49 U.s.c. 13908

Page 343

TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION

(D) ownership of a motor carrier providing
transportation of household goods by an
agent or membership on the board of directors of any such motor carrier by an agent.
(2) BOARD REVIEW.—The Board, upon its own
initiative or request, shall review any activities undertaken under paragraph (1) and shall
modify or terminate the activity if necessary
to protect the public interest.
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following
definitions apply:
(1) HOUSEHOLD GOODS.—The term ‘‘household
goods’’ has the meaning such term had under
section 10102(11) of this title, as in effect on
December 31, 1995.
(2) TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘transportation’’ means transportation that would be
subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate
Commerce Commission under subchapter II of
chapter 105 of this title, as in effect on December 31, 1995, if such subchapter were still in effect.
(Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995,
109 Stat. 887; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35),
Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3392.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
PUB. L. 104–287
This amends 49:13907(e)(1) and (2) for clarity and consistency.
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 10102(11) of this title, referred to in subsec.
(e)(1), was omitted and a new section 10102 enacted in
the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L.
104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804, 806, effective Jan. 1, 1996.
Subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title, referred to
in subsec. (e)(2), was omitted in the general amendment
of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29,
1995, 109 Stat. 804, effective Jan. 1, 1996.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 10934 of this title prior to the general
amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a).
AMENDMENTS
1996—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35)(A), substituted ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ for ‘‘the day before the effective date of this section’’.
Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35)(B), substituted
‘‘December 31, 1995’’ for ‘‘the day before such effective
date’’.
ABOLITION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
Interstate Commerce Commission abolished by section 101 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 701 of this title.

§ 13908. Registration and other reforms
UNIFIED CARRIER REGSecretary, in cooperation with the States, representatives of the
motor carrier, motor private carrier, freight forwarder, and broker industries and after notice
and opportunity for public comment, shall issue
within 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 regulations to establish an online Federal registration
system, to be named the ‘‘Unified Carrier Registration System’’, to replace—

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF
ISTRATION SYSTEM.—The

§ 13908

(1) the current Department of Transportation identification number system, the single State registration system under section
14504;
(2) the registration system contained in this
chapter and the financial responsibility information system under section 13906; and
(3) the service of process agent systems
under sections 503 and 13304.
(b) ROLE AS CLEARINGHOUSE AND DEPOSITORY
INFORMATION.—The Unified Carrier Registration System shall serve as a clearinghouse and
depository of information on, and identification
of, all foreign and domestic motor carriers,
motor private carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and others required to register with the
Department of Transportation, including information with respect to a carrier’s safety rating,
compliance with required levels of financial responsibility, and compliance with the provisions
of section 14504a. The Secretary shall ensure
that Federal agencies, States, representatives of
the motor carrier industry, and the public have
access to the Unified Carrier Registration System, including the records and information contained in the System.
(c) PROCEDURES FOR CORRECTING INFORMATION.—Not later than 60 days after the effective
date of this section, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations establishing procedures that
enable a motor carrier to correct erroneous information contained in any part of the Unified
Carrier Registration System.
(d) FEE SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall establish, under section 9701 of title 31, a fee system
for the Unified Carrier Registration System according to the following guidelines:
(1) REGISTRATION AND FILING EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The fee for new registrants shall as nearly as possible cover the
costs of processing the registration but shall
not exceed $300.
(2) EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—
The fee for filing evidence of financial responsibility pursuant to this section shall not exceed $10 per filing. No fee shall be charged for
a filing for purposes of designating an agent
for service of process or the filing of other information relating to financial responsibility.
(3) ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL FEES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the fee system shall include a nominal fee for the access to or retrieval of information from the Unified Carrier Registration System to cover the costs
of operating and upgrading the System, including the personnel costs incurred by the
Department and the costs of administration
of the unified carrier registration agreement.
(B) EXCEPTIONS.—There shall be no fee
charged under this paragraph—
(i) to any agency of the Federal Government or a State government or any political subdivision of any such government for
the access to or retrieval of information
and data from the Unified Carrier Registration System for its own use; or
(ii) to any representative of a motor carrier, motor private carrier, leasing company, broker, or freight forwarder (as each
OF

