A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers.

The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:

1. has a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more

2. Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation;

3. Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, not used to transport passengers for compensation;

4. Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous.

The federal definition though followed closely is meant to accommodate and remain flexible to each state's definitions.

The European Union defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorized road vehicle, that by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for payment or not:

1. more than nine persons, including the driver;

2. goods and "standard fuel tanks". This means the tanks permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all motor vehicles of the same type as the vehicle in question and whose permanent fitting lets fuel be used directly, both for propulsion and, where appropriate, to power a refrigeration system. Gas tanks fitted to motor vehicles for the direct use of diesel as a fuel are considered standard fuel tanks.