UCR registration runs on the calendar year. Registration for the coming year normally opens on 1 October and the deadline is 31 December, so you must be registered before you operate in that year. Unlike the MCS-150, the date is the same for everybody — it does not depend on your USDOT number.

Who has to register for UCR?

Any motor carrier, broker, freight forwarder or leasing company operating in interstate commerce, including carriers based in a state that does not participate in the UCR programme. If you only run inside one state you do not owe it.

How much does UCR cost?

The fee is set each year by fleet size, in brackets. The smallest bracket, covering nought to two vehicles, has been in the region of forty to sixty dollars in recent years. The brackets rise steeply for larger fleets. Check the current year's fee schedule before you pay, because it changes.

What happens if I do not register for UCR?

Enforcement officers check UCR at roadside inspections and at weigh stations. You can be held until it is paid, and many states issue fines on top. It is one of the easiest violations for an officer to find because it takes seconds to look up.

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What is UCR, and when is it due?

Reviewed by Ray Sandhu DOT compliance, 14 years. Former safety director, 40-truck fleet. Last reviewed September 2026

Quick answer

Unified Carrier Registration is an annual fee every interstate carrier pays, based on how many trucks you run. Registration for the next year usually opens 1 October and closes 31 December. Unlike your USDOT update, the date is the same for everybody. Officers check it at the scale, and you can be held there until it is paid.

Key points

It is a yearly registration, on the calendar year. Not every two years, and not on your own schedule.
You owe it if you cross a state line. Purely intrastate carriers do not.
The fee is set by fleet size brackets, and it changes year to year. The smallest bracket covers nought to two vehicles.
You register with your base state, but the money is shared among participating states.
It is checked at roadside inspections, which is why it is one of the most commonly found violations.

Who owes it

UCR is not only for trucking companies. It covers anyone operating in interstate commerce in these categories.

You are	Do you owe UCR
Motor carrier, interstate	Yes
Motor carrier, one state only	No
Freight broker	Yes
Freight forwarder	Yes
Leasing company	Yes
Private carrier hauling your own goods across a state line	Yes

A point people get wrong: if your base state does not take part in the UCR programme, you still owe it. You register through a neighbouring participating state instead.

What it costs

Source: UCR fees are set each year by the Unified Carrier Registration Plan board and collected by your base state. The bracket structure is in 49 U.S.C. 14504a. Check the current year schedule before you pay, because the numbers change.

The fee depends on how many commercial vehicles you operate, in brackets. It is set each year, so treat any figure you read as indicative until you check the current schedule.

The smallest bracket covers 0–2 vehicles and has been in the region of $40 to $60 in recent years. Brokers and forwarders with no trucks pay this bracket too.

Brackets rise steeply. A fleet of a hundred trucks pays a multiple of what two trucks pay, not a proportion of it.

Filing services typically charge $50 to $75 on top of the government fee. FMCSA does not charge for the registration itself beyond the fee that goes to the states.

What happens if you skip it

UCR is checked at roadside inspections and weigh stations. An officer can look it up in seconds, which makes it one of the easiest violations to find.

You can be held until it is paid. Many states add a fine on top, and the amount varies by state. It is not a federal penalty with one published number, which is why nobody can quote you a single figure.

Doing it yourself

You pay the state fee and nothing else. Registering is not complicated — the trouble is remembering, and counting right.

Where it goes wrong

The vehicle count. It is the number of commercial vehicles you operated in the previous year, which is often not how many you own today. Count wrong and you are in the wrong bracket.
Registering after the year starts. Registration opens in October so you can be covered on 1 January. Sorting it out on 2 January means you were running without it.
Assuming it does not apply. Brokers, forwarders and leasing companies owe it too, and so do carriers based in states that do not take part in the programme.
Losing the receipt. There is no sticker and no certificate. The receipt is all you have.

We can handle it, with everything else.

Put in your USDOT number. We read your official FMCSA record, tell you whether UCR applies to you, and show you everything else you owe this year. Free, and you do not need an account.

UCR handled for $75. Money back if it is rejected.

When is my MCS-150 due? Work your date out from your own USDOT number. Annual truck tax (IRS Form 2290) Due 31 August. No stamped form, no plate renewal. Locked out of Motus? What changed in May 2026 and how to get your record back.

Filings USDOT details update Interstate registration Annual truck tax Fuel tax

Help Locked out of Motus Should I do it myself? About Filed [email protected] (800) 555 0100

Filed

We work out what your trucking company owes the government, and we file it.

We are a private company. We are not part of FMCSA, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Transportation, or any state agency. Every filing described on this site can be made by you, directly, for the government's own fee.