Information on the topics listed in the right column is available by clicking on the appropriate link.  Topics that apply specifically to online registrations or to registration by mail are available by clicking on the appropriate link under "Related Links".

You must register if you are a person who offers for transportation or transports in commerce a shipment containing any of the following categories of hazardous materials (including hazardous wastes):

1. A highway route controlled quantity of a Class 7 (radioactive) material, as defined in 49 CFR 173.403. A "highway route controlled quantity" may be shipped by highway, rail, air, or water.
2. More than 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of a Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (explosive) material (see 49 CFR 173.50) in a motor vehicle, rail car, or freight container.
3. More than one liter (1.06 quarts) per package of a "material extremely toxic by inhalation" (that is, a "material poisonous by inhalation" that meets the criteria for "hazard zone A" as specified in 49 CFR 173.116(a) for gases or 173.133(a) for liquids).
4. A hazardous material (including hazardous wastes) in a bulk packaging having a capacity equal to or greater than 13,248 liters (3,500 gallons) for liquids or gases or more than 13.24 cubic meters (468 cubic feet) for solids. Please note that persons who offer or transport hazardous materials that do not require placarding (that is, Class 9 materials) in a bulk packaging with a capacity greater than 3,500 gallons or 468 cubic feet, must register.
5. A shipment in other than a bulk packaging of 2,268 kilograms (5,000 pounds) gross weight or more of one class of hazardous materials (including hazardous wastes) for which placarding of a vehicle, rail car, or freight container is required for that class.
6. A quantity of hazardous material that requires placarding.The offering and transporting of hazardous materials by farmers in direct support of their farming operations are excepted from this category of activities requiring registration. See the information on requirements for farmers below.

Since the beginning of the program in 1992, activities in Categories A through E above have required registration by law. Category F was added by regulation beginning with the 2000-2001 registration year.

Exceptions: The following are specifically excepted by statute or regulation from the registration requirements:

1. Agencies of the federal government.
2. Agencies of states.
3. Agencies of political subdivisions of states.
4. Indian tribes.
5. Employees of those entities listed in [A], [B], [C], or [D] who offer or transport hazardous materials as part of their official duties.
6. Hazmat employees, including the owner-operator of a motor vehicle that transports hazardous materials in commerce if that vehicle, at the time of those activities, is leased to a registered motor carrier under a 30-day or longer lease as prescribed in 49 CFR Part 376 or an equivalent contractual relationship.
7. A person who offers hazardous materials for transportation to the United States from locations outside of the United States, when that person
   1. is domiciled outside the United States, in a country that does not impose registration or a fee on U.S. companies for offering hazardous materials into that country, and
   2. does not transport hazardous materials to, within, or from the United States in the types and quantities that require registration.
8. A farmer who offers or transports only hazardous materials that are used in direct support of his or her farming operations and who is not engaged in activities included in Categories A through E described in "Who Must Register" above.

  A farmer must register if he or she:

1. Offers or transports hazardous materials that require placarding that are not in direct support of his or her farming operation. For example, a farmer who offers or transports home heating fuel for commercial purposes in quantities requiring placarding must register.
2. Offers or transports for any purpose any of the hazardous materials included in Categories A through E of "Who Must Register" above. For example, a farmer who transports 55 lbs or more of a Division 1.1 explosive, even if the explosive is to be used in direct support of his farming operations, must register.

Clarifications: The HMR apply to persons who offer for transportation or transport by highway, rail, water, or air. Water transportation does not include hazardous materials loaded or carried on board a vessel without benefit of containers or labels and received and handled by the vessel carrier without mark or count. This type of shipment, for which the vessel is the container, such as LNG or oil tanker vessels, is under the authority of the U.S. Coast Guard (now part of the Department of Homeland Security).

You must also register if you engage in any of the activities discussed in "Who Must Register" above, and you are:

1. A merchant vessel carrier transporting, transiting, or transhipping hazardous materials within 12 miles of the U.S. coast; or
2. A federal, state, or local government contractor.

