Interpretation ID: nht74-4.50

DATE: 01/28/74

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Richard B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Petroleum Equipment

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: Your request for information concerning the transfer of cargo tanks from one chassis to another has been brought to our attention by the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act requires that a label certifying the compliance of motor vehicles to all applicable safety standards be affixed to a vehicle by its manufacturer. Certification regulations enacted pursuant to the mandate of the Act require the final-stage manufacturer to provide the certification of the vehicle with all applicable standards, based on information concerning the conformity of the chassis furnished by the chassis manufacturer pursuant to our regulations. This means that cargo tank manufacturers who install the tanks on the chassis and so complete the vehicle must certify it as a finished product.

Responding to your specific question, the action of transferring a cargo tank from one chassis to another would require a label certifying that the vehicle complies with all applicable safety standards if the chassis was new and had not yet been purchased for purposes other than resale. If the chassis was one which had already been purchased for purposes other than resale, there would be no obligation to recertify the compliance of the vehicle.