Decals for Business Vehicles: Company Cars, SUVs, Vans and Pickups

Decals for business vehicles do one of two jobs. Most of the time they advertise: a name, a phone number and maybe a website on a company car, SUV, van or pickup. A smaller group of vehicles must also carry a name and USDOT number under federal rules, and that turns on weight and use, not on the lettering. Pick the job first, then the layout, then the quantity.

Decide what the decal is for

• Advertising: name, phone, website. The Business Name + Phone Number decal is $30.99 and the Business Name + Website decal is $27.99.
• Identification: a company name alone, for a staff car or a service vehicle. The Company Name Decal (Single Line) is $18.99.
• Required marking: the carrier's name and USDOT number on both sides, for a vehicle that counts as a commercial motor vehicle.

Some vehicles need both: the required marking and an advertising line on the same door.

Is the vehicle a commercial motor vehicle?

Putting lettering on a vehicle does not make it commercial. The federal definition looks at how the vehicle is used and what it is rated for (49 CFR 390.5T). Ask four questions about each vehicle:

1. Does it work in interstate commerce?
2. Is its gross vehicle or combination weight rating 10,001 pounds or more? Read the label on the vehicle itself. A trailer's rating is added in when you tow, as FMCSA guidance explains.
3. Does it carry more than 8 passengers for pay, or more than 15 passengers otherwise?
4. Does it haul hazardous materials in a quantity that needs placards?

A yes to the first question and to any of the others makes it a commercial motor vehicle. In that case the marking is the legal name or a single trade name as listed on the carrier's registration, plus the USDOT number, on both sides, in letters that contrast sharply and read from 50 feet in daylight (49 CFR 390.21). Our display rules summary has the plain version. If everything is a no, the federal marking rule does not apply, though some states set their own, so check with your state agency and see FMCSA's guidance. If another company's name also appears on the vehicle, the operating carrier's name and number must follow it, preceded by the words "operated by" (49 CFR 390.21). Our operated by guide covers leased vehicles.

Three layouts for company cars, SUVs and vans

Made-up businesses, to show the shape of each:

• Name and phone on an inspector's SUV: SUNRISE HOME INSPECTIONS, Pre-purchase and annual checks, 555-0119. That is the Business Name + Phone Number decal.
• Name and website on a caterer's van, where orders come through the site: MARLOWE CATERING over marlowecatering.example. Type the address as a customer would, without https:// or www.
• Four lines on a tile contractor's pickup: OAKRIDGE TILE AND STONE, Kitchens, baths and floors, 555-0163, oakridgetile.example. The Make-Your-Own 5-Line takes any text, at $51 per decal.

Make one contact line the star, since two on one decal makes each smaller.

Matching a small group of vehicles

Two to five vehicles do not need a fleet system, but they do need one master copy. Write down the exact lines, the lettering color and the sticker color, and type them again for every vehicle.

Widths can differ. A van door can take 24 inches where a sedan door takes 12, and the group still reads as one brand if the lines and colors match. Try cardboard cutouts first, as in the door decal size guide.

For cost, take an SUV, a van and a pickup, each lettered on both sides. That is six decals, and at $30.99 each the total is $185.94 with free shipping. Past a handful of vehicles, or when each one needs a unit number, see fleet vehicle decals.

If a vehicle is leased, read the lease before putting anything adhesive on it. Our decals are adhesive vinyl, not magnets, so for a removable option read about magnetic signs.