Unified Registration System, FMCSA Registration/Updates

This information collection request is a renewal for mandatory reporting which applies to new registrants that are subject to FMCSA’s licensing, registration, and certification regulations. Form MCSA-1 is an interactive, online form that allows users to see and complete only sections that are applicable to their specific operation(s). There is no paper version of Form MCSA-1; users must complete the form online, accessible via the Unified Registration System (URS). Form MCSA-1 requests information to identify the applicant, the nature and scope of its proposed operations, safety-related details, and information regarding the drivers and vehicles it plans to use in U.S. operations. The information on Form MCSA-1 is collected only at initial registration (i.e., it is a one-time collection of information). New registrants seeking initial operating authority with FMCSA must fill out Form MCSA-1. Every interstate and intrastate hazardous material motor carrier operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) is required to register with FMCSA to obtain a USDOT Number. Most for-hire carriers are also required to file a separate application for operating authority. Existing registrants seeking additional authorities must use forms from the OP-1 series, including OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA). New and existing Mexico-domiciled carriers must apply for authority using Form OP-1(MX). FMCSA and the States use registration information collected via Form MCSA-1 to track motor carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, and other entities they regulate. Registering motor carriers is essential to being able to identify carriers so that their safety performance can be tracked and evaluated. The data make it possible to link individual trucks to the responsible motor carrier, thus implementing the mandate under 49 U.S.C. 31136(a)(1) to ensure that CMVs are maintained and operated safely. Registration information collected via Form MCSA-1 informs prioritization of the Agency’s activities and aids in assessing and statistically analyzing the safety outcomes of those activities. This ICR renewal request includes an increase in the estimated burden hours and burden cost to respondents and increased cost to the Federal government. This estimate is based off the increased number of respondents/responses calculated based on the number of new entrants who applied using Form MCSA-1 during calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024, which results in these estimates of annual respondents/responses and burden hours for the upcoming information collection period.

The latest form for Unified Registration System, FMCSA Registration/Updates expires 2029-07-31 and is listed under ICR 202602-2126-003.