Unified Carrier
Registration
Training Guide
Revised 4-2010
1
Disclaimer: The information provided here is
based on the informal interpretation of the
Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005
(“UCR Act”) and is subject to further
interpretation by the UCR Board.
2
Sections
Definitions
 Who Files under the UCR Program
 Filing Requirements
 Determining the Base State
 How are Fees Used by the States
 Calculation of the Total Number of Vehicles
 Calculation of Fees
 Lease Operations
 State Review of an UCR Application
 What Happens when Fleet Size Changes
 Affect on Intrastate Regulation
 Enforcement
 Enforcement Scenarios
You may click on any item and go to that section.

3
Definitions
Return to Section Listing
4
Broker

A person, other than a motor carrier or an
employee or agent of a motor carrier, that as a
principal or agent sells, offers for sale,
negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation,
advertisement, or otherwise as selling,
providing, or arranging for, transportation by
motor carrier for compensation.
Note: This definition was changed by a corrections bill
to SAFETEA-LU June 2008 that deleted the word
commercial as defined in section 31132.
5
Combination Operations
When a company has more than one type of
operation, the following will apply:
– Any combination of a brokers, freight
forwarders and leasing companies (not
combined with a motor carrier entity) file and
pay the lowest tier fee.
– When multiple operations include motor carrier
operations, the company files as a motor carrier
or motor private carrier.
6
Commercial Motor Vehicle

Self-propelled vehicle used on the highways in commerce
principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle:
(1) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle
weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater;
(2) Is designed to transport more than 10 passengers
including the driver; or
(3) Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary
of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C.
Section 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring
placarding under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary.
Note: For the registration year 2010, this definition in section 31101 was
changed to exclude the words “or towed” after self-propelled.
7
Freight Forwarder

An individual or company (other than as a
pipeline, rail, motor, or water carrier) that
receives shipments and combines them for
transportation by a pipeline, rail, motor, or
water carrier.
8
Leasing Company

A lessor that is engaged in the business of
leasing or renting for compensation motor
vehicles without drivers to a motor carrier,
motor private carrier, or freight forwarder.
9
Motor Carrier

A person providing motor vehicle
transportation for compensation.
10
Motor Private Carrier

A person, other than a motor carrier,
transporting property by motor vehicle
when— (A) the transportation is as
provided in section 13501 of this title; (B)
the person is the owner, lessee, or bailee of
the property being transported; and (C) the
property is being transported for sale, lease,
rent, or bailment or to further a commercial
enterprise.
Note: This definition does not include passengers.
11
Principal Place of Business







A single office or terminal designated by the company ;
Serves as the principal place of business;
Must be a location where the company is engaged in business
operations and where it maintains or can make available its business
and safety records;
May not be any location where the company is not engaged in
business operations related to the transportation of persons or
property;
Post office box centers or commercial courier service establishments
may not be designated;
May not designate the office of a consultant, service agent, or attorney
as the motor carrier's principal place of business if the company is not
engaged in operations related to the transportation of persons or
property at that location;
A company with a single place of business may designate only its
12
actual place of business as the principal place of business.
Who Files Under
the UCR Program
Return to Section Listing
13
Motor carriers;
 Motor private carriers in interstate or
international commerce;
 Brokers;
 Freight forwarders; and
 Leasing companies.

Note: Includes companies located in other countries
operating through the states. See exceptions in
the UCR Question and Answer document.
14
Filing Requirements
Return to Section Listing
15
What is required annually?
Filing of an UCR Application
 Payment of UCR Fees

