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49 CFR 390.5T: Commercial motor vehicle and other key definitions

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49 CFR 390.5T: Commercial motor vehicle and other key definitions
Law read on2026-11-06[1]

49 CFR 390.5T addresses how commercial motor vehicles and related terms are defined within the federal motor carrier safety subchapter, unless a term is specifically defined elsewhere. The central question is whether a vehicle's use and characteristics meet the commercial motor vehicle definition, rather than whether it is commonly called a truck. Under 49 CFR 390.5T, that definition combines highway use in interstate commerce with alternative weight, passenger, or hazardous-material conditions.[1][2][3][4]

49 CFR 390.5T also distinguishes trucks, truck tractors, buses, drivers, carriers, accidents, and disabling damage. The introductory language of 49 CFR 390.5T makes those definitions subject to definitions supplied elsewhere in the subchapter. General applicability and exceptions appear in 49 CFR 390.3T; identification-report provisions appear in 49 CFR 390.19T; and electronic-document conditions appear in 49 CFR 390.32. This entry examines those saved provisions as reference text, with attention to the limits attached to their terminology.[1][2][3][4]

Contents

What the cited provisions say

Under 49 CFR 390.5T, a commercial motor vehicle is a self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property and meeting an alternative qualifying condition. Under 49 CFR 390.5T, the commercial motor vehicle weight condition is a gross vehicle weight rating, gross combination weight rating, gross vehicle weight, or gross combination weight of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; the same section's GCWR definition specifies that the power unit's GCWR is not used to define a commercial motor vehicle when the power unit is not towing another vehicle.[1][2][3][4]

The passenger alternatives in 49 CFR 390.5T cover vehicles designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers, including the driver, for compensation, or more than 15 passengers, including the driver, without passenger compensation. The hazardous-material alternative in 49 CFR 390.5T concerns material determined hazardous by the Secretary of Transportation under 49 U.S.C. 5103, transported in a quantity requiring placarding under the Secretary's regulations in 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.[1][2][3][4]

Who and what the provisions cover

Under 49 CFR 390.5T, interstate commerce includes transportation between a place in a State and a place outside that State, including outside the United States. The same definition in 49 CFR 390.5T includes transportation between places within a State through another State or outside the United States, and transportation within a State forming part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.[1][2][3][4]

49 CFR 390.3T(a)(1), subject to the exceptions in 49 CFR 390.3T(f), applies the subchapter's rules to employers, employees, and commercial motor vehicles transporting property or passengers in interstate commerce. Under 49 CFR 390.5T, a truck is a self-propelled commercial motor vehicle designed or used to transport property, excluding a truck tractor; a truck tractor is a self-propelled commercial motor vehicle designed or used primarily to draw other vehicles. The bus definition in 49 CFR 390.5T covers motor vehicles designed, constructed, or used for passenger transportation, including taxicabs.[1][2][3][4]

Conditions and exceptions

Under the accident definition in 49 CFR 390.5T, excluding occurrences involving only boarding and alighting from a stationary motor vehicle or only loading or unloading cargo, an accident is an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate commerce that results in a fatality, bodily injury for which the injured person immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage to one or more motor vehicles requiring their transportation away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle. The accident definition in 49 CFR 390.5T excludes occurrences involving only boarding or leaving a stationary vehicle, or only loading or unloading cargo.[1][2][3][4]

Under 49 CFR 390.5T, disabling damage prevents departure in the vehicle's usual manner in daylight after simple repairs, including damage that would worsen if driven. The disabling-damage definition in 49 CFR 390.5T excludes damage temporarily repairable at the scene without special tools or parts, tire disablement without other damage even without a spare, headlamp or taillight damage, and damage disabling turn signals, the horn, or windshield wipers. Under 49 CFR 390.5T, fatality means injury resulting in death at the accident or within 30 days.[1][2][3][4]

49 CFR 390.5T includes electronic documentation within written material when it meets 49 CFR 390.32. Under 49 CFR 390.32(a), the section applies to documents entities or individuals are required to retain, regardless of whether FMCSA subsequently requires production or display to its staff or other parties entitled to access, but does not apply to documents that must be submitted directly to FMCSA. Under 49 CFR 390.32(d), electronic records, documents, or signatures must accurately reflect required information, be capable of retention, be used for their intended purpose, and be accurately reproducible within required timeframes for parties entitled to access; electronically generated records or documents must also include proof of consent as required by 15 U.S.C. 7001(c).[1][2][3][4]

49 CFR 390.19T(a) assigns Form MCS-150 to interstate motor carriers, Form MCS-150B to intrastate carriers requiring a Safety Permit under the referenced provisions, and Form MCS-150C to providers offering intermodal equipment for interstate transportation. Under 49 CFR 390.19T(i), a carrier registering vehicles in a State participating in PRISM is exempt from that section if it files all required information with the appropriate State office.[1][2][3][4]

Source date and limits

The saved-source date for this entry is 2026-11-06. Its statute-only scope is confined here to the supplied federal regulatory text and source note, rather than judicial interpretation, enforcement guidance, or an assessment of an individual operation. The source note accompanying 49 CFR 390.5T supplies amendment citations; it is not treated here as a separate statement of effective dates. The saved date identifies the source collection used, not verification of the law on a later reading date.[1][2][3][4]

Cross-references are described only to the extent explained by the supplied units. For example, 49 CFR 390.3T(b) expressly uses the commercial motor vehicle definition in 49 CFR 383.5 for its commercial driver's license applicability statement; that separate definition was not supplied. This entry therefore does not substitute the 49 CFR 390.5T definition for the referenced text or explain unsaved provisions. This discussion provides general reference information about the saved definitions and related regulatory language, not legal advice.[1][2][3][4]

On related publications

Law checked on against the primary sources cited below. Statutes and rules change; read the current official text before relying on a deadline or rule.

References

  1. abcdefghijklm "49 CFR 390.19T, Motor carrier, hazardous material safety permit applicant/holder, and intermodal equipment provider identification reports". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abcdefghijkl "49 CFR 390.32, Electronic documents and signatures". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abcdefghijkl "49 CFR 390.3T, General applicability". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. abcdefghijkl "49 CFR 390.5T, Definitions". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record