If you buy a truck on or after Monday, July 3, it must carry the motor carrier identification number issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the legal name of the company that owns the vehicle or controls its operation.

The vehicle marking change, announced in early June, gives companies still using the ICC number two years to retrofit trucks now in service with the DOT number. Companies that don’t have their legal or trade name (the name listed on the Form-150) on their trucks have five years to make the change.
Identification markings must appear on both sides of the truck. Letters must “contrast sharply” with the background color, and must be legible, during daylight hours, from a distance of 50 feet while the vehicle is stationary. They can be painted on or can be displayed on a “removable device” if the device meets identification and legibility rules.
Trucks rented for less than 30 days can bear the rental company’s name but must also carry the rental agreement with the name and address of the renting motor carrier as well as its DOT number or information regarding the carrier’s operation and statement of safety compliance.