Interpretation ID: baker2.crs
Technical Services
State of New York
Department of Motor Vehicles
Division of Vehicle Safety Services
P.O. Box 2700 ESP
Albany, NY 12220-0700
Dear Mr. Baker:
This is in response to your letter of December 11, 1996 to Coleman Sachs of my staff, seeking clarification of information that this Office previously furnished you on the subject of gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs). In response to your letter of October 4, 1996, we supplied you with a number of interpretative letters that this Office has previously issued with regard to this and other related subjects.
In one of these letters, addressed to John Paul Barber, Esquire and dated May 24, 1993, we observed that it would be appropriate for a party who modifies a used vehicle so that its originally assigned GVWR is no longer appropriate "to add a label to the vehicle which indicates the appropriate loaded weight of the modified vehicle." This has prompted you to ask whether "an alterer (e.g. truck shop) that makes modifications of a used truck to allow it to carry additional weight [can] issue an additional label indicating the vehicle's new loaded weight (GVWR)." You have further asked whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will recognize this as the vehicle's GVWR.
As stated in our previous letter to you, NHTSA has long taken the position that the only parties who can assign or modify a vehicle's GVWR are the original manufacturer, a final stage manufacturer, or an alterer, and that modifications to an existing GVWR should only be made when an error has been committed in its assignment. NHTSA's vehicle certification regulations at 49 CFR 567.7 describe an "alterer," as used in this statement, as
a person who alters a vehicle that has been previously certified . . . other than by the addition, substitution, or removal of readily attachable components such as mirrors or tire and rim assemblies, or minor finishing operations such as painting, or who alters the vehicle in such manner that its stated weight ratings are no longer valid, before the first purchase of the vehicle in good faith for purposes other than resale . . . (emphasis added).
Consistent with this description, a person who makes modifications to a used vehicle (i.e, a vehicle that has already been purchased for purposes other than resale) does not qualify as an "alterer," as that term is used in NHTSA's regulations. There is no regulatory requirement for such a person to affix a label to the vehicle once it is modified in such a manner that its GVWR is different from that shown on the original certification label, as there is for alterers under 49 CFR 567.7(b). Absent such a regulatory requirement, this Office stated in its letter to Mr. Barber that when modifications are made to a used vehicle that make the originally assigned GVWR inappropriate for the vehicle as modified, the modifier should add a label to the vehicle that indicates its appropriate loaded weight.
Consistent with this guidance, a party who modifies a used truck to allow it to carry additional weight can affix an informational label that identifies the loaded weight of the vehicle as modified. You have asked whether NHTSA would "recognize" the loaded weight specified by the modifier as the vehicle's GVWR. Because the modifier would not qualify as an original or final stage manufacturer or as a vehicle alterer, he would not be in a position to assign the vehicle a new GVWR. Consequently, NHTSA would not recognize the loaded weight that the modifier specifies on the informational label as the vehicle's GVWR. Nevertheless, the agency is aware that there is a need for the owners and users of the modified vehicle to be apprised as to how heavily it may safely be loaded. For that reason, NHTSA would encourage the modifier to add an informational label identifying the vehicle's new loaded weight.
There is, of course, no legal requirement for the modifier to affix such a label. The only legal requirement that is imposed on commercial entities that make modifications to used vehicles is that they "not knowingly make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in [the] vehicle . . . in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard . . . ." 49 U.S.C. 30122(b). The modifier must therefore ensure that the vehicle's brakes and other systems that may be affected by increased vehicle weight remain in compliance with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards once the modifications are performed. Civil penalties can be imposed under 49 U.S.C. 30165(a) for violations of section 30112(b).
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions regarding this matter, feel free to contact Mr. Sachs at the address above, or by telephone at 202-366-5238.
Sincerely,
John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel
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d:4/2/97