FMCSA explains plans to modernize registration system

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s plan to modernize its registration system and crack down on fraud is going to come in stages.

Some of the steps have already been taken, while others will need to go through a formal rulemaking process and are likely a couple of years away from taking effect.

Ken Riddle, FMCSA’s director for the Office of Registration and Safety Information, outlined some of these changes during an online Registration Modernization Stakeholder meeting on Wednesday, May 29.

“We want to continue to dialogue with all of the stakeholders in the industry so that you know what is coming,” Riddle said.

Much of the focus is on preventing fraud, which has increased in recent years.

“Fraud and freight theft are at an all-time high in the commercial motor vehicle industry,” Riddle said at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year. “Every corner of the industry is experiencing fraud, whether it be on the carrier side, the broker side … We’ve been asked, ‘What can you do, FMCSA?’”

FMCSA has already:

• Suspended online PIN requests
• Required multi-factor authentication
• Verified the principal place of business when it does not appear to conform to regulatory requirements
• Required driver’s license checks for paper application submissions
• Launched a Registration Fraud Team

The next big steps will be focused on verification, including the individual’s identity and the legitimacy of the business.

First, the FMCSA will attempt to verify the more than 800,000 existing registrants before making the process required for new applicants.

Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs, told Land Line Now that this is a big undertaking.

“Ideally, if this works out, they’re probably going to weed out a whole bunch of potentially fraudulent carriers who are in business now and entities that have been out of business for years and are just clogging up the system,” Grimes said. “Hopefully, it can clear the playing field a little bit and crack down on broker fraud … But, again, there’s a lot of skepticism on how these IT systems are going to work and how quickly they can be implemented. And when they’re implemented, are they going to be reliable? Are they going to be safe? Broker fraud is a big problem. Cybersecurity certainly is another problem we’ve seen in recent years on some FMCSA systems.”

Riddle said that FMCSA is in the process of hiring a vendor for the verification process.

“We’re not waiting on the new registration system,” Riddle said. “We’re going to start as soon as we can. We want the ability to verify that the business is a legitimate business and really exists.”

Other potential changes to FMCSA’s registration system will be required to go through the formal rulemaking process.

Those potential changes include:

• Eliminating the MX/NNA docket number
• Eliminating paper applications
• Changes to transfers
• Changes to fees
• Annual updates vs biennial updates

FMCSA hopes to release a notice of proposed rulemaking later this year. A final rule likely wouldn’t take effect until 2025 or 2026.

“The rulemaking process is likely to take a couple of years,” Riddle said. “Rulemakings just take time.”

Any questions regarding FMCSA’s plans for a new registration system can be emailed to NewRegSys@dot.gov. LL