The exemption, quoted
49 CFR 580.17 opens “Notwithstanding the requirements of §§ 580.5 and 580.7” and then lists what a transferor need not disclose mileage for. The first entry is the one that matters here:
“Gross vehicle weight rating” is defined as “the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle”. It is a rating, not a weight on a scale, and it is read off the certification label rather than worked out. Where that label has to be →
49 CFR 580.17 · 49 CFR 571.3.
The other exemptions in the same section
| 580.17(a)(2) | A vehicle that is not self-propelled — which takes every trailer out. |
| 580.17(a)(3) | “A vehicle manufactured in or before the 2010 model year that is transferred at least 10 years after January 1 of the calendar year corresponding to its designated model year”. |
| 580.17(a)(4) | “A vehicle manufactured in or after the 2011 model year that is transferred at least 20 years after January 1 of the calendar year corresponding to its designated model year”. |
| 580.17(a)(5) | A vehicle sold directly by the manufacturer to a US government agency under contractual specifications. |
| 580.17(b) | A new vehicle before its first transfer for purposes other than resale. |
The split at the 2011 model year is worth reading twice. A 2010 truck falls out of disclosure after ten years; a 2011 truck stays in for twenty. Two model years apart, ten years’ difference — and it only matters at all for a truck rated at 16,000 lb GVWR or below, since anything heavier is already exempt under (a)(1).
49 CFR 580.17.
What the disclosure has to contain when it does apply
Where Part 580 applies, the transferor discloses the mileage and the statement carries:
- The reading“The odometer reading at the time of transfer (not to include tenths of miles)”.
- The date of transferStated on the disclosure.
- Both partiesThe transferor’s and the transferee’s printed names and current addresses.
- The vehicleThe identity of the vehicle.
- And one of three certificationsThat the reading reflects the actual mileage; or that the mileage exceeds the odometer’s mechanical limits; or that the reading does not reflect the actual mileage and should not be relied upon, with a warning of an odometer discrepancy.
The transferee then signs the same statement, prints their name, and a copy goes back to the transferor.
49 CFR 580.5. Authority: 49 U.S.C. 32705; Pub. L. 112-141; delegation at 49 CFR 1.95.
Exempt from disclosure is not exempt from the fraud rules
49 U.S.C. 32705(a)(5) gives the Secretary authority to “exempt such classes or categories of vehicles as the Secretary deems appropriate” from disclosure, which is where 580.17 comes from. The tampering prohibitions in 49 U.S.C. 32703 carry no such weight limit. What is still prohibited at any weight →
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.