Pricing and fee disclosure
Compare price. Never add its included fees again. AAP uses one authoritative advertised vehicle amount across MCP, A2A and PAP.
Four fields, four meanings
Every amount is an integer in whole US dollars.
| Field | Meaning | Buyer-agent treatment |
|---|---|---|
price | Advertised amount after universally available discounts, including all mandatory dealer charges and required add-ons | Use for comparisons, price filters and price sorting |
fees | Optional complete itemization of mandatory charges already included in price | Show as an included breakdown; never add again |
list_price | Informational base/list amount before relevant discounts and charges | Context only; never a substitute for price |
msrp | Manufacturer's suggested retail amount | Reference only |
price excludes only charges a government requires the consumer to pay, such as applicable tax, title or registration. A tax or fee owed by the dealer and passed to the buyer remains included, as does a dealer fee merely permitted by government. Optional products are outside the mandatory fee breakdown.
A price cannot depend on an additional down payment, dealer financing, trade-in, military service, loyalty or another eligibility condition. Conditional incentives may be explained separately; they MUST NOT reduce price. Display authoritative price prominently and label reference amounts clearly.
Missing is different from zero
| Representation | Meaning |
|---|---|
price present, fees omitted | Authoritative amount known; no breakdown supplied |
fees: [] | No mandatory dealer charges or required add-ons |
Nonempty fees | Complete effective breakdown for this vehicle |
price omitted | Authoritative price unknown, even if list amount and fees are present |
A listing without a price remains valid. It does not match a price-bound filter and does not contribute to price_range. Do not estimate or reconstruct its price from other fields.
Included charges are not a calculation recipe
{
"vehicle_id": "vehicle_example_001",
"list_price": 24990,
"price": 26280,
"fees": [
{ "name": "Documentation fee", "amount": 500 },
{ "name": "Required protection product", "amount": 1000 }
],
"status": "available",
"updated_at": "2026-10-24T14:00:00Z"
}
This fictional dealer applied a $210 discount available to every buyer. Show $26,280, including the itemized $1,500. Do not show $27,780 or reconstruct $26,490 from the list amount. The protocol does not require list_price + sum(fees) == price.
Each fee has a specific nonempty name and a nonnegative integer amount. Names must be unique within the array. Fee items cannot encode discounts, optional products or excluded government-required consumer charges.
Resolve rooftop defaults before publication
A rooftop may publish its default fee schedule through dealer.information. The inventory publisher resolves those defaults and any vehicle-specific changes before returning a listing.
When vehicle fees is supplied, it is a complete replacement snapshot. Buyers MUST NOT join, merge or infer fees from the rooftop, another listing or a cached configuration. Vehicle price remains authoritative even when the optional breakdown is unavailable.
| Source data | Publish |
|---|---|
| Complete advertised amount | price; add fees only when its complete breakdown is known |
| Base/list amount only | list_price, with price omitted |
| Base amount + known fees, no certified total | Informational list_price and fees; omit price |
| Amount reduced by an eligibility-dependent rebate | Use the non-conditional advertised amount, or omit price if unknown |
| Rooftop defaults + vehicle exceptions | One complete effective vehicle fee array, when supplied |
These semantics describe an advertised vehicle amount. Buyer-specific government charges and a final transaction quote are outside this inventory contract.
Current enforcement context
Reviewed 2026-10-24. The FTC's September 2026 staff FAQs explain mandatory-fee inclusion, prominent actual prices, conditional discounts and transparent in-transit listings. They distinguish government-required consumer charges from dealer obligations passed on to buyers. The document states that it represents staff views and is not binding on the public or Commission. FTC automotive pricing FAQs.
The separate CARS Rule was withdrawn effective February 12, 2026 after the court's vacatur. AAP does not present it as an active rule. Federal Register withdrawal.
AAP's field meanings are protocol requirements. They do not certify an advertisement or replace an operator's obligations under applicable law.