Virginia DMV Form MCS 116 is the lease agreement you file with Motor Carrier Services to register a leased for-hire vehicle under your Virginia intrastate operating authority, or to terminate a lease already on file. It is not an application for operating authority; you must already hold an active certificate or permit before the form does you any good. The PDF is available from the Virginia DMV Motor Carrier Services website, and once DMV processes it, you’ll be directed to a customer service center to pick up for-hire registration and license plates for the leased vehicle.
When You File It
File an MCS 116 before any vehicle you don’t own goes on the road under your authority. The form creates a written record that the vehicle owner (lessor) and the authority holder (lessee) have agreed to the terms Virginia law requires for leased for-hire vehicles.
You use the same form to end a lease. Check the termination box at the top, sign, and send it in. The authority holder also has to tell the vehicle owner the lease is over and that the for-hire plates need to go back to DMV.
One exemption worth knowing: you do not need to file this form if you transport property for compensation exclusively using passenger cars, motorcycles, autocycles, mopeds, or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Pull these together before opening the PDF so you’re not chasing down numbers mid-form:
- The vehicle owner’s Virginia DMV customer number and contact information.
- Year, make, model, title number, VIN, and current license plate number for each vehicle. You can list up to three vehicles on one form, but only if they all share the same owner. Multiple owners means multiple forms.
- The lessee’s full legal name, DMV customer number, authority type and number, and physical business address.
- The name of the insurance company covering the leased vehicles. The vehicles must appear on the lessee’s fleet policy, and you’ll submit confirmation of that coverage along with the form.
Filling Out the Form
The MCS 116 runs two pages and is split into labeled sections. If you’re terminating a lease rather than starting one, check the termination box at the top and jump to the signature block on page two.
Vehicle Owner Information
Enter the owner’s name and, if there is one, a co-owner’s name. Add the DMV customer number, a primary contact name (important when the owner is a business), a phone number, and an email address. This section identifies who holds title to the vehicle.
Leased Vehicle Information
For each vehicle, enter the year, make and model, title number, VIN, and current license plate number. Remember the one-owner rule: all vehicles on a single form must share the same owner.
Commercial Intrastate Operation Lease Information
This section is about the authority holder. Enter the full legal name of the certificate or permit holder, DMV customer number, type and number of operating authority, an authorized representative, and the physical business address, phone, and email. You only fill this out if the vehicles above are titled in a different name than the operating authority holder. If you own the vehicles and hold the authority yourself, skip it.
Lease Dates and Insurance
Enter the lease start and end dates, then the name of the insurer covering the leased vehicles under the lessee’s policy. Virginia requires the lessee to carry automobile liability insurance issued under the lessee’s own name, through an insurer licensed in the Commonwealth. Attach insurance confirmation showing the leased vehicles on that policy.
Signatures
Both the lessor and the lessee must sign and date the form. Any co-owner on the vehicle title signs too. Each signature line has a space for printed name and title. By signing, both parties certify under penalty of perjury that everything on the form is true and that their lease complies with Virginia’s lease requirements.
Where to Send It
You have three filing options:
- Email: mcsonline@dmv.virginia.gov
- Fax: (804) 367-1058
- Mail: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Carrier Services, P.O. Box 27412, Richmond, VA 23269-0001
The form itself lists no filing fee. Include the insurance confirmation when you submit; sending the MCS 116 without it will delay processing. Questions about filing status go to Motor Carrier Services at (804) 249-5140, option 3.
What the Signed Lease Commits You To
Signing the MCS 116 locks both parties into ongoing responsibilities printed on the form. Read these before you sign.
- The authority holder must keep complete operational control of the leased vehicle for the whole lease period, including all advertising, contracting, and dispatching. The vehicle owner can still use the vehicle for personal purposes, but all commercial activity runs through the lessee.
- A copy of the lease agreement has to stay in the vehicle at all times, available for inspectors during a roadside check.
- No transportation can be provided, advertised, solicited, or contracted using the leased vehicle except through the authority holder named on the form. Every trip sheet, contract, estimate, and billing document must identify the lessee as the transportation provider.
- Neither party may enter into any subcontract, sublease, or other arrangement that contradicts the filed lease.
- The leased vehicle must meet the marking requirements in Virginia Code § 46.2-1076 and, where applicable, 49 CFR § 390.21.
- The lessee has to keep liability insurance active under its own name for the full lease. A lapse can lead to suspension or revocation of the operating authority under Virginia Code § 46.2-2133 or § 46.2-2134.
After DMV Processes the Form
Once Motor Carrier Services processes the filing, DMV will notify you to visit a customer service center to pick up for-hire registration and license plates for the leased vehicle. Wait for that notification rather than showing up at a service center first.
Ending a Lease
When a lease ends, whether the term ran out, the business relationship changed, or the vehicle is coming out of service, the authority holder notifies DMV in writing. The simplest way is a new MCS 116 with the termination box checked at the top. Skip the vehicle and lease detail sections and go straight to the signature block.
The authority holder also has to tell the vehicle owner the lease is terminated, and the owner has to return the for-hire plates to DMV. Operating under a terminated lease, or refusing to surrender plates on demand, is a violation under Virginia Code § 46.2-2139.