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Commercial vehicle definition

Question
What is a commercial vehicle?

Answer
A vehicle is designated “commercial” when it is titled or registered to a company. This is a broad definition, as commercial vehicles may be fleet vehicles, company cars, or other vehicles used for business.

The Department of Motor Vehicles codes the titles and registrations at the time of issue. Under normal circumstances, a commercial registration is issued for the following reasons:

- the title was placed in the name of a company or corporation
- the vehicle is a leased vehicle and in the name of the financial institution that owns it
- the vehicle exceeds a certain weight or class and therefore is "classified" as commercial even though it may not be commercially used or commercially owned

If you see a "commercial lease" registration, this is not uncommon based on the fact that the financial institution (bank or leasing company) actually owns the car and lists their company's name as the registered owners of the vehicle. Most states will automatically assume that the vehicle is commercial due to the fact that the registered owner is a company, not a private individual. In this case, the "commercial" code has nothing to do with the vehicle's usage, but everything to do with the fact that the registered owner was a company name, not an individual.

You may want to follow up with the state department of motor vehicles to see if they can offer you additional information.

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