16
Determining the
Base State
Return to Section Listing
17
A. Applicant registers in their principal place
of business state if that state is a
participating states.
Note: Participating States are AK, AL, AR, CA, CO,
CT, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME,
MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NY,
OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA,
WI or, WV
18
B. If the applicant is not located in a
participating state, they may register in a
participating state where they have an office
or operating facility.
C. If a participating state is geographically
close to the your company’s principal place of
business you may select that state.
19
D. Select a participating state (in green
below) within a FMCSA region.
Location Not a
Participating State
Select a Participating State
DC,MD,NJ,VT or Province of
ON,NB,NL,NS,PE,QC
CT,DE,MA,ME,NH,NY,PA,RI,VA,WV
Province of ON, MB,NU
IA,IL,IN,KS,MI,MO,MN,NE,OH,WI
FL,Mexico
AZ,HI,NV,OR,WY or Province of
AB,BC,MB,NT,NU,SK,YT,Mexico
AL,AR,GA,KY,LA,MS,NC,OK,SC,TN,TX
AK,CA,CO,ID,MT,ND,NM,SD,UT,WA
20
How are Fees Used
by the States
Return to Section Listing
21
UCR fees replaced the fees lost by the states
with the elimination of the SSRS, Interstate
exempt and combination operations
renewals.
 The same amount of fees collected by a
state must be shown to be spent by that state
for safety.
 Many states use the UCR fee as a state
match for MCSAP activities.

22
Calculation of the
Total Number of
Vehicles
Return to Section Listing
23
Step 1. Carrier must choose the method of
determining the number of motor vehicles for
payment of fees:
– Method 1. Number commercial motor vehicles
reported on the last MCS-150; or
– Method 2. Total number of commercial motor
vehicles owned or operated for the 12-month
period ending June 30 of the year immediately
prior to registration.
24
Line 1, Section 4 of the Application
Method 1. Section 26 of MCS-150 Form
Column A. Total Straight Trucks, Truck Tractors
and Hazmat Cargo Tank Trucks reported as
owned, term leased or trip leased.
25
Line 1, Section 4 of the Application
Method 1. Section 26 of MCS-150 Form
Column C. Number of motor coaches, school
buses, mini-buses, vans and limousines reported
as owned, term leased or trip leased.
26
Line 1, Section 4 of the Application
Method 2. From company’s records
Column A. Total Straight Trucks, Truck Tractors
and Hazmat Cargo Tank Trucks owned, term
leased or trip leased during the twelve month
period.
Column C. Number of motor coaches, school
buses, mini-buses, vans and limousines owned,
term leased or trip leased during the 12 month
period.
Note: Registration year 2010 will look at 12
month period ending June 30, 2009.
27
Line 2, Section 4 of the Application

Subtracting Vehicles
– The number of vehicles on Line 1 in Column C
that has a vehicle capacity of 10 or less
passengers, including the driver.
– (Optional) The number of vehicles that is used
only in intrastate commerce.
28
Line 3, Section 4 of the Application

Adding Vehicles (Optional)
– Commercial motor vehicles operating solely in
intrastate commerce.
– Used in commerce to transport passengers or
property for compensation and have a GVWR
or GVW of 10,000 lbs or less, or a passenger
capacity of 10 or less, including the driver.
29
Calculation of Fees
Return to Section Listing
30

Section 5 – Fee Table for Year 2010
Number of Vehicles
Amount Due
0-2
$76
3-5
$227
6-20
$452
21-100
$1,576
101-1000
$7,511
1001 or more
$73,346
31
Lease Operations
Return to Section Listing
32
Who reports leased vehicles?
 The
lessee or motor carrier includes
these vehicles where the duration of
the lease if over 30 days in length.
33
State Review of an
UCR Application
Return to Section Listing
34

Application is complete
– Section 1, General Information 1 has been
completed identifying the applicant.
– Section 2, Classification has at least one
category has been checked.
– Section 3 completed if Section 2 indicates the
applicant is a broker, freight forwarder or
leasing company.
– Section 4. Once of the boxes need to be
checked to indicate how the number of motor
vehicles is being computed.
35

Application is complete (Continued)
– Line1, Section 4, Information completed to get
a total in column D.
– Line 4, Section 4, “Total Number of Vehicles”
has been calculated correctly.
– Section 6, Fees Due has been calculated
correctly.
– Section 7, Certification has been completed.
36

