Truck and trailer rules in Wyoming: licence classes, braking, size and weight limits and intrastate operating authority
What Wyoming Statutes Title 31 say about Class A and Class B licences at 26,001 pounds, the 40 foot stopping standard, the 102 inch width and 14 foot height, and what the Department of Transportation says about intrastate operating authority above 26,000 pounds.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The statute source is Title 31, Motor Vehicles, of the Wyoming Statutes, published by the Wyoming Legislature. The carrier source is the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), which publishes an operating authority manual and an application. 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 | Combination rating of 26,001 pounds or more including a towed unit rated over 10,000 pounds; or a vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more |
| Class A | Combination rated 26,001 pounds or more when the towed vehicle is rated over 10,000 pounds |
| Class B | Single vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more, or one towing a vehicle rated 10,000 pounds or less |
| Brakes | Stop within 40 feet from 20 miles per hour for a vehicle or combination; no trailer weight line in the section read |
| Width, height | 102 inches wide; 14 feet high |
| Length | 60 feet for a single vehicle; no more than three single vehicles in a combination; 85 feet overall for any other combination |
| Axle weight | 20,000 pounds single axle; 36,000 pounds tandem; 10,000 pounds on any wheel |
| Intrastate operating authority | Private carrier: gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds; filing fee US$50 for a new application |
| Safety chain | Not published on the pages read |
Licence classes
Section 31-7-102 defines a commercial motor vehicle as a vehicle or combination used in commerce to carry passengers or property that has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds including a towed unit rated over 10,000 pounds, or a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, or is built for 16 or more passengers, or is used for hazardous materials of any size. Section 31-7-304 sets the classes. Class A is any combination with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more where the vehicle or vehicles towed are rated over 10,000 pounds. Class B is any single vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more, or such a vehicle towing a vehicle not over 10,000 pounds. Class C is a vehicle or combination that is neither, but is built for 16 or more passengers or is placarded for hazardous materials. A holder of a commercial licence may drive all vehicles in the class and in lesser classes, except motorcycles and vehicles that need an endorsement. See Title 31 of the Wyoming Statutes.
Brakes
Section 31-5-950 says every motor vehicle and combination of vehicles must have a service braking system that stops the vehicle or combination within 40 feet from an initial speed of 20 miles per hour on a level, dry, smooth, hard surface, or a shorter distance the superintendent sets. A parking brake must hold the vehicle or combination on any grade on which it is operated under all conditions of loading. The section lets the superintendent add braking systems by regulation. It does not name a weight at which a trailer needs its own brakes, and the pages read do not mention a breakaway device.
Width, height, length and weight
Section 31-18-802 says no vehicle, unladen or with a load, may exceed 102 inches in width or 14 feet in height. For length, a combination may not consist of more than three single vehicles, and no single vehicle may have an overall length over 60 feet. A truck-tractor and semitrailer combination may carry a semitrailer up to 60 feet. In a truck-tractor, semitrailer and trailer combination the semitrailer may not exceed 48 feet and the trailer 40 feet, with 81 feet combined. For any other combination, the overall length may not exceed 85 feet. For weight, no wheel may carry more than 10,000 pounds, no single axle more than 20,000 pounds, and no tandem axle more than 36,000 pounds. A triple axle with more than 96 and not more than 102 inches between the first and third axles is limited to 42,000 pounds. Gross weight on groups of axles follows Table I or Table II in the section, and the interstate limit follows federal law.
Intrastate operating authority
WYDOT publishes a page on intrastate operating authority and an operating authority manual, revised December 2020. The department defines a private motor carrier as a person in business who operates a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds and carries employees or property they own, without pay, over state highways. The manual lists a welding truck and a service truck as examples. In its question list, hauling property the hauler always owns, under 26,000 pounds, needs no operating authority, while over 26,000 pounds makes the hauler a private motor carrier. The manual lists a federal ID number, a U.S. DOT number and a US$50 filing fee for a private carrier application, and the 2026 application form shows the US$50 fee for a new application. See the WYDOT page on intrastate operating authority.
Sources
- Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 31 Motor Vehicles (sections 31-5-950, 31-7-102, 31-7-304, 31-18-802), read October 9, 2026
- Wyoming Department of Transportation, intrastate operating authority page, read October 9, 2026
- Wyoming Department of Transportation, 2020 Operating Authority Manual (revised December 2020), read October 9, 2026
- Wyoming Department of Transportation, application for Wyoming operating authority as a commercial motor carrier (MC-100, January 2026), read October 9, 2026