Requirements for Hazardous Waste Generators: All hazardous wastes subject to the Hazardous Waste Manifest Requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are hazardous materials. A hazardous waste generator must register if you meet the requirements identified above.

The 2009-2010 Registration Year covers the period between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010.

Register before July 1, 2009, or before engaging in any of the activities requiring registration, whichever is later. You must have the DOT certificate and registration number before you offer or transport hazardous materials. You will receive a new registration number for each properly completed registration statement you submit.

Under the federal hazardous material transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), offerors and transporters of certain types and quantities of hazardous materials, including hazardous wastes, are required to file a registration statement with the U.S. Department of Transportation and to pay an annual fee. This program began in 1992 and is administered by the Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The registration regulations are found at 49 CFR 107.601-107.620.

The fee provides funds for grants distributed to states and Indian tribes for hazardous materials emergency response planning and training and to certain professional organizations for training purposes through the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grants Program (HMEP). Your fee is helping communities prepare for hazardous materials incidents or other emergencies that may occur.

Information about the HMEP Grants Program, funded by the registration fees, is available here.

The current registration fees were established in a Final Rule published in the Federal Register on January 9, 2003. This rule established one set of fees for registration years 2003-2004 through 2005-2006, and a second set of fees for 2006-2007 and following. The previously established fees for registration years between 1992-1993 and 2002-2003 were not altered.

One, two, or three year periods of registration are permitted for years beginning July 1, 2000, and later. The fees for all possible registration periods and business types are listed in the table below. All fees include the appropriate processing fee. If you are a not-for-profit organization registering for 2001-2004, 2002-2004 or 2002-2005, you must pay the fee in the column titled “Small Business/Non-Profit” if you meet the SBA size standard for a small business, and the fee in the column titled “Not-Small Business/Non-Profit” if you do not meet that standard.

Registration Fee Table

as amended by the Final Rule of January 9, 2003

You can register by filling out and mailing a form, or by registering Online.

• Click here to Register Online. Payment must be made by credit/debit card or ACH (Electronic check). A registration certificate can be printed as soon as the payment is verified (normally immediately if by credit/debit card, in one or two days if by ACH). You can register for any of the allowed registration periods. You can amend your current registration (necessary if your company name or address changes). You can look up a company's registration history by using the "Company Look-up" option.
  
  For specific directions for registering online, click "Online Registration Details" under Related Links to the right of this page.
  
  
• To Register by Mail, fill out the application form (get the Registration Form or the Instruction Brochure with Form) and mail it to the Charlotte, North Carolina, address printed on the second page of the form. Payment by check or credit card must accompany the form. A certificate will be mailed. You should allow four weeks for the certificate to be delivered. The Registration Form can be filled out online, printed and mailed with payment. Note that the states in item 9 must be indicated by hand after the form is printed.
  
  For specific directions for registering by mail, click on "Registration by Mail Details" under Related Links in the right hand column of this page.

A list of selected North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards assigned to them is provided among the topics in the right column. If your primary industry group is not included in this list, the SBA's complete list of the current size standards by NAICS code is provided on the SBA's Small Business Size Standards page.

Descriptions of the types of business included in each NAICS code can be found by using the NAICS 2007 search engine at the U.S. Bureau of the Census Internet Website.

Click here to visit the SBA's Size Standards page which contains other useful information on the SBA size standards.

If you need additional assistance in determining your NAICS code or business size, a list of the SBA field offices is available here OR call the SBA Office of Size Standards at 202-205-6618.

Notes: Size standards effective 8/22/08.


¹ NAICS codes 221112, and 221122 – A firm is small if it is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric energy for sale and its total electric output for the preceding fiscal year did not exceed 4 million megawatt hours.

