The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) is a federal registration system for interstate motor carriers, commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), and brokers. The UCR Plan was created to streamline the registration process and reduce the administrative burden and costs for motor carriers, CMVs, and brokers.

The UCR Plan requires all interstate motor carriers, CMVs, and brokers to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) using the UCR application. There is a single annual registration fee that each registrant must pay. The UCR yearly registration fees are based on the total number of vehicles operated in interstate commerce.

The FMCSA will use the information collected through the UCR registration system to help improve its ability to enforce safety regulations and target enforcement resources. The data will also support research on commercial vehicle safety issues.

What are the changes in fees?

The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) is a federal program that requires commercial motor carriers to register their vehicles. The program was created to improve highway safety and compliance with federal regulations.

A final rule posted in the Federal Register last Thursday said that the carrier registration fee would be cut by 31% because the program brought in more money than the maximum amount allowed.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said fees will go down from $18 to $17,688 in 2023 and after. All interstate carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies must pay registration fees.

Motor carriers who do business across state lines must pay fees, and the Unified Carrier Registration Board recommends how much. The FMCSA said that the board is lowering prices because the program made more than the maximum amount of money in previous years, which was $107.78 million.

People can still disagree with this final rule, but states can start collecting the fee on October 1, 2022, for the calendar year 2023.

Companies with two or fewer commercial vehicles pay a yearly fee of $59. Companies with 1,001 or more commercial vehicles pay an annual fee of $56,977. After the rule change, these costs would go down to $41 and $39,289, respectively.

The 31% fee cut is more significant than the 27% cost cut that the government said would happen with the initial rates FMCSA released in January. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association quickly shot down the idea, which said that extra money should be used to lower fees even more.

The FMCSA says that the UCR changed its plan based on "updated actual collections and estimated fees." Still, many truckers have pushed back against the fees, and some have said that the costs hurt smaller carriers more than bigger ones.

In a letter sent in June, the Western States Trucking Association said that the fee should be "weighted more favorably toward small-business motor carriers, which contributed disproportionately to excess collections."

Benefits and Concerns with the UCR

The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) is a federal program that requires interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) carriers and freight forwarders to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The UCR was created in 2005 to streamline the registration process for CMV carriers and provide a more consistent funding source for state motor carrier safety programs.

The UCR fees are based on the number of CMVs operated by the carrier, and the fees are used to support state motor carrier safety programs. The UCR fees are generally lower than the previous registration fees assessed by individual states.

The UCR has been generally well-received by the trucking industry, as it provides a more efficient and cost-effective way to register CMVs. However, there have been some concerns raised about the UCR, including the following:

• The potential for double taxation, as some states have separate registration fees for trucks that operate within their state borders.

• The possibility that shippers may try to use the UCR registration status as a way to screen out carriers that they perceive as being less safe.

• Some confusion about which vehicles must be registered under the UCR program.

Overall, the Unified Carrier Registration program has benefited both CMV carriers and shippers, providing a more efficient and cost-effective way to register trucks and supporting state motor carrier safety programs.

Conclusion

At the moment, there is no information about how long the fee cuts will last, but based on what we know, we can assume it will be longer than two years and that the increase will be smaller than the decrease we see here. This will bring the UCR back to the maximum amount it is allowed to collect by law. Since fuel, truck, and trailer prices are still way too high; we’ll gladly take this cut.

On October 1st, UCR started collecting fees from the states participating.

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