• A passenger carrier is a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) if it is used to transport in interstate commerce eight or more passengers for compensation; or 15 or more passengers not for compensation.
• The FMCSRs may apply to passenger carriers whether the vehicles are leased, borrowed, rented, or owned, and whether empty or loaded.

A commercial eight-passenger van that weighs less than 10,000 pounds, which is not normally regulated as a CMV, could become subject to the FMCSRs if pulling a trailer. In general, the FMCSRs apply to all employers, employees, and CMVs involved in the transportation of passengers or property across state lines for a commercial purpose (known as “interstate commerce”). This can include companies that operate vehicles for their own private use — such as a professional orchestra using buses for concert tours — as well as those transporting passengers for compensation (for-hire), such as a charter bus service.

The FMCSRs may apply whether the vehicles are leased, borrowed, rented, or owned, and whether empty or loaded. In some cases, vehicles operating strictly within a single state (operating in intrastate commerce) are also subject to the rules.

Applicability and exceptions

Some exemptions from all or portions of the regulations do exist, however, often based on the size of the vehicle or the type of operation. The applicability of and exceptions from the FMCSRs are found in 390.3 with important definitions provided in 390.5. Also, under 390.9, state and local governments are not precluded from adopting and enforcing state and local vehicle safety rules if those rules don’t prevent full compliance with the FMCSRs.

To review FMCSA guidance on several passenger-carrying vehicle scenarios refer to Appendix A of Part 390. Scenarios include but are not limited to:

• Passengers using air and ground transport – A move can be in interstate commerce even if the ground transportation is entirely in one state, which means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), not state regulations, apply unless otherwise exempt.
  • Hotel, parking, and car rental shuttles receive indirect compensation via the rate paid for a package of services. These are for-hire operations requiring interstate authority when travel is incidental to air travel.
• Education-related transportation at private and government-run schools – Contractors to school districts and non-profit, private schools with extracurricular activity trips were covered.
• Faith-based organizations – Any compensation for interstate trips can make a faith-based organization subject to FMCSRs.
• Employer-related transportation – If any compensation is received from employees, the operation is for-hire. FMCSRs apply if the move is in interstate commerce, involves compensation, and the vehicle otherwise meets the definition of a CMV from 390.5.
  • If the vehicle movement involves no compensation, is rated to carry 15 or fewer passengers, including the driver, and is less than 10,001 pounds, FMCSA does not regulate the vehicle or driver.
• Assisted living facilities – If engaged in transportation using CMVs across state lines, FMCSA regulates these operations due to the indirect compensation received from the residents’ fees, unless exempt from many FMCSRs under 390.3(f)(6).
• Youth camps – Applicable regulations when crossing state lines.

Key definitions

For purposes of the FMCSRs:

• An employer is any person engaged in a business affecting interstate commerce who owns or leases a CMV in connection with that business, or assigns employees to operate it.
• An employee is any individual (other than an employer) who is employed by an employer and who, in the course of that employment, directly affects CMV safety. This includes drivers (including independent contractors), but also, mechanics or anyone else who might affect the safety of vehicle operations.

For purposes of most of the FMCSRs, the definition of “commercial motor vehicle” (CMV), found in 390.5, is any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:

• Is designed or used to transport 9 or more passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
• Is designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver) not for compensation; or
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), gross combination weight rating (GCWR), gross vehicle weight (GVW), or gross combination weight (GCW) of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
• Is used to transport a certain amount of hazardous materials.

Based on this definition, the FMCSRs do not apply to CMVs which weigh or are rated at 10,000 pounds or less unless they transport enough passengers (or hazardous materials).

The CMV definition includes combinations of vehicles that by themselves may not be regulated. For example, a commercial eight-passenger van that weighs less than 10,000 pounds and which is not normally regulated as a CMV could become a regulated CMV when pulling a trailer, potentially making it subject to the FMCSRs.

Note also that a different CMV definition is used for the commercial driver’s license (CDL) and drug/alcohol testing regulations under Parts 382 and 383. These regulations apply to interstate or intrastate vehicles weighing or rated at 26,001 pounds or more, designed to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver), or placarded for hazardous materials (see 382.107 and 383.5).