--- kind: "section" citation: "49 U.S.C. § 31132" title: "49" title_heading: "Transportation" number: "31132" heading: "Definitions" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/49/31132" units: - "Subtitle VI — Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs" - "Part B — Commercial" - "Chapter 311 — Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety" - "Subchapter III — Safety Regulation" --- # §31132. Definitions In this subchapter— - (1) “[commercial motor vehicle](/usc/49/31101.md?p=1)” means a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in [interstate commerce](#4) to transport passengers or property, 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 or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; - (C) is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or - (D) is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under [section 5103 of this title](/usc/49/5103.md) and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under [regulations](#7) prescribed by the Secretary under section 5103. - (2) “[employee](/usc/49/31101.md?p=2)” means an [operator](/usc/49/30501.md?p=6) of a [commercial motor vehicle](/usc/49/31101.md?p=1) (including an independent contractor when operating a [commercial motor vehicle](/usc/49/31101.md?p=1)), a mechanic, a freight handler, or an individual not an [employer](/usc/49/31301.md?p=8), who— - (A) directly affects [commercial motor vehicle](/usc/49/31101.md?p=1) safety in the course of employment; and - (B) is not an [employee](/usc/49/31101.md?p=2) of the [United States](#11) Government, a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4), or a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) acting in the course of the employment by the Government, a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4), or a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4). - (3) “[employer](/usc/49/31301.md?p=8)”— - (A) means a person engaged in a business affecting [interstate commerce](#4) that owns or leases a [commercial motor vehicle](/usc/49/31101.md?p=1) in connection with that business, or assigns an [employee](/usc/49/31101.md?p=2) to operate it; but - (B) does not include the Government, a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4), or a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4). - (4) “interstate commerce” means trade, traffic, or transportation in the [United States](#11) between a place in a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) and— - (A) a place outside that [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) (including a place outside the [United States](#11)); or - (B) another place in the same [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) through another [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) or through a place outside the [United States](#11). - (5) “intrastate commerce” means trade, traffic, or transportation in a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) that is not [interstate commerce](#4). - (6) “medical examiner” means an individual licensed, certified, or registered in accordance with [regulations](#7) issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as a medical examiner. - (7) “regulation” includes a standard or order. - (8) “[State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4)” means a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) of the [United States](#11), the District of Columbia, and, in sections [31136](/usc/49/31136.md) and 31140–31142[^1] of this title, a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4). - (9) “State law” includes a law enacted by a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4). - (10) “State regulation” includes a [regulation](#7) prescribed by a political subdivision of a [State](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4). - (11) “United States” means the [States](/usc/49/31101.md?p=4) of the United States and the District of Columbia. ## Footnotes [^1]: See References in Text note below. ## Source credit (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1000; Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 104(f), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 919; Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4008(a), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 404; Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4116(c), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1728.) ## Notes | Historical and Revision Notes | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Revised
Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) | | 31132 | 49 App.:2503. | Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–554, § 204, 98 Stat. 2833. | The text of 49 App.:2503(6) is omitted as unnecessary because of 1:1. The text of 49 App.:2503(8) is omitted as surplus because the complete name of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Review Panel is used the first time the term appears in a section. The text of 49 App.:2503(9) is omitted as surplus because the complete name of the Secretary of Transportation is used the first time the term appears in a section. ### Editorial Notes ### References in Text Section 31140 of this title, referred to in par. (8), was repealed by Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4008(d), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 404. ### Amendments 2005—Pars. (6) to (11). Pub. L. 109–59 added par. (6) and redesignated former pars. (6) to (10) as (7) to (11), respectively. 1998—Par. (1)(A). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4008(a)(1), inserted “or gross vehicle weight” after “rating” and “, whichever is greater” after “pounds”. Par. (1)(B). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4008(a)(2), which directed substitution of “more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation;” for “passengers” and all that follows through semicolon at end, was executed by making the substitution for “passengers for compensation, but excluding vehicles providing taxicab service and having a capacity of not more than 6 passengers and not operated on a regular route or between specified places;” to reflect the probable intent of Congress. 1995—Par. (1)(B) to (D). Pub. L. 104–88 added subpars. (B) and (C), redesignated former subpar. (C) as (D), and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as follows: “is designed to transport more than 15 passengers including the driver; or”. ### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ### Effective Date of 1995 Amendment Amendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1301 of this title.