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Information for Organizations Owning a Bus or Other Passenger Vehicle

If your organization owns its own vehicle and transports employees or members, your organization may be a regulated passenger carrier. If so, your organization must follow all applicable passenger carrier regulations and laws. This is true whether yours is a faith-based, educational, non-profit organization, or a business that isn’t focused on passenger transportation.  

Some of the regulations that may apply include:

  • If your vehicle is designed to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver), your driver must hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with a passenger endorsement.
  • Your organization must have a drug and alcohol testing program for its CDL drivers.
  • Your interstate drivers are subject to driver qualification regulations.
  • Your drivers may not exceed the hours of service regulations for passenger carriers.
  • Your buses or other vehicles must be systematically inspected, repaired, and maintained to be in safe operating condition.

FMCSA provides a variety of information and resources to help you understand whether Federal regulations apply to your organization and its drivers. For more information, please see the brochure here.

View Passenger Carrier Regulations

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