Who must register for UCR
Carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies, including those with no vehicles of their own.
Last reviewed
I. The short answer
If your business operates commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, or arranges for others to, you owe a Unified Carrier Registration each year. It is administered by the participating states rather than by the FMCSA, and it is separate from your USDOT registration and separate from a BOC-3.
II. Who is in scope
- Motor carriers
- Anyone operating commercial vehicles across state lines. Also intrastate-only carriers who transport goods that have moved, or will move, across a state line — the freight’s journey decides this, not the truck’s.
- Brokers and freight forwarders
- You register even with no vehicles of your own. The fee falls in the lowest bracket, but the obligation is the same one.
- Leasing companies
- Businesses that lease vehicles to interstate operators register in their own right.
III. What you receive
A receipt, and a record in the UCR system that enforcement can see. UCR is not a permit, a licence or an authority, and nothing is issued to display. If you are expecting a certificate, you are probably thinking of a different filing.
Ready when you are
We read your company from the public federal register, so the form is mostly filled in before you start.
File your 2026 UCR — from $96.00