49 CFR § 575.301 - Vehicle labeling of safety rating information (applicable unless a vehicle is subject to § 575.302).
(a) Purpose and Scope. The purpose of this section is to aid potential purchasers in the selection of new passenger motor vehicles by providing them with safety rating information developed by NHTSA in its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing. Manufacturers of passenger motor vehicles described in paragraph (b) of this section are required to include this information on the Monroney label. Although NHTSA also makes the information available through means such as postings at http://www.safercar.gov and http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov, the additional Monroney label information is intended to provide consumers with relevant information at the point of sale.
(b) Application. This section applies to automobiles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less, manufactured on or after September 1, 2007, that are required by the Automobile Information Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. 1231–1233, to have price sticker labels (Monroney labels), e.g., passenger vehicles, station wagons, passenger vans, and sport utility vehicles, except for vehicles that are subject to § 575.302. Model Year 2012 or later vehicles manufactured prior to January 31, 2012 may be labeled according to the provisions of § 575.302 instead of this section provided the ratings placed on the safety rating label are derived from vehicle testing conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the enhanced NCAP testing and rating program.
(c) Definitions.
(1) Monroney label means the label placed on new automobiles with the manufacturer's suggested retail price and other consumer information, as specified at 15 U.S.C. 1231–1233.
(2) Safety rating label means the label with NCAP safety rating information, as specified at 15 U.S.C. 1232(g). The safety rating label is part of the Monroney label.
(d) Required Label.
(1) Except as specified in paragraph (f) of this section, each vehicle must have a safety rating label that is part of its Monroney label, meets the requirements specified in paragraph (e) of this section, and conforms in content, format and sequence to the sample label depicted in Figure 1 of this section. If NHTSA has not provided a safety rating for any category of vehicle performance for a vehicle, the manufacturer may use the smaller label specified in paragraph (f) of this section.
(2) The label must depict the star ratings for that vehicle as reported to the vehicle manufacturer by NHTSA.
(3) Whenever NHTSA informs a manufacturer in writing of a new safety rating for a specified vehicle or the continued applicability of an existing safety rating for a new model year, including any safety concerns, the manufacturer shall include the new or continued safety rating on vehicles manufactured on or after the date 30 calendar days after receipt by the manufacturer of the information.
(4) If, for a vehicle that has an existing safety rating for a category, NHTSA informs the manufacturer in writing that it has approved an optional NCAP test that will cover that category, the manufacturer may depict vehicles manufactured on or after the date of receipt of the information as “Not Rated” or “To Be Rated” for that category.
(5) The text “Frontal Crash,” “Side Crash,” “Rollover,” “Driver,” “Passenger,” “Front Seat,” “Rear Seat” and where applicable, “Not Rated” or “To Be Rated,” the star graphic indicating each rating, as well as any text in the header and footer areas of the label, must have a minimum font size of 12 point. All remaining text and symbols on the label (including the star graphic specified in paragraph (e)(8)(i)(A) of this section, must have a minimum font size of 8 point.
(e) Required Information and Format—(1) Safety Rating Label Border. The safety rating label must be surrounded by a solid dark line that is a minimum of 3 points in width.
(2) Safety Rating Label Size and Legibility. The safety rating label must be presented in a legible, visible, and prominent fashion that covers at least 8 percent of the total area of the Monroney label (i.e., including the safety rating label) or an area with a minimum of 4 1/2 inches in length and 3 1/2 inches in height on the Monroney label, whichever is larger.
(3) Heading Area. The words “Government Safety Ratings” must be in boldface, capital letters that are light in color and centered. The background must be dark.
(4) Frontal Crash Area.
(i) The frontal crash area must be placed immediately below the heading area and must have dark text and a light background. Both the driver and the right front passenger frontal crash test ratings must be displayed with the maximum star ratings achieved.
(ii) The words “Frontal Crash” must be in boldface, cover two lines, and be aligned to the left side of the label.
(iii) The word “Driver” must be on the same line as the word “Frontal” in “Frontal Crash,” and be left justified, horizontally centered and vertically aligned at the top of the label. The achieved star rating for “Driver” must be on the same line, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(iv) If NHTSA has not released the star rating for the “Driver” position, the text “Not Rated” must be used in boldface. However, as an alternative, the words “To Be Rated” (in boldface) may be used if the manufacturer has received written notification from NHTSA that the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP testing. Both texts must be on the same line as the text “Driver”, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(v) The word “Passenger” must be on the same line as the word “Crash” in “Frontal Crash,” below the word “Driver,” and be left justified, horizontally centered and vertically aligned at the top of the label. The achieved star rating for “Passenger” must be on the same line, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(vi) If NHTSA has not released the star rating for “Passenger,” the words “Not Rated” must be used in boldface. However, as an alternative, the words “To Be Rated” (in boldface) may be used if the manufacturer has received written notification from NHTSA that the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP testing. Both texts must be on the same line as the text “Passenger”, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(vii) The words “Star ratings based on the risk of injury in a frontal impact.”, followed (on the next line) by the statement “Frontal ratings should ONLY be compared to other vehicles of similar size and weight.” must be placed at the bottom of the frontal crash area.
(5) Side Crash Area.
