UCR Explained: How to Avoid Overpaying
If you hold an interstate USDOT number, you’re required to file for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) every year. However, if you pay a company to manage it for you, you’re paying significantly more than what it costs you to do it yourself, and you aren’t saving yourself any time or effort at all.
This article will explain what the UCR is, who is required to file it, and how you can file it yourself to stop paying overpriced third-party filing fees.
What is the UCR?
The UCR is a federally mandated program that registers and collects fees from USDOT number holders who participate in interstate commerce. That includes brokers, freight-forwarders, and carriers. If your DOT number is marked as interstate, you’re required to file the UCR each year to avoid fines & citations when passing through a weigh station or during inspections & audits.
Who Needs to File the UCR?
The requirement to file a UCR applies to a wide range of businesses in the trucking industry, including:
For-hire and private motor carriers of property
Passenger carriers
Freight forwarders
Brokers
Leasing companies
Even if your operation is based in a state that doesn’t participate in the UCR program, you are still required to file if you participate in interstate commerce.
When is the UCR due?
The UCR renewal period opens on October 1st each year for the following calendar year. The deadline to file is December 31st. Enforcement begins promptly on January 1st, and you don’t want to be caught with an expired registration.
How do I file it?
Filing your UCR is incredibly simple and fast. The entire process can be completed in about 90 seconds on the official government website: UCR.gov.
The process is as simple as this:
Go to UCR.gov.
Accept the Terms & Conditions
Enter your USDOT number.
Verify your company information.
Confirm the number of vehicles in your fleet.
Pay the fee.
Set it on auto-pay.
That's it. You're done. The added benefit of paying directly through the government website, is the ability to set it on auto-pay, so you only have to do it once, and the system takes care of the rest for you each year.
The Truth About Third-Party UCR Filing Services
Many third-party companies bombard carriers with official-looking letters, emails, and phone calls, creating a false sense of urgency and complexity around the UCR filing. They then charge you a hefty "service fee" for something that takes less time than making a cup of coffee. These companies are counting on you being too busy to look into the process for yourself.
Don't fall for it.
Many of these companies charge 2-3x the annual cost simply because they think they can. For smaller fleets, this might mean paying $150 for something that should cost $46. For larger fleets, you could be overpaying by thousands of dollars for virtually no effort saved.
By using the official site, you can confirm what years you have already registered for, which year(s) still need to be filed, and save yourself a significant amount of money for very little time taken out of your day.
Still need help? Give us a call and we’ll walk you through it - no catch, no cost. Just doing our part to help companies save money where it matters.