By the TruckerNavi compliance team, led by Dmitry Borovoy, a New Jersey-licensed insurance producer and author of "Safety Manager: From Zero to Expert".
Short answer: the UCR 2027 portal in the National Registration System opens October 1, 2026, and the fee has to be paid before January 1, 2027. The approved 2027 fees are published: $55 for 0-2 vehicles, $167 for 3-5, $333 for 6-20, $1,163 for 21-100, $5,548 for 101-1,000 and $54,165 for 1,001 and above; brokers, forwarders without trucks and leasing companies pay $55 (plan.ucr.gov/fee-brackets). That is about 20 percent above 2026. If you are enrolled in auto-renew, the system charges on option A: the power unit count from your most recently filed MCS-150, billed to the card you authorized in the NRS a year ago.
That last line is why this article exists. Auto-renew reads one federal form, not your yard. If it still says five trucks while three are left, the gap between $55 and $167 is charged quietly, on or shortly after the opening of the new registration year, and once you confirm the renewal the policy says a refund will not be issued, unless proven otherwise.
October 1, 2026 is the opening. The UCR Plan is explicit: the 2027 Registration Portal through the NRS opens October 1, 2026, and the system says at www.ucr.gov that it anticipates an on-time start. The date is not arbitrary: the UCR Handbook records that the Board recommends states open registration on the October 1 preceding the year.
January 1, 2027 is the wall. The fee page is exact: to keep operating legally, an operation subject to UCR must complete its registration and pay before January 1 of the registration year; after that date the fee is still due, but a non-registrant may then be subjected to state enforcement action. Skipping the year does not cancel the money. The Auto-Renew Policy calls the window a renewal period: October 1 through December 31 of the preceding year, or three months from the date a new fee rule takes effect, whichever is later. The same window from the renewal side is walked through in our UCR renewal guide (in Russian): the amounts there are from an earlier year, the order of steps is the same.
Six brackets, counted in power units, published by the UCR Plan and set in 49 CFR 367.50.
| Bracket | Commercial motor vehicles | Fee 2027, carrier or freight forwarder | Fee 2027, broker or leasing company | Fee 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | 0-2 | $55.00 | $55.00 | $46.00 |
| B2 | 3-5 | $167.00 | n/a | $138.00 |
| B3 | 6-20 | $333.00 | n/a | $276.00 |
| B4 | 21-100 | $1,163.00 | n/a | $963.00 |
| B5 | 101-1,000 | $5,548.00 | n/a | $4,592.00 |
| B6 | 1,001 and above | $54,165.00 | n/a | $44,836.00 |
Geography does not enter the calculation: fees depend not at all on the extent of a carrier's operations, only on the fact of interstate commerce. Two states or forty, same fleet, same fee. The same mechanics in Russian are in our UCR registration walkthrough: the amounts there are from an earlier year, the order of steps is the same.
This is a final rule, not a vendor markup. FMCSA published Fees for the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement on September 1, 2026 (document 2026-17893, 91 FR 56063, RIN 2126-AC72), effective October 1, 2026. From the rule:
The mechanism is statutory: under 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7) the Board recommends a fee level every year and the Secretary sets it within 90 days, through formal notice and public comment (UCR Plan FAQ). If part 367 in the eCFR still shows the older table, read the cross-reference note to the September 1, 2026 amendment before quoting a number at anyone.
Two lawful ways to size a fleet, both in the UCR Handbook: the CMVs declared on the last MCS-150 you filed, or the number you owned, long-term leased or operated during the year ending June 30 before that calendar year. Since the MCS-150 is only required every two years, the Handbook warns the methods may yield different brackets. Auto-renew knows only the first.
None of that is an exemption route. Revoked authority, hauling only your own property, or a fleet entirely under 10,001 pounds all still register. The real exclusions are intrastate-only carriers and private motor carriers of passengers. Which filing does what is mapped in UCR vs MCS-150 vs Clearinghouse vs BOC-3.
Auto-renew is a written program with a published policy. The Procedures for the UCR Plan Auto-Renew Program repay fifteen minutes of reading.
| What the system uses | Where it comes from | What breaks | What to do first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power unit count | Most recent MCS-150, which is option A | Sold two of five trucks, never updated: charged $167 instead of $55 | Update the MCS-150 30 days before the new period |
| Calculation method | Option A only | The June 30 fleet method is unavailable | Cancel auto-renew and register manually |
| The card | Card authorized in the NRS a year earlier | Reissued or expired: the charge fails, you are not registered | Act on the expiring-card email at www.ucr.gov |
| Notification email | The address on your MCS-150 profile | Old inbox or a bounce: warnings land nowhere | Change it only by updating the MCS-150 |
| Base state | Principal address in your FMCSA record | Moved to New Jersey, which does not participate | Notify the Board; take the nearest participating state or one from the list the rule allows |
Eligibility for a motor carrier or a private carrier is four conditions: use option A; register in a bracket consistent with the MCS-150 count, or bracket 1 for zero CMVs; pay by credit card and let the system store it; keep a valid email address from the MCS-150 profile. For brokers and freight forwarders the policy lists three, because option A for them simply means bracket 1. Before any charge you get at least three notifications, about 30, 10 and 3 days out, each showing the CMV count, the bracket and amount owed, and the card's last four digits and expiration date.
