UCR proposal would reduce 2024 fees by 9%

March 15, 2023

Land Line Staff

|

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 is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Thursday, March 16, the agency is proposing 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.

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.

Proposed UCR fees for 2024

Fleet size Fee
0-2 $37
3-5 $111
6-20 $221
21-100 $769
101-1,000 $3,670
1,001 and above $35,836

UCR fees for 2023

Fleet size Fee
0-2 $41
3-5 $121
6-20 $242
21-100 $844
101-1,000 $4,024
1,001 and above $39,289

 

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.

Once the notice is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 30-day public comment period. Those who wish to comment can go to the Regulations.gov website and enter docket No. FMCSA-2023-0008.

All states are required to enforce UCR requirements whether or not a state participates in it. The not-participating states are Arizona, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., also does not participate.

The UCR applies to all motor carriers and entities that are required to register with the Federal Motor Safety Administration, including those based in Canada and Mexico. LL