Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual

Driver Education illustration

Section 14 of 38

Chapter 13: Commercial Vehicles

13.100 Permanent Fleet Registration (PFR) (VC §5301)

PFR Program

The owner of a fleet consisting of commercial vehicles and/or passenger vehicles may apply to DMV for PFR.

  • Instead of yearly registration stickers, PFR vehicles are issued a California permanent fleet sticker for the license plate and a permanent registration card for each vehicle.
  • PFR applicants must complete an Application for Permanent Fleet Registration (REG 3500) form and agree to adhere to all program and vehicle registration requirements to have a valid PFR account number assigned to their fleet.
  • Under the PFR program, a renewal listing is sent monthly for all of the vehicles in a fleet that expire within that month.
  • CVRA vehicles in a fleet are issued CVRA weight decals and CVRA year stickers that are gold with PFR printed boldly in black.
    • New CVRA stickers are only issued when a weight change is reported or when the original is damaged.

Fleet Defined

  • An individual fleet must have at least 25 motor vehicles (previous minimum was 50).
  • An association must submit a combined total of 125 or more motor vehicles, with no individual fleet having less than 25 motor vehicles (previous minimum for associations was a combined total of 250 or more motor vehicles, with no individual fleet less than 25).
  • Fleet vehicles are no longer required to display designated markings, such as, company name, trademark, logo, or assigned PFR number, to participate in the PFR program. The Application for Permanent Fleet Registration (MC 3500 P, REV. 1/2018) form was revised to remove the checkbox regarding the display of designated markings. The revised form is only available online to be downloaded from the DMV website. Begin using the revised MC 3500 P immediately.
  • Effective February 1, 2018, accept only a MC 3500 P with a revision date of 1/2018.
  • Motorcycles cannot be a part of a fleet.

For further information consult the PFR Section at dmv.ca.gov, or write to:
Department of Motor Vehicles
MCD—PFR Section, MS H160
PO Box 932320
Sacramento, CA 94232-3200
(916) 657-7971

Adding Vehicles to a PFR Fleet (VC §5301)
The following must be submitted to add vehicles to a fleet:

  • A Permanent Fleet Registration Addition (REG 495, side A) form, completed in full by the applicant.
  • Current registration card and/or ownership documents, as appropriate.
  • Fees due plus the PFR service fee for each vehicle. Renewal fees are also due if the application is presented within 120 days of the renewal date.
  • Smog certification, if applicable.

Deleting Vehicles from a PFR Fleet (VC §5301)

Vehicles deleted from a PFR fleet must be issued a new registration card without the PFR information. The following must be submitted to delete a vehicle from a fleet:

  • A Permanent Fleet Registration/Addition Deletion (REG 495 P) form side B, completed in full by the applicant.
  • Surrender of the PFR registration card and PFR sticker unless disposition of the PFR sticker is shown on the REG 495 P.
  • Application for regular registration for the deleted vehicle, if appropriate