Is F&I menu selling legally required, and what does the FTC's 2026 Lindsay Automotive settlement mean for it?
No state or federal law requires a dealer to present F&I products on a menu. Menu presentation is a compliance practice some dealers and vendors use to document that add-on products were offered as optional, not a legal mandate. In April 2026 the FTC and the Maryland Attorney General settled with Lindsay Automotive Group for over $78 million in refunds and penalties over deceptive pricing and unwanted add-ons: a live example of what happens when that optionality is not made clear to the buyer.
Is F&I menu selling legally required, and what does the FTC's 2026 Lindsay Automotive settlement mean for it?
No state or federal law requires a dealer to present F&I products on a menu. Menu presentation is a compliance practice some dealers and vendors use to document that add-on products were offered as optional, not a legal mandate.
In April 2026 the FTC and the Maryland Attorney General settled with Lindsay Automotive Group for over $78 million in refunds and penalties over deceptive pricing and unwanted add-ons: a live example of what happens when that optionality is not made clear to the buyer. Per the FTC's own April 2026 press release, the agencies alleged Lindsay Automotive Group advertised deceptively low prices, then added unwanted products and fees at the point of sale.
| Search intent | F&I menu compliance and enforcement |
|---|---|
| Related categories | 3 |
| Related guides | 0 |
What the settlement found
Per the FTC's own April 2026 press release, the agencies alleged Lindsay Automotive Group advertised deceptively low prices, then added unwanted products and fees at the point of sale. The settlement requires refunds to consumers who purchased or leased between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2025, plus civil penalties, and requires Lindsay to disclose the total price including mandatory fees going forward.
Why menu selling exists if it is not required
A menu is a documentation and process tool: it creates a record that products were presented, priced individually, and not represented as mandatory or required for financing. It reduces a dealer's risk in exactly the kind of case above, but the menu itself is not what the law requires, voluntariness and accurate disclosure are.
What a dealer should verify with an F&I menu or compliance vendor
Whether the tool documents that products are optional in the customer-facing language, not just internally; whether it supports the all-in, mandatory-fee-inclusive pricing now specifically required of Lindsay and increasingly expected industry-wide; and how it timestamps and retains records of what was presented and declined.
What a dealer can do without treating the menu as a mandate
Because no law requires a menu, the question for a dealer is whether its own process reliably shows customers what is optional and what each product costs. That can be a menu, a signed disclosure or another documented step, so long as it is applied to every customer the same way. Train staff to describe products consistently, keep the presented documents with the deal and review a sample of deals regularly with counsel's input.
What to verify
Menu presents products as optional, not required
All-in price shown before add-ons are offered
Records retained of what was presented and declined
Language reviewed against current FTC and state AG guidance
This describes one settlement's public record as of the date checked, not legal advice; a dealer's specific compliance posture requires its own qualified legal review.
Continue the research
F&I menu & presentation
Product presentation, compliance, e-signature and performance reporting.
Compare providers →Credit, identity & compliance
Credit applications, bureaus, adverse action, red flags and fraud prevention.
Compare providers →F&I products & administration
Service contracts, protection products, rating, remittance and claims.
Compare providers →Related dealership technology questions
What is automotive digital retailing?
Automotive digital retailing supports some or all of the shopping and deal process online, such as…
Safeguards RuleWhat is the FTC Safeguards Rule for dealerships?
Because dealerships arrange financing and leasing, they are treated as financial institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act…
Vendor breach responseWhat should a dealership do after a software vendor data breach?
After a software vendor data breach, a dealership should treat it as an incident involving its…
Desking definitionWhat is desking software?
Desking software is the tool a sales manager uses to structure a deal, payments, terms, lender…