Interpretation ID: nht95-1.66

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: February 14, 1995

FROM: Philip R. Recht -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Baysul Parker -- Manager, Safety Department, California Trucking Association

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: ATTACHED TO 11/20/92 LETTER FROM PAUL JACKSON RICE TO J. LESLIE DOBSON, 7/1/92 LETTER FROM PAUL JACKSON RICE TO GENE FOUTS, 3/19/91 LETTER FROM PAUL JACKSON RICE TO JERRY TASSAN, 5/24/93 LETTER FROM JOHN WOMACK TO JOHN PAUL BARBER, AND 12/21/94 LETTER FROM BAYSUL PARKER TO PAUL JACKSON RICE (OCC 10622)

TEXT: This responds to your letter of December 21, 1994, in which you state that you have received numerous inquiries regarding whether an alterer can change a vehicle's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) before the vehicle's first sale. You state that you hav e received similar inquiries concerning changes to the GVWR on used vehicles. You describe these inquiries as coming generally from owners of vehicles with a GVWR in excess of 26,000 pounds who wish to lower the GVWR so that these vehicles may be driven by operators who do not possess a commercial driver's license. From your review of regulations governing vehicle certification that have been issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), you express the understanding that only a vehicle manufacturer can assign a GVWR, but that either the manufacturer or "an alterer approved by NHTSA" can change the GVWR before the vehicle's first sale. This has led you to ask whether there is a list of NHTSA approved alterers.

Under NHTSA's regulations on vehicle certification, found at 49 CFR Part 567, the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle is responsible for affixing a label to the vehicle that specifies, among other things, the vehicle's GVWR. Section 567.4(g)(3) of those regulations states that the GVWR assigned by the manufacturer "shall not be less than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight, rated cargo load, and 150 pounds times the vehicle's designated seating capacity." NHTSA requires a vehicle's GVWR to be specif ied on the certification label to inform the vehicle's owners how heavily the vehicle may safely be loaded. NHTSA expects the GVWR to reflect a manufacturer's good-faith evaluation of the vehicle's size, weight, load carrying capacity, and intended use.

Section 567.7 of NHTSA's certification regulations provides that if a vehicle is altered before its first purchase in such a manner that the vehicle's GVWR is different from that shown on the original certification label, the modified GVWR must be specif ied on the label that the alterer affixes to the vehicle. Contrary to your understanding, NHTSA does not approve vehicle alterers, and consequently maintains no list of such enterprises.

You stated that you have received inquires concerning whether the GVWR of a used vehicle can be changed. As detailed in the certification regulations discussed above, a vehicle's GVWR is assigned by its manufacturer as part of the certification process. To avoid statutory violations, the manufacturer must complete the certification process before the vehicle is first sold to a consumer. The GVWR is therefore fixed prior to this first sale. The only exception to this is if the manufacturer seeks to c orrect an error (such as an error in calculation or a typographical error) in the originally assigned GVWR.

NHTSA recognizes no other circumstances in which an originally assigned GVWR can be changed. The agency has stated on a number of occasions that modifications to assigned GVWRs should not be made for reasons relating to the GVWR threshold of the commerc ial driver's license program. This is reflected in the enclosed letters to J. Leslie Dobson, dated November 20, 1992, Gene Fouts, dated July 1, 1992, and Jerry Tassan, dated March 19, 1991. The commercial driver's licensing program is administered by t he Federal Highway Administration. If you have any further questions concerning licensing requirements for operators of commercial motor vehicles, you should contact Mr. James Scapellato, Director, Office of Motor Carrier Standards, HCS-1, Federal Highw ay Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions concerning NHTSA's certification regulations, feel free to contact Coleman Sachs of my staff at the above address, or by telephone at 202-366-5263.