U.S. DOT revises filing requirements for motor carrier ID numbers

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 4, 2000) — The U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will revise its filing requirements for submitting motor carrier identification reports, Form MCS-150.

Starting Dec. 26, 2000, the FMCSA will require motor carriers to update the information in this form every 24 months. Previously, only new motor carriers were required to complete and submit the form before they began to operate in interstate commerce.

This change is required by the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999.

The Form MCS-150 is a single-page report that all motor carriers subject to federal regulations must submit to the FMCSA before they begin interstate operations. It asks for basic information, such as name, address, telephone number, cargo classifications, any types of hazardous materials carried, numbers and types of equipment (trucks, tractors, trailers, passenger vehicles) used, number of drivers, and types of operations.

Motor carriers are then assigned a U.S. DOT identification number.

FMCSA uses the information contained in MCMIS to track motor carrier safety performance, to assess nationwide motor carrier safety trends, and to evaluate effectiveness of federal motor carrier programs.

The following are the key provisions of the interim final rule:

The month and year to file the update are set according to the last and next- to-last digits of a motor carrier’s USDOT number.

The last digit determines the filing month: if it is a 1, a motor carrier must file by the end of January, if it is a 2, by the end of February, and so on. If it is a zero, a motor carrier must file by the end of October. No filings will be required in November and December.

The next-to-last digit determines the filing year: If it is even, a motor carrier must file its update in an even-numbered year. If it is odd, it must file in an odd-numbered year.

For calendar year 2001 only, motor carriers normally required to file by the end of January or February 2001 have until March 30, 2001, to file.

The interim final rule is in the Nov. 24, 2000 Federal Register.Written comments on this interim final rule should be sent by Jan. 23, 2001, to the USDOT Docket Facility, Attn: Docket No. FMCSA-2000-8209, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590-0001.