U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, DC
www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FMCSA 24-00
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Contact: Dave Longo
Telephone: 202-366-0456

FMCSA Announces Revised Rule For Motor Carrier Information Reporting

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced an interim final rule to revise its requirements for motor carriers to file the Motor Carrier Identification Report, 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. A provision in that law requires periodic updating, not more frequently than once every two years, of the motor carrier identification report.

The Form MCS-150 is a single-page report that all motor carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) must complete and submit to the FMCSA before they begin to operate in interstate commerce. Motor carriers must provide 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.

FMCSA enters the MCS-150 information into the Motor Carrier Safety Information System (MCMIS) and assigns the carrier 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 2001only, motor carriers normally required to file by the end of January or February, 2001, have until March 30, 2001, to file.
• Some interstate motor carriers are required to submit similar information to states as part of their annual vehicle registration requirement under the FMCSA's PRISM program, which links state commercial motor vehicle registration to a carrier's safety fitness. These motor carriers will not be required to also file it with the FMCSA.

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. The rule also is posted on the Internet and can be viewed after searching at http://dms.dot.gov/. Comments also may be submitted electronically at this site.

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