MARCH 26, 2019 – If you don’t yet have your Unified Carrier Registration for 2019, you only have a few more days to get your registration filed before the April 1 compliance deadline. This deadline comes after significant delays pushed the registration window back by three months again this year. Normally, registrations are accepted between October 1 and December 31, but issues that arose during the fall put registration on hold as the FMCSA developed their final rulemaking around the 2019 UCRs. This rulemaking wasn’t released until the very beginning of January.
The UCR program helps supplement funding at the state level for motor carrier enforcement and safety programs. All interstate motor carriers, as well as brokers and freight forwarders, are required to participate.
Annual fees are based on fleet size, with owner operators, brokers and freight forwarders paying the lowest amounts.
Motor carriers caught operating without a valid UCR will face fines and out-of-service orders at the state level. Each state has its own penalty structure, with fines for first-time offenders ranging between $500 and $1,000, on average.