The order never changes: the form first, the money second. The policy encourages updating the MCS-150 at least 30 days before the new period, which for the 2027 cycle meant September 1, 2026. A later update still lands: the policy lists an MCS-150 update that changes the bracket as an event that triggers a fresh NRS email, but the closer you are to the charge, the safer it is to opt out and register manually. Updating is free, and FMCSA's Updating Your Registration page requires the biennial update every two years even if nothing changed, the month set by the last digit of your USDOT number and the year by the next-to-last digit: odd means odd-numbered years, even means even-numbered years. Skipping it deactivates the number and exposes the carrier to a federal penalty. Where you file depends on which system holds your record, since FMCSA has been moving registration into Motus: see our Motus walkthrough. Once the update posts, the NRS emails you about the bracket change.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| September 1, 2026 | Final rule setting 2027 fees, 91 FR 56063 |
| By September 1, 2026 | Correct the MCS-150, 30 days before the new period |
| October 1, 2026 | 2027 rates take effect, 2027 registration opens in the NRS |
| 30, 10 and 3 days before the charge | Three auto-renew notices |
| Before the new period starts | Last moment to cancel auto-renew |
| December 31, 2026 | Last quiet day to register and pay |
| January 1, 2027 | Registration year 2027 begins, enforcement possible |
| March 31, 2028 | States complete audits of 2027 registrations |
Forty-one states participate. The ones that do not, per the UCR Plan's FAQ, are Arizona, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wyoming and Washington DC. Carriers based there still owe UCR and pay through a base state assigned by rule.
| Where your business sits | Base state you may use |
|---|---|
| Any participating state | That state only, no choice |
| Non-participating state, but you have an office or facility in a participating state | The state with that office or facility, mandatory |
| Neither of the two rows above fits | The participating state nearest your principal place of business, or one of the groups below |
| New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, Washington DC (and ON, NB, NL, NS, PE, QC) | CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VA or WV |
| Florida (and states of Mexico) | AL, AR, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN or TX |
| Ontario or Manitoba | IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, OH or WI |
| Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming (and the western Canadian provinces, and states of Mexico) | AK, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, SD, UT or WA |
One note for anyone who moved: the FMCSA form asks for your principal address, and the Handbook treats that as your principal place of business. A base state problem is usually an MCS-150 problem.
Yes, at the smallest fee category: $55 for 2027. The UCR Plan levies brokers, freight forwarders without vehicles, and leasing companies there because they run no CMVs, and option A for them means bracket 1. Three edge cases worth knowing:
If you are building the broker side, the filings and the surety bond sit in our broker authority package.
Nobody asks for a UCR document. The UCR Plan states there is no UCR Agreement credential requirement and no obligation to carry proof of compliance, though you may carry the receipt. The Handbook goes further: the Board has specified that no state may require such a credential or cite a carrier for failing to display it or the fee receipt. Enforcement runs on data checks and audits instead.
What does happen is a lookup. The UCR Plan's enforcement bulletin tells officers to verify through CVIEW, SAFER or www.ucr.gov/enforcement, and to document non-compliance on the Driver/Vehicle Examination Report as a 392.2 UCR, Failure to pay UCR fees violation. That page is public and searchable, so you can check yourself exactly as an officer would, by USDOT number or company name.
Beyond the roadside, three consequences from the Handbook. A carrier found to have underpaid is treated as if it had not registered, and that status shows publicly on FMCSA's website. Some states, particularly where IRP and UCR sit in one agency, deny vehicle registration until UCR is paid. And each state sets its own penalties, which the Handbook calls often significant.
Sometimes, on a short clock, through one door. The UCR Refund Procedure says requests are initiated only in the NRS, within 60 days for the most recent registration year and 30 days for any other open prior year.
The base state reviews within ten business days; above $1,000 it must run audit procedures on the data. The full cycle can take four to six weeks. Refunds are payable only to the entity that originally submitted the payment, and a third party that registered a carrier without its express consent gets nothing: that line is aimed at the "we already registered you, just pay us" calls every October.
The door stays open after an auto-renewal too, but it is narrow. The Auto-Renew Policy says a refund will not be issued, unless proven otherwise, once the registrant confirmed the renewal, so the confirmation link in the notice is a decision about money, not a formality.
UCR is an annual fee to your base state. MCS-150 is the biennial update of your carrier record, and it feeds the truck count UCR bills you on. IRP is apportioned plates, billed by distance. Form 2290 is a federal excise tax paid to the IRS on heavy vehicles. None substitutes for another: the UCR Agreement says IRP-plated vehicles cannot be excluded from the UCR count. Full comparison in IRP vs IFTA vs NY HUT vs 2290, and the calendar in the Form 2290 deadline guide.
