Motor carriers required to participate in the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) program have until the end of the year to register and pay their fees. Otherwise, they face penalties that include losing the opportunity to bypass weigh stations.

UCR enforcement will begin on Jan. 1, 2022. The UCR fee payment deadline is Dec. 31, 2021. If you are a carrier that operates cargo-carrying commercial vehicles that cross state and/or international lines, you must have a UCR. There has been no indication that this deadline will be extended.

Forty-one states participate in the UCR system, with most requiring all bypass providers to flag any carrier with an expired UCR and have them pull into a weigh station or inspection site. In addition, states may detain your vehicle, and your organization can be subject to fines and penalties for noncompliance.

If your base state does not participate, but your cargo-carrying commercial vehicle(s) cross state or international lines, you must still purchase a UCR. The nine non-participating states are: Arizona, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wyoming, as well as Washington D.C.

Even if your company is not based in a participating state or you are based in Mexico or Canada, you must register with UCR and pay the appropriate fee by end of 2021.

Congress  created the UCR in 2005. Replacing the deregulated regime of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the state/provincial level public utility/public service commissions, the UCR requires annual fees from interstate and international motor carriers, private carriers of property, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies. The UCR board bases the fees on the number of trucks in a carrier’s fleet.

UCR is conducting an aggressive campaign to collect fees from an estimated 44,000 unregistered carriers. Officials believe most of these unregistered carriers base their operation in one of the nine non-participating states and may not think the UCR applies to them. But UCR does apply to them – and to all interstate and international motor carriers.

Participation in an electronic weigh station bypass program, like PrePass or any other, requires a motor carrier achieve a superior safety rating and demonstrate full compliance with state and federal laws. UCR is one of the state requirements that bypass providers check. Stay safe – but also stay legal by paying your UCR fees by Dec. 31, 2021.