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Trailer Information Guide TP 13136
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Transport Canada > Road Safety > Trailer Information Guide

Trailers: Federal Lighting Equipment Location Requirements

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IMPORTANT NOTE: Every lamp, reflex reflector, and conspicuity treatment must be permanently attached in the location specified below and must comply with all applicable requirements prescribed for it by FMVSS/CMVSS 108. The face of any device on the front/rear and sides should be, respectively perpendicular and parallel to the vehicles centerline unless it is photometrically certified at installation angle. No part of the vehicle shall prevent any device from meeting its prescribed requirements unless an auxiliary device meeting all prescribed requirements is installed.
IN CANADA: Manufacturers and importers of vehicles must have the proper certification test records demonstrating compliance of lighting components with all prescribed requirements.

BASIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ON ALL TRAILERS

DESCRIPTION				MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
Area	Equipment	SAE Lens Coding	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Colour	Location	Height mm (in.) from ground
	Tail Lamps	(T)	Indicate vehicle's presence and width	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical as far apart as practicable	380-1830 (15-72)
	Stop Lamps	(S)	Indicate braking	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical as far apart as practicable	380-1830 (15-72)
	Rear Turn Signal Lamps	(I)	Indicate direction of turn	Minimum 2	Red or Yellow	On the rear - symmetrical as far apart as practicable	380-2110 (15-83)
	Rear Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate vehicle's presence and width	Minimum 2	Red	On the rear - symmetrical as far apart as practicable facing forward	380-1530 (15-60)
	License Plate Lamp(s)	(L)	Illuminates license plate	Minimum 1	White	On the rear - above or at the sides of license plate	No requirement
	Rear Side Marker Lamps	(P2, PC* OR P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Red	Each side at rear as far back as practicable	380-1530 (15-60) no max. for veh. under 2032mm (80"") wide
	Rear Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Red	Each side at rear as far back as practicable facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)
	Front Side Marker Lamps	(P2, PC* OR P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side at front as far forward as practicable	380 (15) minimum
	Front Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate vehicle's presence and length	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side at front as far forward as practicable facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR TRAILERS EXCEEDING THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS
Length 9.1m (30 ft.) or longer

DESCRIPTION				MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
Area	Equipment	SAE Lens Coding	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Colour	Location	Height mm (in.) from ground
	Intermediate Side Marker Lamps	(P2 or P3)	Indicate presence of a long vehicle	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side near center facing sideward	380 (15) minimum
	Intermediate Side Reflex Reflectors	(A)	Indicate presence of a long vehicle	Minimum 2	Yellow	Each side near center facing sideward	380-1530 (15-60)

Width 2032mm (80 in.) or wider

DESCRIPTION				MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
Area	Equipment	SAE Lens Coding	Functional Purpose	Quantity	Colour	Location	Height mm (in.) from ground
	Rear Clearance Lamps	(P2, PC* OR P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Show vehicle's width MAY NOT be combined with with tail lamps	Minimum 2	Red	At widest point symmetrical on the rear or near the rear facing rearward	As high as practicable may be lower only if ID lamps are at the top
	Rear Identification (ID) Lamps	(P2 or P3)	Indicate presence of a wide vehicle	Exactly 3	Red	On the rear - centre horizontally spaced 150mm (6 in.) to 300mm (12 in.) apart facing rearward	At the top - may be lower if door header narrower than 25mm
	Front Clearance Lamps	(P2, PC* OR P3, PC2) photometrically certified at installation angle	Show vehicle's width	Minimum 2	Yellow	At widest point symmetrical on the front or near the front facing forward	As high as practicable

Width 2032mm (80 in.) or wider AND GVWR 4536 kg (10,000 lb.) or more

DESCRIPTION		MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
Area	Conspicuity Treatment	DOT Coding	Quantity	Colour	Location	Height	Options
	Rear Upper Body Markings	DOT-C DOT-C2 DOT-C3 DOT-C4	Exactly 2 pairs of 300mm long strips	White	On the rear upper corners facing rearward	At the top	Reflex reflectors may not be required if they are replaced in their required location with conspicuity treatment Optional in Canada: Rear lower body and side conspicuity treatment may also be solid white, solid yellow, or white and yellow
	Bumper Bar Marking	DOT-C DOT-C2 DOT-C3 DOT-C4	Continuous	Red/White	On the rear bumper bar's horizontal element full width - facing rearward	No requirement
	Rear Lower Body Marking	DOT-C DOT-C2 DOT-C3 DOT-C4	Continuous	Red/White (see options)	On the rear full width of the vehicle facing rearward	As horizontal as practicable and as close as practicable to the range of 375 to 1525mm from the ground
	Side Marking	DOT-C DOT-C2 DOT-C3 DOT-C4	(see location)	Red/White (see options)	Each side -facing sideward continuous, or evenly spaced over minimum of 50% of length starts and ends as close to the front and rear of the vehicle as practicable	As horizontal as practicable and as close as practicable to the range of 375 to 1525mm from the ground
NOTE: The edge of red conspicuity tape shall not be closer than 75 mm to the edge of any amber lamp and the edge of white conspicuity tape shall not be closer than 75 mm to the edge of any lamp