Us dot number?

d_b1486

Active Expediter
I was running for a big carrier for 13 months and just got my own insurance and running for couple small carriers. One of the guys said I don't need usdot decals on my van when I asked him, so I get my first load and then driving on i20 earlier today and a state trooper pulls me over. So he asks where are my dot numbers? I said I don't need them. He said I do and also said I'm suppose to be logging, when I know that's not true. My question is do I have to have usdot when running for multiple carriers? With my own insurance. I drive a 2008 express cube van. Gvwt is 9600 registered with a "for hire" plate at 10k not 10,001. Thanks for clearing it this up guys


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Brisco

Expert Expediter
Were any citations issued??

If so, logbook citation can be beat. Trooper is wrong on that issue.

Not having decals displayed not so sure. Even guys running with 3/4 ton flatbeds down here in Texas have their DOT Numbers displayed, but they also have "Under 10K Lbs" across the bottom of their doors too. I'll look it up when I have time......unless Turtle jumps on it first.;)

What state on I20??
 

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
I think if you are running commercial you need DOT #'s
and no you don't need to log
 

d_b1486

Active Expediter
Thanks for responding. He didnt give a citation, only a warning about usdot number, not the logbook. He looked like a young guy probably new and doesn't know any better. But I'm not so worried about log, I know we dont need them. just wanna know about decals. That I'm not sure about.


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Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Unless you are a commercial motor vehicle (which you are not in a van unless you are hauling hazardous material which requires placarding), or are operating as a freight forwarder, or are a broker for a motor carrier, you do not need a DOT number.

Go here:
Registration & Assistance: USDOT Number/Operating Authority - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

At the bottom of the box under HELP ME REGISTER, click the Step-by-Step Registration Guide and go through the questions. Other than picking the US as where your company is headquartered, all your answers should be NO.
 

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
Unless you are a commercial motor vehicle (which you are not in a van unless you are hauling hazardous material which requires placarding), or are operating as a freight forwarder, or are a broker for a motor carrier, you do not need a DOT number.

Go here:
Registration & Assistance: USDOT Number/Operating Authority - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

At the bottom of the box under HELP ME REGISTER, click the Step-by-Step Registration Guide and go through the questions. Other than picking the US as where your company is headquartered, all your answers should be NO.
Then why does every company van I see have a DOT#?
Plumbers, electricians, rental vans,the vans in my area that haul the Amish around etc etc
 

d_b1486

Active Expediter
Ok, so my for hire plate is not commercial? I don't count as a commercial carrier? Because the trooper pointed out my for hire plate when he was telling me this. Thanks for helping out big time, just wanna make sure I don't get some unwanted tickets.


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Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
I seriously doubt that every company van you see has DOT numbers on them. I can't recall seeing any company van other than one leased on with an interstate motor carrier having DOT numbers (unless the same company also has CMVs which require a DOT number and they just go ahead and slap 'em on the non-CMVs, too, same as Panther and lots of other carriers). Same with rental vans. Passenger vans might have to have DOT numbers if they haul passengers across state lines (depending on how many they haul), and/or transport students to and from school (depending on the state law).

DOT numbers are for brokers, freight forwarders and interstate carriers, not intrastate plumbers, electricians and floral delivery vans that are not Commercial Motor Vehicles. Electricians, plumbers, pest control, they have to display their license numbers, but they don't need a DOT number. A Google image search for electricians, plumbers and other company (not interstate motor carrier) vans all show vans with no DOT numbers on them.


Amish buggies with DOT numbers? Really? :D


A license plate has nothing to do with your classification at the FMCSA, nor does it have anything to do with how much weight you can legally carry. In North Carolina, "for hire" plates are issued to any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of transporting persons or property for compensation, including a wide variety of vehicles such as light and medium duty delivery trucks, cargo vans, charter buses, limousines, tow trucks, etc.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
A license plate has nothing to do with your classification at the FMCSA, nor does it have anything to do with how much weight you can legally carry. In North Carolina, "for hire" plates are issued to any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of transporting persons or property for compensation, including a wide variety of vehicles such as light and medium duty delivery trucks, cargo vans, charter buses, limousines, tow trucks, etc.
My commercial plate here does Turtle....a truck plate in SD we can chose from 3T and upwards...mine has a little sticker in the corner that says 5T.... IF I had elected the 4T sticker(no difference in price) and had a full load on I'd be over the sticker weight and be subject to a ticket. Keep in mind our state law..I am a commercial vehicle and subject to scaling only. Scale weight GVW is 8,000 Lbs here...

