UCR Summary
  This summary provides guidance for verifying compliance with UCR during roadside inspections and encourages roadside enforcement for the 2008 calendar/registration year to begin on July 1, 2008.

Background
The 2005 Department of Transportation re-authorization bill, also known as SAFETEA-LU, codified UCR into federal law. It replaced the Single State Registration System (SSRS).

Who is Subject to UCR?
All motor carriers (for-hire, private and exempt) – as well as brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies operating in interstate or international commerce are subject to the new UCR. This includes many businesses that were not subject to SSRS, including private carriers, exempt carriers, for-hire carriers that did not travel into SSRS states, and brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. Carriers based in Canada and Mexico that operate in the United States are also subject to UCR.

What Carriers or Entities Are Not Subject to UCR?
The following groups are not subject to UCR:
(1) entities that receive USDOT numbers under the PRISM program as “registrants” but have no interstate operating authority;
(2) purely intrastate carriers, that is, those that do not handle interstate freight or make interstate movements;
(3) motor private carriers transporting passengers in interstate commerce (e.g. church buses) are not required to register under UCR.

For the purposes of UCR the definition of a “Commercial Motor Vehicle” is:
A self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in interstate or international commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle:
(a) has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater;
(b) is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
(c) is used in transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding.

Which States are Participating in UCR?
The following forty (40) states are participating in UCR for the 2008 calendar/registration year and serve as UCR base states:
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico,New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

NOTE: Motors carriers domiciled in non-participating states that operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate or international commerce must register under UCR and declare one of the states listed above as their base state. Beginning in March of 2008, motor carriers and others subject to UCR were mailed a UCR application form with instructions on how to register and pay 2008 UCR fees on-line, at the national UCR site developed and maintained by the Indiana Department of Revenue. This system is fully operational and is located at www.ucr.in.gov. Also at this site you can find helpful information about UCR with “Informal Guidance for Interested Parties” and “UCR Procedures” available for download.

Is there a UCR Credential?
Although states may issue receipts for UCR payments, NO UCR CREDENTIAL IS REQUIRED TO BE CARRIED IN THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.

The Unified Carrier Registration Board of Directors encourages roadside enforcement for the 2008 calendar/registration year to begin on July 1, 2008. Enforcement of UCR should only occur after on-line or telephonic verification that the company has failed to register for the 2008 UCR calendar/registration year. Roadside enforcement should not be taken for the 2007 registration year.

UCR Enforcement Penalites by state are posted in our previous entry.
 
*** Questions about this info? Contact Linda Norman at 703-821-0000 or linda@donnormanassociates.com ***