Truck and trailer rules in Oregon: licence classes, brakes, size limits and the motor carrier account

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The statute text is from the Oregon Revised Statutes as published by the Oregon Legislature, and the carrier pages are from the Oregon Department of Transportation Commerce and Compliance Division. Federal background and the other places are on the parent page, trucks and trailers for tree work.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Commercial motor vehicle	A vehicle or combination at 26,001 pounds or more, or a combination at 26,001 pounds or more that includes a towed unit rated over 10,000 pounds
Class A commercial licence	Any vehicle or combination, with endorsements where one is required
Class B commercial licence	Any single vehicle, and towing a vehicle that does not exceed 10,000 pounds
Class C licence	Any vehicle for which a commercial licence is not required
Trailer brakes	A combination needs a brake system on one or more of the vehicles; brakes must be adequate to control, stop and hold it
Width, height	8 feet wide; 14 feet high, including load
Length	40 feet for a vehicle alone; 60 feet for a combination, including load
Motor carrier account	Needed for trucks with a combined weight over 26,000 pounds, and for for-hire trucks at 26,000 pounds or less
Name and USDOT number on the cab	Both sides of each power unit; not required for intrastate private carriage at 26,000 pounds or less
Safety chain	Not published in the statute chapters read

Licence classes

Oregon Revised Statutes section 807.031 sets the classes. A Class A commercial driver licence authorizes a person to operate any vehicle or combination of vehicles, except that an endorsement is needed for any vehicle that requires one. A Class B commercial licence authorizes any single vehicle and towing a vehicle whose gross vehicle weight rating or gross weight, whichever is greater, does not exceed 10,000 pounds. A Class C commercial licence is limited to vehicles built for 16 or more people and to hazardous materials vehicles under 26,001 pounds, each with the right endorsement. A plain Class C driver licence covers any vehicle for which a commercial licence is not required. The weight line comes from section 801.208, which defines a commercial motor vehicle as a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more, or a combination at 26,001 pounds or more that includes a towed unit over 10,000 pounds. The definition leaves out emergency fire vehicles, certain emergency service vehicles, and motor homes and recreational vehicles used only for personal purposes. See the licence statute, ORS chapter 807 and the definitions, ORS chapter 801.

Brakes

Section 815.125 says a combination of vehicles that includes a motor vehicle and any other vehicle must be equipped with a brake system on one or more of the vehicles. Brakes on any vehicle must be adequate to control movement of, stop and hold the vehicle or combination, and must be kept in good working order. The section also sets a stopping test: a vehicle with a registration weight under 8,000 pounds must stop from 20 miles per hour within 25 feet, and a vehicle at 8,000 pounds or more and any combination must stop from 20 miles per hour within 35 feet, in each case without leaving a 12-foot-wide lane. Every motor vehicle and combination also needs a parking brake system able to hold on any grade where it is operated. The chapter sets no trailer weight line below which a trailer is free of brakes; the exemption in section 815.135 covers road machinery, road rollers, farm tractors, electric personal assistive mobility devices and certain trailers carrying a dory. The chapter text read does not use the words safety chain or breakaway. See the vehicle equipment statute, ORS chapter 815.

Width, height and length

Section 818.080 sets the maximum size in Table I. Total outside width is 8 feet for any vehicle. Height, including load, is 14 feet for any vehicle, and the statute adds that this limit does not relieve the owner or driver of exercising due care about vertical clearance on the road being used. Length is 40 feet for a vehicle operating singly and for a vehicle within a combination, and 60 feet for a combination including load. A combination with a stinger-steered pole trailer may be 65 feet. A load on a vehicle may not be longer than 40 feet. Table II sets how far a load may extend past a designated point. Variance permits for oversize or overweight moves are issued under section 818.200 by the road authority, which may set a single trip, a number of trips or continuous operation. See the weight and size statute, ORS chapter 818.

Motor carrier account and cab marking

ORS 825.100 says a person may not operate a motor vehicle on a highway in Oregon as a carrier of persons or property without a certificate or permit from the Department of Transportation. The Commerce and Compliance Division page says an account is needed for trucks with a combined weight over 26,000 pounds and for trucks weighing 26,000 pounds or less that haul for hire, and sends readers to ORS 825.015 and 825.017 for the list of exempt vehicles. Interstate carriers with vehicles over 10,000 pounds need a USDOT number, according to the same page. The Division's cab marking page says motor carriers must show the carrier's legal name or a single trade name, and the USDOT number, on both sides of each power unit. That marking does not apply to vehicles of 26,000 pounds or less in gross combination weight rating when used only in intrastate private carriage, except for placarded hazardous materials loads and passenger vehicles seating 15 or more. See the Oregon motor carrier requirements page and the truck cab marking page.