FMVSS 301: Fuel System Integrity explained.

What FMVSS 301 says it is for

The eCFR heads this section "Standard No. 301; Fuel system integrity." Under 49 CFR part 571, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are the numbered standards that set safety performance requirements for motor vehicles and equipment. The text below is quoted from 571.301 as current through October 29, 2026.

This standard specifies requirements for the integrity of motor vehicle fuel systems.

The purpose of this standard is to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel spillage during and after motor vehicle crashes, and resulting from ingestion of fuels during siphoning.

What it applies to

The application section of the standard says:

This standard applies to passenger cars, and to multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses that have a GVWR of 4,536 kg or less and use fuel with a boiling point above 0 °C, and to school buses that have a GVWR greater than 4,536 kg and use fuel with a boiling point above 0 °C.

Applicability is decided by the text of the standard as written, including any exclusions it lists, and by the date-specific rules in it. This page does not decide whether a particular vehicle or item is covered.

How the standard is organized

The eCFR text of 571.301 has these top-level sections:

• S1: Scope
• S2: Purpose
• S3: Application
• S4: Definition. Fuel spillage
• S5: General requirements
• S6: Test requirements
• S7: Test conditions

In all, the text has 29 numbered headings. Use the finder above to search them; for example, a search for "test" lists the headings that mention tests.

Second-level headings at a glance

These are the numbered sub-sections one level below the top, in order (first 19 of 19):

• S5.1 Passenger cars, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less
• S5.4 Schoolbuses with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds
• S5.5 Fuel spillage; Barrier crash
• S5.6 Fuel spillage; rollover
• S5.7 Alcohol fuel vehicles
• S6.1 Frontal barrier crash
• S6.2 Rear moving barrier crash
• S6.3 Side moving barrier crash
• S6.4 Static rollover
• S6.5 Moving contoured barrier crash
• S6.6 Anti-siphoning test for alcohol fuel vehicles
• S7.1 General test conditions
• S7.2 Side moving barrier test conditions
• S7.3 Rear moving barrier test conditions
• S7.4 Static rollover test conditions
• S7.5 Moving contoured barrier test conditions
• S8.1 Rear impact test upgrade
• S8.2 Vehicles manufactured in two or more stages
• S8.3 Vehicles produced by more than one manufacturer

Key requirements, quoted from the text

These are excerpts from the requirements sections of 571.301, in the order the standard presents them. Long paragraphs are shortened where marked with [...]; the eCFR has the complete text, tables and figures, which this page omits.

S4 Definition. Fuel spillage. means the fall, flow, or run of fuel from the vehicle but does not include wetness resulting from capillary action.

S5.1 Passenger cars, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. Each passenger car and each multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, and bus with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less shall meet the requirements of S6.1 through S6.4. Each of these types of vehicles that is manufactured to use alcohol fuels shall also meet the requirements of S6.6. S5.2 [Reserved] S5.3 [Reserved]

S5.4 Schoolbuses with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds. Each schoolbus with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds shall meet the requirements of S6.5. Each schoolbus with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds that is manufactured to use alcohol fuels shall meet the requirements of S6.6.

S5.5 Fuel spillage; Barrier crash. Fuel spillage in any fixed or moving barrier crash test shall not exceed 28 g from impact until motion of the vehicle has ceased, and shall not exceed a total of 142 g in the 5-minute period following cessation of motion. For the subsequent 25-minute period, fuel spillage during any 1 minute interval shall not exceed 28 g.

S5.6 Fuel spillage; rollover. Fuel spillage in any rollover test, from the onset of rotational motion, shall not exceed a total of 142 g for the first 5 minutes of testing at each successive 90° increment. For the remaining test period, at each increment of 90° fuel spillage during any 1 minute interval shall not exceed 28 g.

S5.7 Alcohol fuel vehicles. Each vehicle manufactured to operate on an alcohol fuel (e.g., methanol, ethanol) or a fuel blend containing at least 20 percent alcohol fuel shall meet the requirements of S6.6.

S6 Test requirements. Each vehicle with a GVWR of 4,536 kg or less shall be capable of meeting the requirements of any applicable barrier crash test followed by a static rollover, without alteration of the vehicle during the test sequence. A particular vehicle need not meet further requirements after having been subjected to a single barrier crash test and a static rollover test. Where manufacturer options are specified in this standard, the manufacturer must select an option not later than the time it certifies the vehicle and may not thereafter select a different option for that vehicle. Each manufacturer must, upon request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, provide information regarding which of the compliance options it has selected for a particular vehicle or make/model.

S6.1 Frontal barrier crash. When the vehicle travelling longitudinally forward at any speed up to and including 48 km/h impacts a fixed collision barrier that is perpendicular to the line of travel of the vehicle, or at any angle up to 30° in either direction from the perpendicular to the line of travel of the vehicle, with 50th-percentile test dummies as specified in part 572 of this chapter at each front outboard designated seating position and at any other position whose protection system is required to be tested by a dummy under the provisions of Standard No. 208, under the applicable conditions of S7., fuel spillage shall not exceed the limits of S5.5.

S6.2 Rear moving barrier crash. When the vehicle is impacted from the rear by a moving deformable barrier 80 ± 1.0 km/h with a 70 percent overlap, with 50th percentile test dummies as specified in part 572 of this chapter at each front outboard designated seating position, under the applicable conditions of S7, fuel spillage must not exceed the limits of S5.5.

