UCR proposal reduces fees for 2024

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing reduced Unified Carrier Registration fees for the 2024 registration year.

In a notice of proposed rulemaking that published in the Federal Register on March 16, the agency proposed fees that would be about 9% less than in 2023.

The reduction in annual registration fees would be from $4 to $3,453 per entity, depending on the number of vehicles owned or operated.

Proposed UCR fees for 2024

UCR fees for 2023

“The UCR Plan Board slightly modified its methodology for developing the recommendation from previous years, when it was based on minimum collections, as the previous methodology consistently resulted in an underestimation of collections,” FMCSA wrote in the notice. “The UCR Plan Board’s recommendation now uses an average of the historical monthly collections over the prior three-year period to determine projected collections, which will yield a more accurate result.”

The UCR is an annual permit that most motor carriers must pay if they have an active U.S. DOT number regardless whether they are using that DOT number or not and it is marked interstate, says OOIDA’s Permits and Licensing Department.

The UCR Plan Board did not make a fee recommendation for the 2025 registration year, but the recommendation for the 2024 registration year anticipates an increase in fees for 2025, following the large fee decreases in the previous years.

OOIDA has pushed for reduced fees, arguing that the 2023 fees were contrary to the UCR statute and the Administrative Procedures Act.

All states are required to enforce UCR requirements whether or not a state participates in it. The UCR applies to all motor carriers and entities that are required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including those based in Canada and Mexico. LL