Grote Industries: FMVSS Info

NOTE: All information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For full and up-to-date information, visit http://www.nhtsa.gov

IMPORTANT NOTE: Every lamp, reflex reflector, and conspicuity treatment (device) must be permanently attached in the location specified below and must comply with all applicable requirements prescribed for it by FMVSS/CMVSS 108. The face of any device on the front/rear and sides should be, respectively perpendicular and parallel to vehicle centerline, unless it is photometrically certified at installation angle. No part of the vehicle shall prevent any device from meeting its prescribed requirements unless an auxiliary device meeting all prescribed requirements is installed.

IN CANADA: Manufacturers and importers of vehicles must have the proper certification test records demonstrating compliance of lighting components with all prescribed requirements.

D E S C R I P T I O N				M A N D A T O R Y R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Area	Equipment	(SAE Lens Coding)	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Color	Location	Height mm (in.) from the ground
	Tail Lamps	(T)	Indicate vehicle's presence and width	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical - as far apart as practicable	380-1830 (15-72)
	Stop Lamps	(S)	Indicate braking	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical - as far apart as practicable	380-1830 (15-72)
	Rear Turn Signal Lamps	( I)	Indicate direction of turn	Minimum 2	Red or Yellow	On the rear - symmetrical - as far apart as practicable	380-2110 (15-83)
	Rear Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate vehicle's presence and width	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical - as far apart as practicable- facing rearward	380-1530 (15-60)
	License Plate Lamp(s)	(L)	Illuminates license plate	Minimum 1	White	On the rear - above or at the sides of license plate	No requirement
	Rear Side Marker Lamps	(P2,PC* or P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Front and rear side marker lamps / side reflex reflectors indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Red	Each side at rear - as far back as practicable	380-1530 (15-60) no max. for veh. under 2.032m(80") wide
	Rear Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)		Minimum 2	Red	Each side at rear - as far back as practicable facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)
	Front Side Marker Lamps	(P2, PC* or P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Front and rear side marker lamps / side reflex reflectors indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side at front - as far forward as practicable	380 (15) minimum
	Front Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)		Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side at front - as far forward as practicable facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)

D E S C R I P T I O N				M A N D A T O R Y R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Area	Equipment	(SAE Lens Coding)	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Color	Location	Height mm (in.) from the ground
	Intermediate Side Marker Lamps	(P2 or P3)	Indicate presence of a long vehicle	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side near center - facing sideward	380 (15) minimum
	Intermediate Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate presence of a long vehicle	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side near center - facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)

D E S C R I P T I O N				M A N D A T O R Y R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Area	Equipment	(SAE Lens Coding)	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Color	Location	Height
	Rear Clearance Lamps	(P2, PCor P3, PC2) * photometrically certified at installation angle	Show vehicle's width - MAY NOT be combined with tail lamps	Minimum 2	Red	At widest point - symmetrical - on the rear or near the rear - facing rearward	As high as practicable - may be lower only if ID lamps are at the top
	Rear Identification Lamps	(P2 or P3)	Indicate presence of a wide vehicle	Exactly 3	Red	On the rear - center, facing rearward - horizontally spaced 150 mm (6 in.) to 300 mm (12 in.) apart	in Canada : at the top - maybe lower if door header narrower than 25 mm in USA: as high as practicable
	Front Clearance Lamps	(P2, PCor P3, PC2) * photometrically certified at installation angle	Show vehicle's width	Minimum 2	Yellow	At widest point - symmetrical - as far forward as practicable - facing forward	As high as practicable

D E S C R I P T I O N		M A N D A T O R Y R E Q U I R E M E N T S
Area	Conspicuity Treatment	DOT Coding	Quantity	Color	Location	Height	OPTIONS
	Rear Upper Body Marking	DOT-C, DOT-C2, DOT-C3, or DOT-C4	Exactly 2 pairs of 300mm long strips	White	On the rear upper corners - facing rearward	At the top	Reflex reflectors may not be required if they are replaced, in their required location, with conspicuity treatment Optional in Canada Rear lower body and side conspicuity treatment may also be solid white, solid yellow, or white and yellow.
	Bumper Bar Marking	DOT-C, DOT-C2, DOT-C3, or DOT-C4	Continuous	Red/White	On the rear bumper bar's horizontal element - full width - facing rearward	No requirement
	Rear Lower Body Marking	DOT-C, DOT-C2, DOT-C3, or DOT-C4	Continuous	Red/White see options	On the rear - full width of the vehicle - facing rearward	As horizontal as practicable and as close as practicable to the range of 375 to 1525 mm from the ground
	Side Marking	DOT-C, DOT-C2, DOT-C3, or DOT-C4	see location	Red/White see options	Each side - facing sideward - continuous, or evenly spaced over minimum of 50% of length, starts and ends as close to the front and rear or vehicle as practicable	As horizontal as practicable and as close as practicable to the range of 375 to 1525 mm from the ground