Other items that may be verified at time
of review
– Verification of whether the company needs to
file by checking
» USDOT number is active or not OOS
» Company Operation as shown on MCS-150 is not a
registrant or intrastate only
» Verification of broker or carrier’s federal operating
authority is active
– Prior year payment of fees have been
completed if needed
– Company has filed in its correct base state
37
What Happens
when Fleet Size
Changes
Return to Section Listing
38
Scenario 1 – Decrease in fleet size that occurred
after the company filed its MCS-150 form.
• Companies who have vehicles that have been
wrecked or no longer in the fleet are not required to
make any additional filing and cannot request a
refund of fees paid for those vehicles.
• Prior to the filing and payment of fees for a
renewal for the next registration period, the
company may file an updated MCS-150 form
decreasing the number of vehicles previously
reported.
39
Scenario 2 – Increase in fleet size that occurred
after the company filed its MCS-150 form.
• Companies who have added vehicles during the
current registration period are not required to pay
additional fees for that registration year.
• Prior to the filing of a renewal and payment of fees
for the next registration period, the company may file
an updated MCS-150 form increasing the number of
vehicles previously reported.
Note: The company is required to update its MCS-150
form every two years or every year if the company has a
40
business location in a PRISM state.
Is the UCR registrant required to
carry a credential on the vehicle?

No. The registrants may carry the copy of
the payment receipt in the vehicle if desired.
41
Affect on Intrastate
Regulation
Return to Section Listing
42
Intrastate Only Operations

The UCR Act does not affect a State’s regulation
of intrastate only carriers that do not handle
interstate freight or provide interstate
transportation.
43
Intrastate and Interstate Operations


A State may still require an interstate carrier initially
applying for intrastate authority to prove it has
insurance coverage and charge it an initial application
fee.
A state cannot require an annual renewal of the
intrastate authority if the motor carrier or motor private
carrier is registered under section 13902 or section
13905(b) except for motor carriers transporting non
charter passenger service, waste or recyclable materials,
non-consensual tows or household goods.
Note: A State cannot require an annual payment for vehicles used
purely in intrastate commerce that are deleted on the UCR form
44
except as noted above.
Enforcement
Return to Section Listing
45
How will state agencies and the
public know the registrant is
compliant?


SAFER System at www.safersys.org
– Publicly accessed compliance data, or
Inspection Selection System (ISS).
46
47
48
49
50
How often is the data in the
systems updated?
At a minimum states will be sending
FMCSA UCR compliance information
daily.
 FMCSA will then perform an update to
their system.