(i) The side crash area must be immediately below the frontal crash area, separated by a dark line that is a minimum of three points in width. The text must be dark against a light background. Both the driver and the rear seat passenger side crash test rating must be displayed with the maximum star rating achieved.
(ii) The words “Side Crash” must cover two lines, and be aligned to the left side of the label in boldface.
(iii) The words “Front seat” must be on the same line as the word “Side” in “Side Crash” and be left justified, horizontally centered and vertically aligned in the middle of the label. The achieved star rating for “Front seat” must be on the same line, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(iv) If NHTSA has not released the star rating for “Front Seat,” the words “Not Rated” must be used in boldface. However, as an alternative, the words “To Be Rated” (in boldface) may be used if the manufacturer has received written notification from NHTSA that the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP testing. Both texts must be on the same line as the text “Front seat”, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(v) The words “Rear seat” must be on the same line as the word “Crash” in “Side Crash,” below the word “Front seat,” and be left justified, horizontally centered and vertically aligned in the middle of the label. The achieved star rating for “Rear seat” must be on the same line, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(vi) If NHTSA has not released the star rating for “Rear Seat,” the text “Not Rated” must be used in boldface. However, as an alternative, the text “To Be Rated” (in boldface) may be used if the manufacturer has received written notification from NHTSA that the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP testing. Both texts must be on the same line as the text “Rear seat”, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(vii) The words: “Star ratings based on the risk of injury in a side impact.” must be placed at the bottom of the side crash area.
(6) Rollover Area.
(i) The rollover area must be immediately below the side crash area, separated by a dark line that is a minimum of three points in width. The text must be dark against a light background. The rollover test rating must be displayed with the maximum star rating achieved.
(ii) The word “Rollover” must be aligned to the left side of the label in boldface. The achieved star rating must be on the same line, aligned to the right side of the label.
(iii) If NHTSA has not tested the vehicle, the words “Not Rated” must be used in boldface. However, as an alternative, the words “To Be Rated” (in boldface) may be used if the manufacturer has received written notification from NHTSA that the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP testing. Both texts must be on the same line as the text “Rollover”, left justified, and aligned to the right side of the label.
(iv) The words: “Star ratings based on the risk of rollover in a single vehicle crash.” must be placed at the bottom of the rollover area.
(7) Graphics. The star graphic is depicted in Figure 3 and the safety concern graphic is depicted in Figure 4.
(8) General Information Area.
(i) The general information area must be immediately below the rollover area, separated by a dark line that is a minimum of three points in width. The text must be dark and the background must be light. The text must state the following, in the specified order, on separate lines:
(A) “ Star ratings range from 1 to 5 stars (★★★★★), with 5 being the highest.” and
(B) “Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)”
(9) Footer Area. The text “www.safercar.gov or 1–888–327–4236” must be provided in boldface letters that are light in color, and be centered. The background must be dark.
(10) Safety Concern. For vehicle tests for which NHTSA reports a safety concern as part of the star rating, the label must:
(i) Depict, as a superscript to the star rating, the related symbol, as depicted in Figure 4 of this section, at 2/3 the font size of the base star, and
(ii) Include at the bottom of the relevant area (i.e., frontal crash area, side crash area, rollover area), as the last line of that area, the related symbol, as depicted in Figure 4 of this section, as a superscript of the rest of the line, and the text “Safety Concern: Visit www.safercar.gov or call 1–888–327–4236 for more details.”
(11) No additional information may be provided in the safety rating label area. The specified information provided in a language other than English is not considered to be additional information.
(f) Smaller Safety Rating Label for Vehicles with No Ratings.
(1) If NHTSA has not released a safety rating for any category for a vehicle, the manufacturer may use a smaller safety rating label that meets paragraphs (f)(2) through (f)(5) of this section. A sample label is depicted in Figure 2.
(2) The label must be at least 4 1/2 inches in width and 1 1/2 inches in height, and must be surrounded by a solid dark line that is a minimum of 3 points in width.
(3) Heading Area. The text must read “Government Safety Ratings” and be in 14-point boldface, capital letters that are light in color, and be centered. The background must be dark.
(4) General Information. The general information area must be below the header area. The text must be dark and the background must be light. The text must state the following, in at least 12-point font, be left-justified, and aligned to the left side of the label, in the specified order:
(i) “This vehicle has not been rated by the government for frontal crash, side crash, or rollover risk.”
(ii) “Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).”
(5) Footer Area. The text “www.safercar.gov or 1–888–327–4236” must be provided in 14-point boldface letters that are light in color, and be centered.The background must be dark.
(6) No additional information may be provided in the smaller safety rating label area. The specified information provided in a language other than English is not considered to be additional information.
(g) Labels for alterers.
(1) If, pursuant to 49 CFR 567.7, a person is required to affix a certification label to a vehicle, and the vehicle has a safety rating label with one or more safety ratings, the alterer must also place another label on that vehicle as specified in this paragraph.
(2) The additional label (which does not replace the one required by 49 CFR 567.7) must read: “This vehicle has been altered. The stated star ratings on the safety rating label may no longer be applicable.”
(3) The label must be placed adjacent to the Monroney label or as close to it as physically possible.