Troopers often will confuse State laws for FMCSA laws
 
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Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
I may have worded that badly, but it was in reference to people confusing the GVWR on the door (or under the seat) of the vehicle and the weight listed on the license plate, and think the license plate is what matters most.

If you had the those 4T plates and got weighed in Michigan, you wouldn't get a ticket if you weighed 8540 pounds. You would in SD, but not anywhere else. By the same token, I was parked yesterday next to another Sprinter and he noticed my 10,000 pound plates, and he said, "That's smart," and that he did the same thing with his so that he could haul the extra weight.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
I may have worded that badly, but it was in reference to people confusing the GVWR on the door (or under the seat) of the vehicle and the weight listed on the license plate, and think the license plate is what matters most.

If you had the those 4T plates and got weighed in Michigan, you wouldn't get a ticket if you weighed 8540 pounds. You would in SD, but not anywhere else. By the same token, I was parked yesterday next to another Sprinter and he noticed my 10,000 pound plates, and he said, "That's smart," and that he did the same thing with his so that he could haul the extra weight.

I guess my 5T sticker I could carry that extra weight eh?:rolleyes:
 

d_b1486

Active Expediter
So tk me so far seems like they are not needed. Still gonna call FMCS Dept on Monday and ask to be sure. Funny thing is, when I started with my other company last year, also on he first load I got, driving in NC already loaded on I77 N, when a state trooper pulls me over and asks for the usual. Then he asks for my log. I said we don't keep logs were under 10k, he said ok I'll hold on to ur info, pull into the next exit and then into the parking lot of the gas station, I'll performe a dot inspection.so I drive he follows, we get there and he opens his window kinda waives for me to come, hands me my license and BOL and stuff and said "your right u don't need logs, drive safe" that's was a funny situation.


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Dakota

Veteran Expediter
So tk me so far seems like they are not needed. Still gonna call FMCS Dept on Monday and ask to be sure. Funny thing is, when I started with my other company last year, also on he first load I got, driving in NC already loaded on I77 N, when a state trooper pulls me over and asks for the usual. Then he asks for my log. I said we don't keep logs were under 10k, he said ok I'll hold on to ur info, pull into the next exit and then into the parking lot of the gas station, I'll performe a dot inspection.so I drive he follows, we get there and he opens his window kinda waives for me to come, hands me my license and BOL and stuff and said "your right u don't need logs, drive safe" that's was a funny situation.


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Might be a good idea to put stickers on your doors and the rear of truck that say under 10K like Penske does. Because your driving a cube van officers might mistake you for a heavier truck.
 

d_b1486

Active Expediter
I was thinking of that, it will help keep some of them off me. Thanks


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Dakota

Veteran Expediter
I was thinking of that, it will help keep some of them off me. Thanks


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Just put GVWR and your truck weight
I think on the penske cubes it states under 10K plus the GVWR and on the non cdl straights it states the weight, mine was 25,999
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
If you had the those 4T plates and got weighed in Michigan, you wouldn't get a ticket if you weighed 8540 pounds

If you got weighed in Michigan, they will ignore your license tags and look at the OEM sticker to see what your GVW is. They do not care what the plate says because the plate is part of another state's tax collection, not theirs and is subject to that state's licensing system.
 

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
If you had the those 4T plates and got weighed in Michigan, you wouldn't get a ticket if you weighed 8540 pounds

If you got weighed in Michigan, they will ignore your license tags and look at the OEM sticker to see what your GVW is. They do not care what the plate says because the plate is part of another state's tax collection, not theirs and is subject to that state's licensing system.

Same with Indiana you can choose the weight on the truck plates
 

xmudman

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
In PA you can go to the top of your weight class. For instance, my old flivver grosses at 8550; I could, if I wished, submit a form to PennDOT to increase the stated GVW to 9000.

When you sign the form, you acknowledge that going past your manufacturer's GVW could be unsafe and cause vehicle problems, but they allow it anyway....
 
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