---
kind: "section"
citation: "40 U.S.C. § 17101"
title: "40"
title_heading: "Public Buildings, Property, and Works"
number: "17101"
heading: "Definitions"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/40/17101"
units:
  - "Subtitle VI — Miscellaneous"
  - "Chapter 171 — Safety Standards for Motor Vehicles"
---

# §17101. Definitions


In this chapter, the following definitions apply:

- (1) **Federal government.—** The term “Federal Government” includes the government of the District of Columbia.
- (2) **Motor vehicle.—** The term “motor vehicle” means a vehicle, self-propelled or drawn by mechanical power, designed for use on the highways principally for the transportation of passengers, except a vehicle designed or used for military field training, combat, or tactical purposes.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 107–217, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1279.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 17101 | 40:703. | Pub. L. 88–515, § 3, Aug. 30, 1964, 78 Stat. 696. |

In clause (1), the words “the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government of the United States” are omitted as unnecessary.