A trucking trade association has launched a fresh legal assault against federal regulators, asking a federal appeals court to strike down a major motor carrier fee rule and halt what it calls the illegal sharing of truckers' sensitive personal data.
The Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) filed a petition for review on Oct. 20, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit under the Hobbs Act, targeting a Sept. 1, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) final rule. The rule recodified annual Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) fees for 2027 and subsequent years, carrying an average 20% price increase.
Trade group argues that the underlying UCR System Plan and Agreement was never lawfully established through proper federal rulemaking as mandated by Section 13908 of the UCR Act of 2007.
"Petitioner asks that this Court rule that Respondent FMCSA's 2027 UCR fee rule has been unlawfully promulgated and illegally codified... and order Respondents and their UCR administrator agents to cease and desist from any and all further unlawful fee collection," the filing states.
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.
Privacy and data security concerns
Beyond fee collections, the litigation targets the daily transmission of truckers' personally identifiable information (PII), including Social Security numbers, to the UCR System Plan and its technical platform vendors.
The SBTC contends these data transfers violate the Privacy Act and fall outside the scope of acceptable "routine use," pointing out that they defy the FMCSA's original 2007 data-sharing protocols, which limited transfers strictly to bona fide participating state government entities. The coalition highlights past vulnerabilities, noting a 2019 data breach where registrants' tax identification and Social Security numbers were exposed.
Relief sought
The petition asks the D.C. Circuit to take several sweeping actions, including:
Declaring the 49 CFR § 367.50 fee rule, the UCR Agreement, and the UCR Board of Directors unlawful.
Enjoining federal respondents and their agents from collecting further UCR fees or enforcing the current rule.
Immediately disbanding the UCR System Plan Board of Directors.
Ordering the FMCSA to issue a Direct Final Rule to properly establish a federal online registration system pursuant to the UCR Act.
Ordering a permanent halt to the daily release of truckers' PII to the UCR System Plan.
The legal filing follows a related administrative complaint filed by the SBTC on Oct. 13, with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General concerning data releases.
