Publication 5-2002 - Required use of USDOT numbers

The past session of the Maryland Legislature saw the passage of Senate Bill 51, enacted into law as Chapter 348, Laws of Maryland. It was signed by the Governor on May 15, 2001 and is effective July 1, 2002. The law itself is part of the Transportation Article, Section 22-404.3, Annotated Code of Maryland.

The law requires that vehicles registered with the Motor Vehicle Administration and having a gross weight over 10,000 pounds, and licensed to operate in Maryland only (intrastate), must display the name or trade name of its owner and a USDOT number issued by the State of Maryland.

There are several exceptions:

• Vehicles registered as farm trucks,
• School busses,
• Emergency vehicles,
• Vehicles used to transport money etc (armored vehicles),
• Vehicles owned/operated by the State or local governments, and
• Vehicles operating within 15 days from the date of purchase.

NOTE: All of these exceptions are automatically terminated when the vehicle is operated interstate (another state/jurisdiction in addition to Maryland).

The display is required to follow USDOT guidelines namely, be displayed on both sides of the cab of the vehicle, clearly visible and readable from a distance of 50 feet and be in a sharply contrasting color to the background.

When a USDOT number is assigned by Maryland, the letters MD will follow it. If the owner/operator of the vehicle than decides to begin interstate operation instead of solely intrastate, the MD is removed from the end of the assigned number at the same time IRP and perhaps IFTA registration are acquired.

Below is an example of a proper USDOT number issued by Maryland:

USDOT1234567MD

The Maryland Department of Transportation - not the Comptroller, will issue the numbers. For more information, see the MDOT web site: https://www.mdot.state.md.us