UCR is part of the TruckerNavi Authority Bundle, $499: LLC, USDOT, MC, BOC-3, UCR and Clearinghouse in one package, with government fees on top and going to the government. For an existing carrier who needs only the UCR filing, we handle it end to end and quote the price on request; the 2027 government fee is $55 at 0-2 power units. Before anything is paid we reconcile your MCS-150 count.
Authority Bundle $499 →Or just call: (315) 871-0833 · WhatsApp
Every interstate motor carrier, broker, freight forwarder and leasing company registers annually with its base state and pays a fee based on power units. For the 2027 registration year the portal opens October 1, 2026 at www.ucr.gov and the fee must be paid before January 1, 2027. Carriers based in Canada and Mexico that operate in the United States are covered too. Registration is per registrant, not per truck.
The approved 2027 fees are $55 for 0-2 commercial motor vehicles, $167 for 3-5, $333 for 6-20, $1,163 for 21-100, $5,548 for 101-1,000 and $54,165 for 1,001 and above. Brokers and leasing companies pay $55. The rates come from Table 1 to 49 CFR 367.50 and take effect October 1, 2026. Against the 2026 brackets the increase averages 20 percent per entity.
UCR 2027 is the registration year running January 1 through December 31, 2027, paid in advance during the window that opens October 1, 2026. Two facts define it. Fees rose by an average of 20 percent under an FMCSA final rule published September 1, 2026, and auto-renew charges on option A, the power unit count from your most recently filed MCS-150.
Unified Carrier Registration is a base-state program created by the UCR Act, sections 4301 through 4308 of SAFETEA-LU, and codified at 49 U.S.C. 14504a. You deal only with your base state, which distributes the money among participating states. Forty-one states participate; Arizona, Hawaii, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wyoming and Washington DC do not. Carriers based there still owe the fee.
October 1, 2026. The UCR Plan states that the 2027 Registration Portal through the NRS opens on that date, and the NRS itself says it anticipates an on-time start to the 2027 registration year. The date is not arbitrary: the Board recommends that states begin registration for a given year on the October 1 preceding it. The window then runs through December 31, 2026.
$55. Bracket B1 covers 0, 1 or 2 commercial motor vehicles and carries the same fee for a carrier, a freight forwarder, a broker or a leasing company. The same bracket was $46 in 2026. Watch the bracket edge: a third power unit moves you into B2 at $167, so a truck you sold but never removed from the MCS-150 costs you $112.
Three ways, per the UCR Auto-Renew Policy: log into the UCR portal at www.ucr.gov, email the helpdesk at helpdesk@UCR.gov, or use the unsubscribe link included in every auto-renew notification. You may cancel at any time up to the start of the new registration period, and there is no limit on how often you opt in or opt back out again.
Inside auto-renew, always. Option A is mandatory there and takes the number of CMVs from your most recently filed MCS-150. Registering manually you have a second lawful option: the number you owned, long-term leased or operated during the year ending June 30 before the registration year. The UCR Handbook warns that the two methods may yield different numbers, and therefore different brackets.
Yes, if you operate interstate under your own USDOT number with interstate designation. One truck is bracket B1, $55 for 2027. Hauling only your own property, tools or equipment does not exempt you, and neither does a vehicle under 10,001 pounds: you simply pay at the lowest bracket. The only operations outside UCR are carriers that designate intrastate-only commerce and private motor carriers of passengers.
Before January 1, 2027. The portal opens October 1, 2026. After January 1 the fee is still due, but a non-registrant may then be subjected to state enforcement action.
Nothing to re-file. The UCR Plan states that changes in the number of vehicles operated during the registration year are not reflected until the following year.
Yes, any time up to the start of the new registration period: in the portal at www.ucr.gov, by email to the helpdesk, or by the unsubscribe link on any auto-renew notice.
The credit card you authorized in the National Registration System a year earlier. Each of the three notices before the charge shows its last four digits and expiration date.
The UCR Handbook calls it a one-time choice. It changes only if the state leaves the program, or if a registrant with no place of business in a participating state acquires one.
Without an interstate USDOT number and authority of your own you are not a separate registrant: the truck is counted by whoever holds it on a lease of thirty days or more. If your own interstate USDOT number is active, you register and pay bracket B1, $55, even with no trucks of your own: the Handbook says a registrant that operates no CMVs still registers at the lowest bracket.
No. The UCR Plan states there is no UCR Agreement credential requirement and no obligation to carry proof of compliance. Officers check CVIEW, SAFER or www.ucr.gov/enforcement.
UCR is an annual fee to your base state. MCS-150 is the biennial record update that feeds the UCR truck count. IRP is apportioned plates, and IRP-plated vehicles cannot be excluded from that count.
The fee stays due and state enforcement becomes possible from January 1. At roadside it is written up as 392.2 UCR, Failure to pay UCR fees.
The UCR helpdesk: 1-833-UCR-PLAN, that is 1-833-827-7526, or helpdesk@UCR.gov. Check your own status at www.ucr.gov/enforcement by USDOT number or company name.