Get paid to advertise on your car? Read this first.

No. Pass By Media places ads only on box trucks of 16 to 26 feet and on 53-foot trailers. We do not take cars, pickups or vans, and we never offer to wrap a car.

The reason is the panel. Our ads are printed banners held in an aluminum frame that bolts to the flat side of a truck box or a trailer, with no adhesive on the paint. A car door has no flat side to hold a frame. Size matters too: the out-of-home ad industry's trade group puts straight trucks at about 16 to 26 feet long by 7 to 8 feet high, and trailer vans at up to 53 feet. That is the space advertisers pay for. See how the frame works.

The best-known companies that pay drivers to advertise on their cars are Carvertise and Wrapify. They lead US search results for this question, and both match drivers to ad campaigns through an app. Search for “get paid to wrap your car” and you will see programs like these next to scam warnings, and the two can look alike at first.

These programs want cars that are on the road a lot. Carvertise says that usually means rideshare or delivery drivers. It also sets rules for the car itself, such as a 2015 or newer model and a body without major dents, and it does not take commercial vehicles. New names appear all the time, so check any company on its own website and on a phone number you look up yourself, never one from the message you got.

Legitimate car wrap advertising costs you nothing, shows you the terms before the ad goes on, pays the installer directly, and pays you only after the wrap is on your car. Here is the usual order.

1. 01

   Apply in the app

   You sign up with your car and where you drive. There is no fee: Wrapify says “No upfront costs,” and Carvertise says there is no cost to you.

2. 02

   Get matched

   The company matches you to a campaign by location, car and miles. Carvertise says you see the brand, the term and the pay before you agree.

3. 03

   Professional install

   A certified installer applies the wrap. At Carvertise, the company pays for the install and the removal.

4. 04

   Drive and get paid

   You keep the app's tracking on and get paid monthly while the campaign runs, usually 3 to 12 months at Carvertise. Then the wrap comes off.

Notice what is missing from that list. Nobody sends you money up front, and nobody asks you to pay anyone. That is the line between car wrap advertising for money and the scam below.

The car wrap scam sends you a check, tells you to deposit it and pay part of it to an “installer,” and then the check bounces and you owe the bank the money you sent. The FTC has warned about it in 2016, 2019 and 2024.

1. 01

   The offer

   A text, email or social media ad offers weekly pay to drive with an ad on your car. The FTC's 2024 alert describes offers of $600 to $700 a week, often for an energy drink. College students are a common target.

2. 02

   The check

   You say yes, and a check arrives. You are told to deposit it.

3. 03

   The “installer”

   You are told to send part of the money to an installer or “specialist” by money order, payment app, cryptocurrency or wire transfer. Those payments are hard to get back.

4. 04

   The bounce

   The check is fake, and banks can take weeks to find out. Then the bank takes the deposit back, you repay it, and the scammer keeps what you sent.

If anyone sends you a check and asks you to pay part of it to someone else, it is a scam. The FTC puts it plainly: “it's a scam. Every time.” Watch for these signs:

• You did not apply. The offer found you by text, email or a social post.
• Money arrives before any ad is on your car.
• You are asked to pay an installer, a “decal agent” or anyone else. A real company pays its own installer.
• You are told to pay by money order, payment app, crypto or wire.
• The message uses a famous brand's name. Scammers borrow real brand names, so a logo proves nothing.

If you already deposited a check like this, do not send any money from it. Call your bank, and report the offer to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Yes. If you own or run a box truck of 16 to 26 feet or a 53-foot trailer, Pass By Media pays you monthly to carry an ad on its sides, on the routes you already drive.

• Free to apply. No fee for the frame, the install or the removal.
• Your pay is set per truck and route, and written into the agreement before anything goes on.
• Paid monthly by direct deposit, from the day the ad goes on.
• You approve every ad and can block whole categories.

Apply with your truck in two minutes. Still deciding what the truck should do? Our guide on how to make money with a box truck covers the other options too.