The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will publish a Final Rule Tuesday increasing annual registration fees for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Plan by an average of 20% for the 2027 registration year and beyond.
The fee increases range from $9 to $9,329 per entity, depending on the applicable fee bracket determined by the size of the company's fleet. The new fee structure will take effect 30 days after its scheduled publication in the Federal Register.
Under the new structure, the smallest operators and freight brokers in Bracket 1, which includes fleets of up to two commercial motor vehicles, will see their annual fee rise from $46 to $55. The largest operators in Bracket 6, encompassing fleets of 1,001 or more vehicles, will face a fee increase from $44,836 to $54,165. Despite the 20% average increase from the 2025 and 2026 fee levels, the FMCSA noted that the 2027 rates remain lower than the fees assessed during the 2019 through 2022 registration years.
The FMCSA stated the increase is necessary to cover a projected $21.79 million shortfall in the UCR Plan's required funding. By statute, the program must generate $118 million annually to distribute to 41 participating states. These funds are dedicated to state-level motor carrier safety programs and enforcement, as well as to covering the administrative costs of the UCR Plan itself. Because actual revenue fluctuates based on the number of registered carriers and the sizes of their fleets, lower-than-anticipated collections in recent years triggered the need to adjust future fees upward to meet statutory requirements.
The fee adjustment stems from a September 18, 2025, recommendation made by the UCR Board and drew opposition from industry groups during the rulemaking's public comment period.
Trade organizations, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC), and the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), objected to the added financial burden on carriers. Commenters specifically criticized the inclusion of the UCR Plan's legal defense funds and technical platform expenses in the administrative budget passed down to registrants.
The SBTC previously attempted to halt the rulemaking through a petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing against implementing the fees amid ongoing legal proceedings. However, the court denied the motion to stay on June 17, 2026, allowing the FMCSA to proceed.
In its response to comments, the FMCSA maintained that Congress did not authorize any separate appropriations for funding UCR programs, meaning the system must rely entirely on registration fees for its operations and defense. The agency concluded that the fee adjustment is a required statutory recalibration that ensures participating states receive their designated funding for essential highway safety initiatives.
