers' CAFE compliance calculations under Subpart F. Manufacturers must maintain test records for each vehicle configuration.

Manufacturer Average Fuel Economy (Subpart F — §§ 600.510–600.516): The same city and highway fuel economy values from the label procedure form the basis of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) calculation that NHTSA uses to determine whether a manufacturer's fleet meets the fleet-average mpg standard. Each vehicle's window sticker MPG flows directly into the fleet-average computation — making label accuracy a compliance matter beyond just consumer disclosure.

Recent rulemakings: 91 FR 7768 (February 18, 2026) updated the vehicle acceptability standards for certification vehicles and the data submission requirements for fuel economy data, incorporating changes related to new powertrain configurations in EVs and PHEVs. 89 FR 28201 (April 2024) revised the fuel economy label format to add additional information about charging infrastructure for EVs and updated the annual fuel cost calculation methodology to reflect current electricity price data. 88 FR 4481 (January 2023) updated label requirements for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to display miles per kilogram of hydrogen and estimated annual fuel cost.

State Variations

The Monroney Act is federal and applies uniformly to all new cars sold in the United States. However:

• State consumer protection laws may impose additional disclosure requirements for dealer-added fees, documentation fees, or add-on products
• Some states specifically regulate "dealer markup" transparency — requiring disclosure of above-MSRP adjustments in certain ways
• States regulate used car pricing disclosures under their own consumer protection laws; the federal Used Car Rule (FTC) also imposes separate disclosure requirements for used vehicles

Related Disclosures at the Dealership

The Monroney sticker is just one of several required disclosures in a new car transaction:

• Fuel economy label (required by EPA/DOT under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act): shows estimated MPG, annual fuel cost estimate, and comparison to similar vehicles; required separately from the Monroney sticker
• FTC Buyers Guide (used cars only): required disclosure of whether warranty is offered and its terms
• Odometer disclosure (Title IV of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act): required at transfer of title for vehicles under 10 years old

Pending Legislation (119th Congress)

No major 119th Congress amendments to the Automobile Information Disclosure Act were pending as of April 2026. NHTSA has continued to refine its crash test program and the format for safety ratings on the Monroney sticker. The FTC has issued guidance on dealer markups and "junk fees" in car transactions, but changes to the Monroney sticker requirements themselves have not been a legislative priority.

Recent Developments

• NHTSA updated the format of safety ratings on Monroney stickers as part of its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) modernization effort, adding more detailed testing categories
• Post-pandemic dealer markups above MSRP sparked significant consumer and legislative attention; several states introduced bills requiring prominent disclosure of above-MSRP pricing, though the underlying Monroney sticker itself was not at issue
• FTC's 2024 "CARS Rule" (Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule) addressed additional fee disclosure and ban on certain deceptive dealer practices — that rule operates alongside the Monroney Act's sticker requirements