Clock is ticking to pay annual UCR fees

The fees for the Unified Carrier Registration System are finalized, and collection has begun.

Members of the UCR board were notified late Friday, Dec. 29, that the agency had submitted a direct final rule to the Office of the Federal Register to be published as soon as possible. The notice published on the Federal Register website Jan. 5, making the fees official.

Since 2016, motor carriers paying into the UCR program have overpaid the revenue due to the 41 participating states. The UCR board recommended reducing the fees for 2018 back in March 2017. However, the agency did not finalize and publish the recommended reduction until year’s end – after a lawsuit was filed and the state of Texas made claims of being owed money it was receiving annually from the program.

The final rule says the lawsuit did not cite any statute – because there isn’t one according to FMCSA – that restricts the agency from moving forward with finalizing the fees. The agency also states, basically, in the final rule that Texas’ claims would be sorted out later. In short, the fees had to be set and the rule does so.

Small operations will see minimal decreases in 2018 and 2019. For example, in 2017, operations with up to two trucks paid $76. There will be a $7 decrease for 2018 and a $3 decrease in 2019 when fees are to be raised slightly.

The 2018 fees:

Fees for 2019:

The fees are now in effect and motor carriers have 90 days to pay. Starting April 5, enforcement will begin and tickets can be issued on the roadside starting then.