Reference

Window stickers and the Buyers Guide

Walk a dealer lot and you will see two kinds of window sticker. New cars carry the Monroney label, with the price and equipment the manufacturer has to disclose. Used cars carry the FTC Buyers Guide, which tells you whether the dealer stands behind the car. Both are federal requirements, and both identify one specific vehicle you can check against the car itself.

By Pixoware. Published 26 October 2026.

The short answer

A new car's window sticker is the label required by the Automobile Information Disclosure Act, usually called the Monroney label. The manufacturer attaches it before the car goes to the dealer, and it is a federal offense for anyone to willfully remove or alter it before the car is delivered to the buyer. Cars from model year 2013 on also carry the EPA and NHTSA fuel economy and environment label, on the Monroney label or beside it.

A used car offered by a dealer must instead display the FTC's Buyers Guide. It says whether the car is sold as is or with a warranty, and it overrides anything to the contrary in your sales contract.

Neither sticker proves the paperwork belongs to the car in front of you. That is the VIN's job: check that the number on the sticker matches the car, then decode it and look up recalls.

The Monroney label on a new car

Under 15 U.S.C. 1232, every manufacturer of new automobiles distributed in commerce must, before delivering one to a dealer, securely affix a label to the windshield or a side window, with true and correct entries made "clearly, distinctly and legibly." The law's definition of an automobile includes any passenger car or station wagon, and a new automobile is one whose title has never been transferred to an ultimate purchaser.

What the label must show

the make, model, and serial or identification number or numbers;
the final assembly point;
the name and location of the receiving dealer, and the city or town of delivery;
the method of transportation, if the car was driven or towed from the assembly point;
the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the suggested price of each option physically attached when the car was delivered to the dealer and not included in that price, any transportation charge to the dealer, and the total;
NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program safety ratings, if assigned, with frontal, side and rollover categories where applicable, or a statement that the car or a category has not been rated.

The price items stop at what the manufacturer fitted before the car reached the dealer. Anything the dealer adds or charges after that is not one of the label's required entries, so compare the label with the buyer's order line by line.

Who may remove it, and the penalties

Under 15 U.S.C. 1233(c), any person who willfully removes, alters or renders illegible the label, or anything entered on it, before the car is delivered to the actual custody and possession of the ultimate purchaser commits a federal offense, punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both. Each car is a separate offense. The one exception is a manufacturer relabeling a car that has been rerouted, repurchased or reacquired. Once the car is delivered to you, the sticker is yours to keep or peel off. A manufacturer that willfully fails to affix the label, fails to fill it in legibly, or makes a false entry can be fined for each car under 1233(a) and (b).

The fuel economy and environment label

49 U.S.C. 32908 requires manufacturers to attach a fuel economy label in a prominent place on each automobile and says the dealer shall maintain it. NHTSA's rule at 49 CFR 575.401, which works with EPA's labeling rules in 40 CFR Part 600, covers passenger cars and light trucks from model year 2013. Each dealer must keep the label on the vehicle, legible, until after delivery to the ultimate consumer. NHTSA prefers the information to be part of the Monroney label, in its own section; otherwise it goes on a side window as close as possible to the Monroney label.

For a gasoline car it shows combined city and highway fuel economy with the city and highway figures, an annual fuel cost, a five-year fuel cost or savings compared with the average new vehicle, and two 1 to 10 scales, the Fuel Economy & Greenhouse Gas Rating and the Smog Rating, with 10 marked best. Electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and some other fuel types have their own label formats.

The Buyers Guide on a used car

The FTC's Used Car Rule, at 16 CFR Part 455, has been in effect since 1985. Before a dealer offers a used vehicle for sale to a consumer, it must display a Buyers Guide prominently and conspicuously on the vehicle, with both sides readily readable. It may come off for a test drive but must go back as soon as the drive ends, and the buyer must be given the guide after the sale.

Who has to post one

A dealer under the rule is anyone who sells or offers for sale a used vehicle after selling or offering five or more in the previous twelve months, with exceptions for banks and financial institutions, sales to a business's own employees, and lessors selling to the lessee. Vehicles must be under 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, and motorcycles are excluded. The FTC says Maine and Wisconsin are exempt because they have similar rules of their own.

