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Virginia truck lettering requirements
Short answerVa. Code 46.2-1076(A): a for-hire motor vehicle must plainly display the legal name or trade name of the carrier operating it on both sides, readily legible in daylight from 50 feet while parked. A removable device is allowed. It does not apply to vehicles with a registered gross weight under 10,000 lbs, vehicles used only for weddings or funerals, chauffeur-free rentals under a lease giving the lessee exclusive control, or EMS vehicles.
Some details on this page come from agency guidance rather than the statute text and are being confirmed. The federal rule below applies regardless.
What Virginia requires
| USDOT for intrastate carriers | Not confirmed. Virginia is not on FMCSA's list of states that require intrastate USDOT numbers, but 19VAC30-20-80 applies 49 CFR 390 through 397 to intrastate commerce and we found no Virginia exception to 390.21. Ask the Virginia State Police before assuming you are exempt. |
|---|---|
| State number | None for marking. For-hire intrastate property carriers get operating authority from Virginia DMV; it shows on the registration card, not the truck. |
| Printed format | Legal or trade name on both sides |
| Size | No inch minimum; legible from 50 feet in daylight with sharp contrast (49 CFR 390.21). Two inch numbers is the standard. |
| Enforced by | Virginia DMV (for-hire authority); Virginia State Police (motor carrier safety) |
| Sources | Va. Code 46.2-1076; 19VAC30-20-40, 19VAC30-20-80 |
What the door looks like
Your Company LLC
USDOT 1234567
Also worth knowing
- Tow trucks serving the public for hire must also show the name on both sides (46.2-1076(C)).
- A pickup, panel truck, tractor truck, trailer or semitrailer may not carry any name other than the owner's or lessee's, except paid advertising under a valid contract (46.2-1076(D)).
- No inch height and no address requirement in the statute.
The federal rule underneath
49 CFR 390.21 applies to every commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce: legal or single trade name, the letters USDOT and the number, both sides of the power unit, contrasting color, legible from 50 feet in daylight while parked. No federal inch minimum. The MC number is not a federal marking requirement, and trailers don't need markings. States add to this; they don't replace it.
Sources
Checked September 2026. Plain-English summary of the regulations, not legal advice. Rules change; the citations above are where to confirm.