² NAICS code 238990 – Building and Property Specialty Trade Services: If a procurement requires the use of multiple specialty trade contractors (i.e., plumbing, painting, plastering, carpentry, etc.), and no specialty trade accounts for 50% or more of the value of the procurement, all such specialty trade contractors activities are considered a single activity and classified as Building and Property Specialty Trade Services.

³ NAICS code 336413 – Contracts for the rebuilding or overhaul of aircraft ground support equipment on a contract basis are classified under NAICS code 336413.

⁴ NAICS code 488510 – As measured by total revenues, but excluding funds received in trust for an unaffiliated third party, such as bookings or sales subject to commissions. The commissions received are included as revenue.

⁵ NAICS code 541711 and 541712 – For research and development contracts requiring the delivery of a manufactured product, the appropriate size standard is that of the manufacturing industry.

1. "Research and Development" means laboratory or other physical research and development. It does not include economic, educational, engineering, operations, systems, or other nonphysical research; or computer programming, data processing, commercial and/or medical laboratory testing.
2. "Research and Development" for guided missiles and space vehicles includes evaluations and simulation, and other services requiring thorough knowledge of complete missiles and spacecraft.

The hazardous materials placarding requirements are found in 49 CFR Part 172, Subpart F.

The requirements are summarized as follows:

1. Except for Division 6.2 and Class 9 materials, any quantity of a hazardous material offered for transportation or transported in a bulk packaging requires placarding.
2. For materials offered for transportation or transported in a nonbulk packaging the quantity that requires placarding depends on whether the material is in a class or division included in Table 1 or Table 2 below:

Note: The following materials are excepted from the placarding requirements: infectious substances; hazardous materials classed as ORM-D; hazardous materials authorized to be offered for transportation as Limited Quantities when identified as such on shipping papers; hazardous materials prepared in accordance with 49 CFR 173.13; hazardous materials which are packaged as small quantities under the provisions of 49 CFR 173.4; combustible liquids in non-bulk packagings (see 49 CFR 172.500(b)); and materials offered or transported under the "materials of trade" exception (see 49 CFR 173.6).

Registration Deadline

The completed 2009-2010 (or 2009-2011 or 2009-2012) registration statement and payment must be submitted before July 1, 2009, or before engaging in any of the activities requiring registration, whichever is later.

Recordkeeping Requirements

Copies of the registration statement and the certificate of registration must be kept for three years at your principal place of business and must be available for inspection. Motor carriers and vessel operators must also have on board a copy of the current certificate of registration, or another document bearing the current year's registration number identified as the "U.S. DOT Hazmat Reg. No." Every truck or truck tractor or vessel you use for the transportation of a hazardous material that meets the registration criteria must have this proof of registration on board.

If You Have Failed To Register For Past Years

Companies that failed to register for previous years in which they engaged in activities that required registration must register for those years and pay the appropriate fee.

If you engaged in any of the hazardous materials activities in categories A through E in registration years before 2000-2001, or if you engaged in any of the activities in categories A through F in registration years 2000-2001 through 2008-2009, but did not register, you must do so now. A complete table of possible periods and the appropriate fees is available.

Penalties For Failure To Register

The requirement to register with DOT is based on a federal law. The enforcement of this requirement is conducted cooperatively by federal, state, and local agencies. Federal, state, or local officials may impose penalties for failing to register or failing to meet the recordkeeping requirements.

FMCSA Hazardous Materials Safety Permits

Highway carriers of certain types of hazardous materials are required to obtain a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Some (but not all) of the activities that require a highway carrier to register with PHMSA also require the carrier to obtain a safety permit from FMCSA. All companies that are required to have an FMCSA Safety Permit are required to have a PHMSA Registration. Some highway carriers will need only a PHMSA registration. For further information on the FMCSA Hazardous Materials Safety Permit requirements, go to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/hm-permitting.htm. A printable brochure is available at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/hm-brochure.htm.

