Truckers will have heavier wallets in the future as annual registration fees that go to support state safety programs will drop by 14.45%. Carriers, brokers and freight forwarders will see these decreased rates in both 2020 and 2021.

In a notice published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the cost of fees collected by the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR), which makes recommendations about rates, was actually less than had been anticipated. The fees became effective and the 2020 registration period opened on Feb. 13.

In addition, the FMCSA reported that the reduction in 2019 registration fees, completed in Dec. 2018, was between $3 and $2,712 per entity in accordance with the number of trucks owned and operated.

In order to pay for state safety programs and enforcement activities, the UCR teams with 41 states to enact and collect fees from carriers, private carriers of property, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies. 

If collections are in excess of what is mandated by federal law, the UCR automatically adjusts fees which must be approved by the FMCSA. (See this year’s fees in the box below):

The Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) disputed some of the fees, arguing that the UCR was unlawfully collecting fees from intrastate carriers and that refunds would be needed, thus affecting revenues available to the states and fee levels. The FMCSA, however, found no need for fee adjustments. 

In its notice published in the Federal Register of Feb. 13, the FMCSA said, “It is the responsibility of each motor carrier to determine if it is required to register with the UCR Plan under the UCR Agreement because it is an interstate carrier, including carriers engaged in interstate transportation in a single state that involved a prior or subsequent movement across a state line.”