§ 14101

TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION

is defined in section 14504a) for the access
to or retrieval of the individual information related to such entity from the Unified Carrier Registration System for the
individual use of such entity.
CERTAIN INTRASTATE OPERthis section requires the
registration of a motor carrier, a motor private
carrier of property, or a transporter of waste or
recyclable materials operating exclusively in
intrastate transportation not otherwise required
to register with the Secretary under another
provision of this title.
(e) APPLICATION TO
ATIONS.—Nothing in

(Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995,
109 Stat. 888; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(36),
Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 109–59, title
IV, § 4304, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1763.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
PUB. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(A)
This amends 49:13908(d)(1) for clarity and consistency.
PUB. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(B)
This sets out the effective date of 49:13908.
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The date of enactment of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005, referred to in subsec. (a), is the
date of enactment of subtitle C of title IV of Pub. L.
109–59, which was approved Aug. 10, 2005.
The effective date of this section, referred to in subsec. (c), probably means the date of enactment of Pub.
L. 109–59, which amended this section generally and was
approved Aug. 10, 2005.
AMENDMENTS
2005—Pub. L. 109–59 amended heading and text of section generally. Prior to amendment, text consisted of
subsecs. (a) to (e) relating to issuance of regulations to
replace the current Department of Transportation identification number system, the single State registration
system under section 14504, the registration system
contained in this chapter, and the financial responsibility information system under section 13906 with a single, online, Federal system.
1996—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(A), substituted ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ for ‘‘the day before the effective date of this section’’.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(B), substituted
‘‘January 1, 1996’’ for ‘‘the effective date of this section’’.
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS
Except as provided in sections 14504, 14504a, and 14506
of this title, subtitle C (§§ 4301–4308) of title IV of Pub.
L. 109–59 is not intended to prohibit any State or any
political subdivision of any State from enacting, imposing, or enforcing any law or regulation with respect
to a motor carrier, motor private carrier, broker,
freight forwarder, or leasing company that is not otherwise prohibited by law, see section 4302 of Pub. L.
109–59, set out as a note under section 13902 of this title.

CHAPTER 141—OPERATIONS OF CARRIERS
SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Sec.

14101.
14102.
14103.
14104.

Providing transportation and service.
Leased motor vehicles.
Loading and unloading motor vehicles.
Household goods carrier operations.

SUBCHAPTER II—REPORTS AND RECORDS
14121.

Definitions.

Page 344

Sec.

14122.
14123.

Records: form; inspection; preservation.
Financial reporting.

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
§ 14101. Providing transportation and service
(a) ON REASONABLE REQUEST.—A carrier providing transportation or service subject to jurisdiction under chapter 135 shall provide the
transportation or service on reasonable request.
In addition, a motor carrier shall provide safe
and adequate service, equipment, and facilities.
(b) CONTRACTS WITH SHIPPERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A carrier providing transportation or service subject to jurisdiction
under chapter 135 may enter into a contract
with a shipper, other than for the movement
of household goods described in section
13102(10)(A), to provide specified services under
specified rates and conditions. If the shipper
and carrier, in writing, expressly waive any or
all rights and remedies under this part for the
transportation covered by the contract, the
transportation provided under the contract
shall not be subject to the waived rights and
remedies and may not be subsequently challenged on the ground that it violates the
waived rights and remedies. The parties may
not waive the provisions governing registration, insurance, or safety fitness.
(2) REMEDY FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT.—The
exclusive remedy for any alleged breach of a
contract entered into under this subsection
shall be an action in an appropriate State
court or United States district court, unless
the parties otherwise agree.
(Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995,
109 Stat. 890.)
PRIOR PROVISIONS
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 11101 of this title prior to the general
amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a).
EFFECTIVE DATE
Chapter effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise
provided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L.
104–88, set out as a note under section 701 of this title.

§ 14102. Leased motor vehicles
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—The
Secretary may require a motor carrier providing
transportation subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 that uses motor vehicles
not owned by it to transport property under an
arrangement with another party to—
(1) make the arrangement in writing signed
by the parties specifying its duration and the
compensation to be paid by the motor carrier;
(2) carry a copy of the arrangement in each
motor vehicle to which it applies during the
period the arrangement is in effect;
(3) inspect the motor vehicles and obtain liability and cargo insurance on them; and
(4) have control of and be responsible for operating those motor vehicles in compliance
with requirements prescribed by the Secretary
on safety of operations and equipment, and
with other applicable law as if the motor vehicles were owned by the motor carrier.