Pickup Truck Door Decals for Business: Name, Phone and USDOT

A pickup that is not a regulated commercial vehicle can carry whatever business lettering you like: a name, a phone number and a short tagline. A USDOT decal comes in when the pickup counts as a commercial motor vehicle under federal or state rules, which depends on weight and use, not on body style. Because pickup truck door decals are adhesive vinyl, decide before you order whether the truck will keep them.

Pickup truck door decals with a name, phone and tagline

The Business Name + Phone Number decal is built for this job. Two sample layouts:

• DELGADO LANDSCAPING, 555-0142, Lawn care and cleanups
• RIDGELINE ROOFING, 555-0187, Repairs and replacements

Someone reading your door from the next lane gets a couple of seconds. The name and the phone number are the two things worth that time, so put the tagline last and keep it to a few words. If the phone number is what you want remembered, make it the line that stands out and check the digits twice in the preview.

When a USDOT decal replaces the name decal

The federal definition of a commercial motor vehicle looks at weight and use, not at whether the truck is a pickup (49 CFR 390.5T). A pickup used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle or combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more is covered. One rated below that can still reach the limit when it tows, because the ratings of the truck and trailer add up, as FMCSA guidance explains.

States set their own limits for in-state work. New York, for example, says business trucks at 10,001 pounds GVWR or GCWR or more need a USDOT number. Our full answer is in do pickup trucks need DOT numbers.

If the rule applies to your pickup, the decal must carry the carrier's legal name and USDOT number on both sides (49 CFR 390.21). Sample layouts:

• DELGADO LANDSCAPING over USDOT 1234567, the Company Name + USDOT two-line
• Name, city, USDOT and MC together, the Custom USDOT Logo

A phone line can join them in the Make-Your-Own 5-Line decal.

Sizes for pickup doors

Start by checking how much flat panel your door really has, since the window frame, handle and body crease use up part of it. Cut a mock-up from cardboard at the width you have in mind, hold it in place and look at it from the street. Every extra line shares the same space, so cut a line before you cut the width. The truck door decal size guide has more on widths, and the install guide covers the application.

Removable or permanent?

The marking rule allows a removable device in place of paint, as long as it meets the same contrast, legibility and both-sides requirements (49 CFR 390.21). In its 2000 final rule, FMCSA also said carriers who use personal pickups for business can use temporary signs and take them off when needed.

We make adhesive vinyl decals, not magnets, and a decal is not meant to be moved. Our 3-year guarantee covers a decal that peels or comes off, but it does not cover damage from removal and reapplication (refunds and returns). If the pickup doubles as a family truck, read magnetic USDOT signs. If it is a dedicated work truck, how to remove truck decals shows what getting them off later involves.