All Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS are found in 49 CFR Part 571, Subpart B, and are numbered to correspond to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS number. For example FMVSS No. 106 Brake hoses is found in 49 CFR 571.106.  The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS are organized as Series 100 Vehicle Crash Avoidance, Series 200 Crashworthiness, Series 300 Post-Crash Protection, Series 400 Miscellaneous, or Series 500 Low-Speed Vehicles. 

The manufacturer must provide owners and dealers of the affected products with notification of the noncompliance with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS or safety-related defect.  The manufacturer must remedy the noncompliance with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS or safety-related defect, usually without charge.   The manufacturer must make these remedies regardless of whether the noncompliance with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS or a safety-related defect is determined to exist by the manufacturer or by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) monitors the recall program to ensure its successful completion.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to retain documentation concerning defects related to vehicle safety whether real or alleged for a period of five years.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations also describes the records that manufacturers must maintain concerning defects that may be related to motor vehicle safety. 

Manufacturers must submit quarterly reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the agency’s Early Warning Reporting (EWR) regulations that implement the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act of 2000. These regulations require manufacturers to submit information that could assist the agency in determining whether a vehicle safety-related defect exists in a vehicle or equipment item used in the United States.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations divide manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment into two groups.  The two groups are based on manufacturing production size with different reporting responsibilities based on the potential for safety-related defects.

The first group comprises of motor vehicle manufacturers that meet certain production thresholds, tire manufacturers that produce more than a certain number of tires by tire line, and all manufacturers of child restraint systems.  This group of manufacturers must generally report to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) information related to incidents that involve a death or injury, consumer complaints, warranty claims (warranty adjustments for tires), property damage claims, and field reports.

The second group comprises all other manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment (i.e., vehicle manufacturers that produce, import, or sell annually in the United States fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, and medium-heavy vehicles (excluding emergency vehicles and buses); manufacturers that produce, import, or sell annually in the United States fewer than 500 emergency vehicles; manufacturers that produce, import, or sell annually in the United States fewer than 100 buses; manufacturers of original motor vehicle equipment; and manufacturers of replacement motor vehicle equipment other than child restraint systems and tires). These manufacturers must submit a report if they receive a claim or notice related to an incident involving a death, but are not required to report any other information under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Early Warning Reporting (EWR) regulations.

Under other National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations, all vehicle and equipment manufacturers in both groups must provide copies of all documents sent or made available to more than one dealer, distributor, owner, purchaser, lessor or lessee, in the United States concerning customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, recalls, or other activities involving the repair or replacement of vehicles or equipment.  A manufacturer must also report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety recalls and other safety campaigns it conducts in a foreign country that cover a motor vehicle, an item of motor vehicle equipment, or a tire that is identical or substantially similar to such a product offered for sale or sold in the United States.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 requires that regulated items of motor vehicle equipment and motor vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States be certified to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) regulations on motor vehicle certification are found in 49 CFR Part 567.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) regulations on the certification of motor vehicle equipment subject to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS are found in 49 CFR Part 571, Subpart B.

A motor vehicle must be manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards FMVSS and bear a label certifying such compliance that is permanently affixed in such a manner that it cannot be removed without destroying or defacing it.  The label is affixed by the vehicle’s manufacturer. 

For all vehicles other than trailers and motorcycles, the manufacturer’s certification label must be affixed to either the hinge pillar, door-latch post, or the door edge that meets the door-latch post, next to the driver's seating position, or if none of these locations is practicable, to the left side of the instrument panel.  If that location is also not practicable, the label must be affixed to the inward-facing surface of the door next to the driver's seating position.  The location of the label must be such that it is easily readable without moving any part of the vehicle except an outer door.

The manufacturer’s certification label for trailers must be affixed to a location on the forward half of the left side, such that it is easily readable from outside the trailer without moving any part of the trailer.

The certification label for motorcycles must be affixed to a permanent member of the motorcycle as close as is practicable to the intersection of the steering post with the handle bars, in a location such that it is easily readable without moving any part of the motorcycle except for the steering system. This label is the only location on a motorcycle that must show the VIN.

The motor vehicle certification label identifies the vehicle’s manufacturer, states the vehicle’s month and year of manufacture, Gross Vehicle Weight Rating GVWR, Gross Axle Weight Rating GAWR of each axle, vehicle type classification, and VIN.