New Jersey Truck Lettering Requirements: What Has to Be on Your Work Vehicle

A lot of people in the trades put lettering on their truck because it brings in calls. In New Jersey, though, it is also often a legal requirement, and licensed trades have extra rules on top of that. We get these questions a lot, so we read the regulations ourselves and put the key points here with links to the source, so you can check them.

The basic New Jersey rule: name and town

New Jersey's motor vehicle law, N.J.S.A. 39:4-46, requires commercial motor vehicles, with exceptions such as passenger automobiles and certain pharmacy delivery vehicles, to display the name of the owner or lessee and the municipality of the principal place of business. The lettering has to be on both sides of the vehicle and not less than 3 inches high. The NJ MVC commercial vehicle page also covers this, and the same statute requires the gross vehicle weight rating to be shown on heavier vehicles of 26,001 pounds or more.

In practice, that means a typical contractor van or pickup with commercial plates should carry something like:

Bergen Pro Landscaping
Paramus, NJ

on both doors, with letters at least 3 inches tall. That is a minimum. Most people go bigger, because a name you can read from across the road is the whole point.

USDOT numbers

Federal rules in 49 CFR 390.21 require marked commercial motor vehicles to show the carrier's legal or trade name and USDOT number on both sides. The marking has to contrast sharply with the background, be readable from 50 feet in daylight while the vehicle is stopped, and be kept that way.

Whether you need a USDOT number at all depends on your vehicle and operation. FMCSA's guide covers interstate carriers, including vehicles over 10,001 pounds, and New Jersey also requires USDOT numbers for many intrastate commercial vehicles over 10,001 pounds, as the New Jersey State Police announced. If you run a box truck, a dump truck, or a pickup towing a heavy trailer, check this one carefully. We will cut whatever number you give us, but we cannot tell you whether you need one.

Extra rules for licensed and registered trades

Several New Jersey licensing boards have their own vehicle lettering rules. These are the ones we get asked about most, summarized from the regulations themselves.

Each of those rules has more detail than fits in a table, such as exactly whose name appears and how the abbreviation is written. Open the regulation and copy the wording exactly when you send us your text. For home improvement contractors, the Division of Consumer Affairs compliance checklist is a handy summary, and it also covers advertising like lawn signs and business cards.

A layout that covers most trucks

For a typical New Jersey contractor, a door layout that covers the state rules and still works as an ad looks like this, top to bottom:

1. Business name, the biggest line, 4 to 6 inches tall.
2. Service line, like "Kitchens, Baths and Basements".
3. Phone number, almost as big as the name.
4. Town, like "Paramus, NJ", at least 3 inches.
5. License or registration line like "HIC reg. #13VH00000000", at the size your board requires.
6. USDOT number, if you need one.

Keep it to one or two colors that contrast with the paint. White on a dark truck or black on a white van is hard to beat. Skip thin script fonts. They look nice up close and disappear at 50 feet.

What it costs

A two-door truck lettering kit from our vinyl designer is $129.00 in one color, plus $25.00 for a second color. If you are lettering more than one vehicle with the same design, the second vehicle is discounted 10%, and five or more vehicles are 20% off. A 48 by 8 inch rear window banner is $59.00. We cut in Oracal 651, a vinyl rated for 6 or more years outdoors, and kits are ready in 3 to 5 business days, or the next business day with rush for 25% more. Vinyl is taxable in New Jersey at 6.625%.

Kits come pre-masked and ready to apply, with a squeegee. If you would rather have us put it on, installation in Bergen County is a flat $75.00.

Putting it on yourself

1. Wash the door, then wipe it with rubbing alcohol. Wax and road film are the enemy.
2. Apply in the shade at a mild temperature. Very cold or very hot panels make it harder.
3. Tape the decal in place across the top, step back and check it is level with the body lines, not the ground.
4. Peel the backing, then squeegee from the center out with firm, overlapping strokes.
5. Peel the clear transfer tape back slowly at a sharp angle. If a letter lifts, lay the tape back down and squeegee again.
6. Give it a day before a car wash.

Make the whole business match

Once your truck is lettered, matching shirts and a few yard signs for job sites make you look like the established outfit you are. See our work shirt guide and the sign designer. For more vinyl options, like storefront hours and window lettering, see our vinyl lettering page. If you are not sure what your truck needs, send us a photo of the doors and your license details and we will lay it out for you before you pay anything.