S6.3 Side moving barrier crash. When the vehicle is impacted laterally on either side by a moving deformable barrier at 53 ± 1.0 km/h with the appropriate 49 CFR part 572 test dummies specified in FMVSS No. 214 (§ 571.214) at positions required for testing by S7.2.2 of FMVSS No. 214, under the applicable conditions of S7 of this standard, fuel spillage shall not exceed the limits of S5.5 of this standard.

S6.4 Static rollover. When the vehicle is rotated on its longitudinal axis to each successive increment of 90°, following an impact crash of S6.1, S6.2, or S6.3, fuel spillage shall not exceed the limits of S5.6.

S6.5 Moving contoured barrier crash. When the moving contoured barrier assembly traveling longitudinally forward at any speed up to and including 48 km/h impacts the test vehicle (school bus with a GVWR exceeding 4,536 kg) at any point and angle, under the applicable conditions of S7.1 and S7.5, fuel spillage shall not exceed the limits of S5.5.

S7 Test conditions. The requirements of S5.1 through S5.6 and S6.1 through S6.5 shall be met under the following conditions. Where a range is specified, the vehicle must be capable of meeting the requirements at all points within the range.

S7.1 General test conditions. The following conditions apply to all tests. S7.1.1 The fuel tank is filled to any level from 90 to 95 percent of capacity with Stoddard solvent, having the physical and chemical properties of type 1 solvent, Table I of ASTM D484-71 (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5).

S7.1.2 The fuel system other than the fuel tank is filled with Stoddard solvent to its normal operating level. S7.1.3 In meeting the requirements of S6.1 through S6.3, if the vehicle has an electrically driven fuel pump that normally runs when the vehicle's electrical system is activated, it is operating at the time of the barrier crash. S7.1.4 The parking brake is disengaged and the transmission is in neutral, except that in meeting the requirements of S6.5 the parking brake is set.

S7.1.5 Tires are inflated to manufacturer's specifications. S7.1.6 The vehicle, including test devices and instrumentation, is loaded as follows: (a) Except as specified in S7.1.1, a passenger car is loaded to its unloaded vehicle weight plus its rated cargo and luggage capacity weight, secured in the luggage area, plus the necessary test dummies as specified in S6., restrained only by means that are installed in the vehicle for protection at its seating position. (b) Except as specified in S7.1.1, a multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, or bus with a GVWR of 4,536 kg or less is loaded to its unloaded vehicle weight, plus the necessary test dummies as specified in S6, plus 136 kg or its rated cargo and luggage capacity weight, whichever is less, secured in the load carrying area and distributed as nearly as possible in proportion to its GAWR. [...]

S7.2 Side moving barrier test conditions. The side moving deformable barrier crash test conditions are those specified in S8 of FMVSS No. 214 (49 CFR 571.214).

S7.3 Rear moving barrier test conditions. (a) [Reserved] (b) The rear moving deformable barrier is the same as that shown in Figure 2 of FMVSS No. 214 (49 CFR 571.214) and specified in 49 CFR part 587, except as otherwise specified in paragraph S7.3. The barrier and test vehicle are positioned so that at impact— (1) The vehicle is stationary; (2) The deformable face of the barrier is mounted on the barrier 50 mm (2 inches) lower than the height from the ground specified in Figure 2 of Standard No. 214 (49 CFR 571.214) (All dimensions from the ground in Figure 2, Front View should be reduced by 50 mm (2 inches.)); (3) The barrier is traveling 80 ±1.0 km/h; [...]

S8.1 Rear impact test upgrade. (a) Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2006 and before September 1, 2007. For vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2006, and before September 1, 2007, the number of vehicles complying with S6.2(b) of this standard must not be less than 40 percent of: (1) The manufacturer's average annual production of vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2004, and before September 1, 2007; or (2) The manufacturer's production on or after September 1, 2006, and before September 1, 2007. (b) Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2007 and before September 1, 2008. For vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2007 and before September 1, 2008, the number of vehicles complying with S6.2(b) of this standard must not be less than 70 percent of: (1) The manufacturer's average annual production of vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2005, and before September 1, 2008; or (2) The manufacturer's production on or after September 1, 2007, and before September 1, 2008. (c) Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2008. [...]

S8.2 Vehicles manufactured in two or more stages. A final stage manufacturer or alterer may, at its option, comply with the requirements set forth in S8.2.1 and S8.2.2. S8.2.1 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2006 and before September 1, 2009 are not required to comply with the requirements specified in S6.2(b) of this standard. S8.2.2 Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2009 must comply with the requirements specified in S6.2(b) of this standard.

S8.3 Vehicles produced by more than one manufacturer. S8.3.1 For the purpose of calculating average annual production of vehicles for each manufacturer and the number of vehicles manufactured by each manufacturer under S8.1, a vehicle produced by more than one manufacturer must be attributed to a single manufacturer as follows, subject to S8.3.2: (a) A vehicle that is imported must be attributed to the importer. (b) A vehicle manufactured in the United States by more than one manufacturer, one of which also markets the vehicle, must be attributed to the manufacturer that markets the vehicle. [...]

Limits of this page

This page quotes the text of 49 CFR 571.301 as published in the eCFR, current through October 29, 2026. It omits tables, figures, cross-referenced test procedures in other parts, and the preambles and rulemaking history that explain the rule. It does not tell you whether a given vehicle, part or product complies, how to run a test, or what a manufacturer must certify. Compliance questions go to the manufacturer's engineers, qualified counsel or NHTSA. The eCFR is an editorial compilation, not the official legal edition of the Federal Register.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 49 CFR 571.301, Standard No. 301; Fuel system integrity. (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR part 571, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)