Van registered as bus?
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 161
Likes: 0
From: SW Ohio
Van registered as bus?
I traded in my Tacoma on this van. The dealership told me I could use the license plates from my truck on this van. So I've been using my trucks previous vanity plates on this van. I go to get the plates registered over to my van today. The Ohio DMV says I have to register this van as a bus, since it can haul over 9 passengers. So I can't use my old vanity plates on this van. I have to get new plates. The registration costs more ($131 a year) and I now have to get it renewed every May, instead of my birthday (December).
Is this correct? Is a 12 passenger van classified as a bus?
Is this correct? Is a 12 passenger van classified as a bus?
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,560
Likes: 1
i don't believe it is here, but you should check your laws there in ohio. around here, the state patrol website has links to all manner of vehicle requirements (lighting, safety equipment, classifications, etc), and i would expect you to have a similar resource available with your local laws.
if you didn't plan to use it for passengers, you could remove the rear row(s) of seats and go register it as a cargo van
if you didn't plan to use it for passengers, you could remove the rear row(s) of seats and go register it as a cargo van
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 21,255
Likes: 1,657
From: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
I'm also in Ohio and in the 3rd year ownership of an '00 E250 raised roof formerly wheelchair lift equipped cargo van, no windows apart from the rear area hinged doors. Seems to me first two license plates weren't anything different from normal passenger vehicles but this year I'm classifed as a non-commercial truck, adding about $15 in fees etc.
Most likely even us private owners will be hit with higher highway use taxes and fees like bigger commercial trucks---anything to make up for declining revenues everywhere else. I wouldn't mind the higher fees IF they fixed the fricking roads along with them!
Most likely even us private owners will be hit with higher highway use taxes and fees like bigger commercial trucks---anything to make up for declining revenues everywhere else. I wouldn't mind the higher fees IF they fixed the fricking roads along with them!
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 666
Likes: 0
From: Chicago area
I have an extended club wagon but with only 1 row of seats behind the driver. I use it to tow my car trailer and cargo inside. It was reg. by the PO as a passenger van so it got car plates! I pay the same as someone with a Honda Civic! Sweet! In Ill. that's $99.
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Louisville, KY
Register it as a truck. OVer here you can register Trucks and SUVs with regular car plates or Truck plates that have 9000 written on them.
Trending Topics
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
From: San Marcos, CA
on my 95 e350, the plate in the driver's doorjamb sez " bus, not school" fwiw it was built in ohio...
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 6 Best Deals Available on New Fords & Lincolns Right Now
Brett Foote
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Fords at 2026 Carlisle Ford Nationals
Joe Kucinski
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Freshman User
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: Brentwood, TN
My 2011 door jamb plate still has that same designation - "Bus - not school."
In TN both of my 12 passenger vans have been registered as regular vehicles. However, when I lived in FL I had to register it as a bus because it was high occupancy. I was told if I registered it as a regular passenger vehicle I wouldn't be permitted to legally carry more than 7 people in it (and that had insurance implications as well).
TimR><>
In TN both of my 12 passenger vans have been registered as regular vehicles. However, when I lived in FL I had to register it as a bus because it was high occupancy. I was told if I registered it as a regular passenger vehicle I wouldn't be permitted to legally carry more than 7 people in it (and that had insurance implications as well).
TimR><>
Cargo Master
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,935
Likes: 34
From: Arcadia, Fla
I have a 95 E250 Bus, that was a 15 pass vehicle, that thing costs me $300 a year for registering here in Florida. I'm converting it in to a class B RV and have to play the Fla DMV game of recertifing it. As I was told by FLA DMV, any vehicle over 9 person capacity, must be classified as a bus.
Tuned
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville,Ont.
Here in Ontario the ambulance that i bought in Michigan to use as a tool truck is listed as a MPV, so guess what, a cop stops me and wants to know why I have passenger plates on my van, "talk to the DMV about" I told him.
He let me go with a shrug.
He let me go with a shrug.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ckholiness
Explorer, Sport Trac, Mountaineer & Aviator
1
Mar 12, 2005 04:53 PM