As is, implied warranties, or a dealer warranty

One version of the guide has a box marked AS IS - NO DEALER WARRANTY, which the FTC says means the dealer won't pay for any problems or needed repairs. The other reads IMPLIED WARRANTIES ONLY and is used in states that limit or prohibit as is sales. Beside it is the DEALER WARRANTY box, checked as a FULL WARRANTY or a LIMITED WARRANTY. A limited warranty states the percentage of labor and parts the dealer will pay, the systems covered and the duration. The FTC tells dealers to name each covered system, not shorthand such as "drive train" or "power train."

Further boxes show an unexpired manufacturer's warranty, a third-party warranty, or a service contract that may be available. The back lists the major mechanical and electrical systems and some of the major problems to watch for, from the frame and engine to brakes, air bags and tires.

It is part of your contract

Under 16 CFR 455.3, the final Buyers Guide is incorporated into the contract of sale, and the information on it overrides any contrary provisions in the contract. The contract must say: "The information you see on the window form for this vehicle is part of this contract." Warranty coverage can be negotiated, but the FTC says the Buyers Guide must show any changes you negotiate.

The Spanish version and the 2016 revision

If a sale is conducted in Spanish, 16 CFR 455.5 requires the Buyers Guide and the contract disclosures to be in Spanish. The current form comes from the FTC's 2016 revision, which took effect on January 28, 2017; dealers had to use the new guide by January 28, 2018. It added the non-dealer warranty boxes, a line in Spanish telling buyers to ask for the Spanish guide, and a statement telling buyers to obtain a vehicle history report and check for open safety recalls. eCFR lists that revision as the most recent amendment to Part 455.

How to use the VIN on each sticker

Read the VIN off the car. Under 49 CFR 565.13, it must be readable through the glass by someone standing outside next to the left windshield pillar. The certification label required by 49 CFR 567.4, usually on the driver's door hinge pillar, door-latch post or door edge, also carries it. Where to find the VIN covers the other places it appears.
Compare it with the sticker. The Buyers Guide has a space for the vehicle identification number, and the Monroney label carries the car's identification number. Check every character; the check digit tool catches most transcription errors. A sticker that describes a different car is a reason to stop and ask, and a windshield VIN that does not match the door-jamb VIN is more serious still; see VIN cloning and fraud.
Decode it. Decode the VIN and compare the make, model, model year and equipment with the sticker and the listing.
Check recalls. The Buyers Guide tells you to check for open safety recalls and notes you need the VIN. RunThatVIN's recall lookup lists the campaigns NHTSA has for that year, make and model. NHTSA's VIN search then reports unrepaired recalls on that one vehicle, though it leaves out recalls more than 15 years old unless the manufacturer offers more coverage.

For the full pre-purchase routine, see what to verify by VIN before you buy.

Quick answers

Can a dealer remove the window sticker from a new car?

Not before the car is delivered to you. Under 15 U.S.C. 1233, anyone who willfully removes, alters or makes illegible the Monroney label before a new car reaches the ultimate purchaser commits a federal offense, punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both. The one exception is a manufacturer relabeling a car it has rerouted, repurchased or reacquired.

What does "As Is - No Dealer Warranty" mean on a Buyers Guide?

The FTC says it means the dealer won't pay for any problems or needed repairs. In states that limit or prohibit as is sales, dealers use the Implied Warranties Only version of the Buyers Guide instead.

Does the Buyers Guide override my sales contract?

Yes. Under 16 CFR 455.3 the final Buyers Guide is incorporated into the contract of sale, and the information on it overrides any contrary provisions in the contract. Any warranty terms you negotiate should be shown on the guide.

Why should the VIN on the sticker match the car?

Each sticker describes one specific vehicle. Compare the number on it with the VIN plate at the base of the windshield and the label on the driver's door jamb. If they differ, the sticker is describing another car, so stop and ask before you sign anything.

Sources

What to verify by VIN before you buy →