State Registrations

Some states have hazardous materials registration or permitting programs that may also apply to you. Registration with PHMSA does not replace state requirements.

Hazardous Materials Security Plans

Companies that are required to register are also required to have written security plans that include a risk assessment and measures to address personnel security, unauthorized access, and en route security. Companies that are required to have security plans must also provide security training to all hazmat employees. This training is one element of the training required for all hazmat employees in 49 CFR 172.704. For further information, visit the Hazmat Security Internet site.

Hazardous Materials Incident Reports

A person in possession of hazardous materials at the time of an incident during transportation which results in serious consequences must immediately report the incident (see 49 CFR 171.15).  These incidents and others require the filing of a detailed incident report within 30 days of the incident (see 49 CFR 171.16).  The detailed incident report may be filed electronically here.

FMCSA USDOT or MC/MX Numbers

To verify or obtain a USDOT number or MC/MX number ("operating authority," formerly known as the ICC Number), visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Internet SAFERSYS site by clicking here.

For Copies of this Brochure and Registration Forms

Download copies from the PHMSA Registration Internet Home Page at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/registration.

Email your request to register@dot.gov.

Call 202-366-4109 or  202-366-4484.

For Questions About the Hazardous Materials Regulations including Registration

Call the Hazardous Materials Information Center at 1-800-467-4922.

E-mail your question to INFOCNTR@dot.gov

For Questions About the SBA Size Standards

See the complete listing of size standards by NAICS code on the SBA Small Business Size Standards page.

SBA Size Standards Internet site.

Call the SBA Office of Size Standards at 202-205-6618. A list of SBA field offices and phone numbers is provided here under the definition of "Small Business".

For Information on NAICS 2007 Codes

See the U.S. Bureau of the Census site at http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/.

For Information on the HMEP Grants Program

Visit the HMEP Grants Internet site at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/hmep.

Call the Grants Program office at 202-366-0001.

For the Status of your Registration Submission

Call 202-366-4109.

Registering Through the Internet

Register through the internet at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/registration.

If you need assistance or encounter problems with the internet registration process, call 202-366-4109 or 202-366-4484, and ask for internet registration support.

Electronic Version of the Hazardous Materials Program Regulations

Access the HMR sections of the Code of Federal Regulations.

To Obtain a U.S. DOT or MC/MX Number

Call the local Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) office (usually in your state capitol). See the list of FMCSA field offices at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/contact/offices/fieldoffs.htm.

The application for a US DOT or MC/MX number can be filed electronically at http://www.safersys.org/. Select "FMCSA Registration & Updates" under "FMCSA Services." USDOT and MC/MX numbers can be verified at that same site by selecting "Company Snapshot" under "FMCSA Searches".

Recent Registration Rulemaking Activity

• Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0010 (HM-208G); Hazardous Materials Transportation; Registration and Fee Assessment Program; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM); Published 5/5/2008; 73 FR 24519
• PHMSA-2006-25589 (HM-208F): Hazardous Materials Transportation; Miscellaneous Revisions to Registration and Fee Assessment Program; Final rule; Published 5/3/2007; Effective Date 6/30/2007; 72 FR 24536.
• RSPA-02-13328 (HM-208E); Hazardous Materials: Miscellaneous Revisions to Registration Requirements; Final rule; Published 09/16/2002; Effective Date: January 6, 2003; 67 FR 58343.
• RSPA-00-8439 (HM-208D); Hazardous Materials: Temporary Reduction of Registration Fees; Final rule; Published 1/9/2003; Effective Date: March 3, 2003; 68 FR 1341.

For Information on the FMCSA Hazardous Materials Safety Permit Requirements

Visit the FMCSA Hazardous Materials Safety Permits site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/hm-permitting.htm. A printable brochure is available at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/hm-brochure.htm.

For information on the Hazardous Materials Security Plan Requirements

Visit the Hazardous Materials Transportation Security site at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/security.