51
Enforcement Scenarios
Return to Section Listing
52
Question
A carrier has a USDOT number (interstate)
and occasionally transports freight across
state lines. During a trip the carrier is
moving freight between two points in the
same state. They are not registered under
UCR. Should a violation be listed on the
inspection report for no UCR registration?
53
Answer
Yes. Violation for no UCR. The requirement
to register under UCR exists whether the
carrier’s vehicle is loaded or empty at the
time of the stop and regardless if the vehicle
is crossing state lines at the time of the stop.
54
Question
A carrier has a USDOT number (interstate)
and is returning from dropping freight in
another state. The vehicle is currently
empty. The driver has no bills and his log
book shows a drop in another state. The
carrier is not registered under UCR.
Should a violation be listed on the
inspection report for no UCR registration?
55
Answer
Yes. Violation for no UCR.
56
Question
A carrier has a USDOT number
(interstate) and is transporting freight
across state lines. They claim to have
registered 2 vehicles with UCR as interstate
and 20 as intrastate only. The carrier is
registered under UCR. It can not be
determined during a roadside inspection
which vehicles are registered as interstate.
Should a UCR violation be listed on the
inspection report?
57
Answer
No Violation.
58
Question
A leased vehicle is stopped for an inspection.
The carrier's name and USDOT number and
the leasing company's name and USDOT
number are both displayed on the vehicle.
Both USDOT numbers are interstate. Neither
USDOT number is registered under UCR.
Should a violation be listed on the inspection
report? Who should the violation(s) be listed
against, carrier, leasing company or both?
59
Answer
Violation to carrier for no UCR. A separate
violation would exist for the leasing
company but how this is recorded would
depend upon each respective state’s
enforcement authority.
60
Enforcement Question
A construction company is doing roadwork on a
bridge over a river between 2 states. They drive a
rubber tire crane (off-road motorized construction
equipment) greater than 10,001 GVW across the state
line on a daily basis. The construction company does
not have a USDOT number. They only have pickup
trucks less than 10,000 GVWR and use contract
carriers to move material and equipment between job
sites. The construction company is not registered
under UCR. Is the construction company required to
be registered under UCR operating off-road
motorized construction equipment in interstate
commerce?
61
Answer
Violation to carrier for no UCR if the offroad motorized construction equipment is
defined as a commercial motor vehicle.
62
Question
A private carrier is transporting property
across state lines in a one ton truck greater
than 10,001 GVWR. They have never been
registered with USDOT and have no
USDOT number. The carrier is not
registered under UCR. Should a violation
be listed on this inspection report for no
UCR registration?
63
Answer
Yes. Violation to carrier for no UCR.
64
Question
A for-hire bus with a maximum seating capacity of
11 people, including the driver, picks up passengers
at an airport. Some of the passengers are from out
of state. The passengers are transported 22 miles to
a downtown drop off location. The carrier has a
USDOT number (interstate) but is not registered
under UCR. Should a violation be listed on this
inspection report for no UCR registration?
65
Answer
Yes. Violation for no UCR.
66
Question
A farmer is moving grain from his farm
across state lines to a processing plant. He
has a USDOT number (interstate) but is not
registered under UCR. Should a violation
be listed on the inspection report for no
UCR registered?
67
Answer
Yes. Violation for no UCR .
68
Question
Assuming a carrier had not paid UCR
during 2007 but had paid for it for 2008.
How should a violation for failing to pay
2007's UCR be written?
69
Answer
Violations of UCR for prior years are
entirely dependent upon an individual
state’s laws.
70
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 1.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
100 UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Apportioned plate over 26,000 lbs
No IFTA
Bill of lading showing interstate move
Private carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No IFTA registration
71
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 2.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
100 trucks not UCR registered
10 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Apportioned plate over 26,000 lbs
IFTA
Bill of lading showing interstate & intrastate moves
Private carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No UCR registration
72
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 3.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 10
No UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Straight tag
No IFTA
Bill of lading showing air freight move
For-hire carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No UCR registration
73
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 4.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 1
No UCR registered trucks
1 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Farm tag
No IFTA
Farmer moving his grain to local barge terminal where the movement is
known to be interstate
Private carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
74
Possible enforcement action: No UCR registration
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 5.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
No UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Apportioned plate over 26,000 lbs
No IFTA
Bill of lading showing interstate move
Private carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No IFTA, No UCR registration 75
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 6.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
No UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate not UCR registered
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Apportioned plate over 26,000 lbs
IFTA
Bill of lading showing interstate & intrastate moves
For-hire carriage
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No federal authority, No for-hire
intrastate authority, No UCR registration
76
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 7.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
100 UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Apportioned plate over 26,000 lbs
IFTA
Bill of lading shows intrastate move
For-hire carriage
No federal authority
Has intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: None
77
Examples of roadside enforcement
Example 8.
Carrier: Total Trucks = 110
100 UCR registered trucks
10 exclusively intrastate
Description of truck stopped for inspection:
Out-of-state farm plate
IFTA
Interstate move
Farmer moving for-hire
No federal authority
No intrastate authority
Possible enforcement action: No federal authority, License 78
Plate
2009 Renewals?
Fees for 2009 will be the same as 2008.
 MCS on-line system will be ready October
20, 2008.
 Missouri renewals will be mailed the same
day as system is ready.
 State Enforcement of 2009 requirements
begin January 1, 2009.

79
Additional information about the UCR
program can be found at
http://www.naruc.org/ncsts
National UCR On-line System
www.ucr.in.gov
80