How to Fill Out and Submit the California REG 4008 (GVW Declaration)

California’s REG 4008 is the form you use to declare the maximum loaded weight of a commercial vehicle so the DMV can calculate your annual Commercial Vehicle Registration Act (CVRA) fee. You fill in owner information, pick a weight code (A through N) that covers your heaviest expected load, sign under penalty of perjury, and submit it with your registration paperwork and payment. Any commercial motor vehicle operating above 10,000 pounds gross or combined gross vehicle weight needs this declaration on file before it can legally run on California roads.¹

Who Has to File a REG 4008

California Vehicle Code Section 4000.6 requires CVRA registration under Section 9400.1 for any commercial motor vehicle operating above 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW) or combined gross vehicle weight (CGW).² If the truck tows a trailer, you declare the combined weight of power unit, trailer, and cargo rather than the truck alone.

Pickups get a narrow exemption. A pickup with no body-type modifications (no added utility bed, stake body, or similar changes), an unladen weight under 8,001 pounds, and a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of 11,499 pounds or less does not need this form. Add a utility bed or exceed those thresholds, and the exemption goes away.¹

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The REG 4008 has four lettered sections. A, C, and D are mandatory. B is a reference block you read before filling in C.

Section A: Owner or Lessee Information

Enter your name, or the business name if the vehicle is titled to a company. Add the physical address, city, state, and zip. There is an optional fleet number field for operators managing multiple vehicles. Identify the California county where the vehicle is garaged or principally kept; if the vehicle has no California base and operates exclusively out of state, check the out-of-state box instead.

If your mailing address differs from the physical address, fill in the separate mailing line. The DMV sends registration cards and renewal notices to the mailing address on file, so a wrong entry here can cause you to miss a renewal.

Section B: Weight Definitions

Section B is reference material. It defines the two weight concepts you need before writing anything in Section C:

Declared Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) is the unladen weight of your vehicle plus the heaviest load it will carry. Use GVW if the vehicle hauls cargo but does not tow.
Declared Combined Gross Vehicle Weight (CGW) is the total unladen weight of the power unit and any towed unit plus the heaviest load the combination will carry. Use CGW when a trailer is part of the operation.

These are declared weights for registration purposes. They are not the same as the manufacturer’s GVWR defined in Vehicle Code Section 350, which is the designed maximum.³ Your declared weight can sit below the GVWR if you never load to that capacity, but it has to be at least 10,001 pounds for CVRA registration to apply.

Section C: Weight Declaration and Code

This is the heart of the form. Enter the vehicle identification number, license plate, and make, then pick the single weight code that covers your worst-case operating weight for the year:

A: 10,001–15,000 lbs
B: 15,001–20,000 lbs
C: 20,001–26,000 lbs
D: 26,001–30,000 lbs
E: 30,001–35,000 lbs
F: 35,001–40,000 lbs
G: 40,001–45,000 lbs
H: 45,001–50,000 lbs
I: 50,001–54,999 lbs
J: 55,000–60,000 lbs
K: 60,001–65,000 lbs
L: 65,001–70,000 lbs
M: 70,001–75,000 lbs
N: 75,001–80,000 lbs

Your registration card will show the top of the bracket you select.⁴ Pick the bracket for your heaviest realistic trip of the year. If one load during the year hits 27,000 pounds, you need Code D (26,001–30,000), not Code C. Operating above your declared weight can draw citations.

Section D: Signature

Sign and date. The signature affirms under penalty of perjury that everything on the form is truthful. Under Vehicle Code Section 20, knowingly making a false statement on a DMV document is a misdemeanor.⁵ The form itself warns that running above the declared weight can bring fines over $2,000 per violation.

What Each Weight Code Costs

Your code choice sets your CVRA fee under Vehicle Code Section 9400.1. The schedule:

Code A (10,001–15,000 lbs): $332
Code B (15,001–20,000 lbs): $447
Code C (20,001–26,000 lbs): $546
Code D (26,001–30,000 lbs): $586
Code E (30,001–35,000 lbs): $801
Code F (35,001–40,000 lbs): $937
Code G (40,001–45,000 lbs): $1,028
Code H (45,001–50,000 lbs): $1,161
Code I (50,001–54,999 lbs): $1,270
Code J (55,000–60,000 lbs): $1,431
Code K (60,001–65,000 lbs): $1,562
Code L (65,001–70,000 lbs): $1,701
Code M (70,001–75,000 lbs): $2,004
Code N (75,001–80,000 lbs): $2,064

CVRA fees are on top of the standard registration fee and CHP fee every California vehicle pays.⁶ Tow trucks follow a separate, slightly lower schedule within the same statute. Pickups and electric vehicles are calculated under different provisions and do not use this schedule.

Where to Submit the Form

You turn in the completed REG 4008 as part of initial commercial registration or at annual renewal. Two routes:

In person at any DMV field office. Staff can process the declaration and collect fees while you wait, which gets your weight decals and updated registration card issued faster.
By mail to DMV headquarters in Sacramento, together with your registration application and payment. Mail processing is slower, so send early if a renewal date is near.

You can download a blank REG 4008 from the California DMV website or pick one up at a field office. CVRA fees have to be paid before you operate the vehicle at the declared weight, so hold off on driving under a new weight code until the DMV has processed payment and issued updated decals.⁴

If your vehicle hauls property for compensation or runs in certain for-hire operations, a Motor Carrier Permit may also be required alongside the weight declaration. Check the DMV’s Motor Carrier Services page before submitting.

Weight Decals After Approval

Once the DMV processes the declaration, you get two CVRA weight decals plus year stickers. California Code of Regulations Title 13, Section 154.00 sets the placement: one decal on the right door and one on the left door, each visible from 50 feet away.⁷ For sliding doors, place the decal immediately in front of or behind each door. Plaques permanently attached to or next to the doors also work.

The weight on the decal has to match the declared GVW or CGW on your registration card. Law enforcement checks this at roadside inspections. Year stickers go on top of the decals at each renewal.

Changing the Declared Weight Mid-Year

You can file a new REG 4008 to adjust your declared weight during the registration period. The rules in each direction are not the same:

Going up: you owe additional CVRA fees for the remainder of the registration year, and you need new decals reflecting the higher bracket.
Going down: CVRA fees already paid are not refundable. Even one day of operation at the higher weight obligates you to pay at that weight for the period.

A new CVRA weight decal fee applies each time you change the declared weight on a completed transaction.⁴ Because of the no-refund rule, estimate your heaviest realistic load for the full year up front rather than declaring low and bumping up later.

1
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Vehicle Registration
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 4000.6
3
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH Section 350
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Commercial Vehicle Registration Act of CVRA Weight and Weight Codes
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 20
6
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH Section 9400.1
7
Justia. California Code of Regulations 13 CCR 154.00 – Commercial Vehicle Weight Decals