Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-102

§31101 Definitions

Title 49 › SUBTITLE VI — MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS › PART B — COMMERCIAL › CHAPTER 311 — COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY › SUBCHAPTER I — GENERAL AUTHORITY AND STATE GRANTS › § 31101

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in the rules. "Commercial motor vehicle" (except for rules in section 31106) means a self‑propelled or towed highway vehicle used mainly in commerce to carry people or cargo that either weighs at least 10,001 pounds, is built to carry more than 10 people including the driver, or carries hazardous materials covered by section 5103 that need placards. "Employee" means a driver (including an independent contractor when driving), mechanic, freight handler, or other non‑employer who directly affects CMV safety while working for a commercial motor carrier and who is not a federal, State, or local government employee in that job. "Employer" means a person in business affecting commerce who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns someone to operate it, but not the Federal Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State. "State" includes the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §31101

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this subchapter—
(1)“commercial motor vehicle” means (except in section 31106) a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle—
(A)has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater;
(B)is designed to transport more than 10 passengers including the driver; or
(C)is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under section 5103 of this title and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under section 5103.
(2)“employee” means a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (including an independent contractor when personally operating a commercial motor vehicle), a mechanic, a freight handler, or an individual not an employer, who—
(A)directly affects commercial motor vehicle safety in the course of employment by a commercial motor carrier; and
(B)is not an employee of the United States Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State acting in the course of employment.
(3)“employer”—
(A)means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce that owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in connection with that business, or assigns an employee to operate the vehicle in commerce; but
(B)does not include the Government, a State, or a political subdivision of a State.
(4)“State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 3110149 App.:2301(1), (3)–(6).Jan. 6, 1983, Pub. L. 97–424, § 401(1), (3)–(6), 96 Stat. 2154, 2155. 49 App.:2301(2).Jan. 6, 1983, Pub. L. 97–424, § 401(2), 96 Stat. 2154; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–554, § 228(a), (b), 98 Stat. 2852. Before clause (1), the words “unless the context otherwise requires” are omitted as unnecessary. The text of 49 App.:2301(4) is omitted as unnecessary because of 1:1. The text of 49 App.:2301(5) is omitted as surplus because the complete name of the Secretary of Transportation is used the first time the term appears in a section. In clause (1), before subclause (A), the words “(except in section 31106)” are added because the source provisions being restated in section 31106 of the revised title contain a definition of “commercial motor vehicle”. In clause (4), the words “the Commonwealth of” are omitted for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1998—Par. (1)(A). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4003(a)(1), inserted “or gross vehicle weight” after “rating” and substituted “10,001 pounds, whichever is greater” for “10,000 pounds”. Par. (1)(C). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4003(a)(2), inserted “and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under

Regulations

prescribed by the Secretary under section 5103” before period at end.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Savings Clause Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4003(h), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 398, provided that: “

Amendments

made by this section [amending this section and sections 31102 to 31104 of this title] shall not affect any funds made available before the date of enactment of this Act [June 9, 1998].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 31101

Title 49, Transportation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102