And, the hits seem to keep on coming. If the UCR Board of Directors gets their way, truckers’ wallets will be even lighter in 2027.
With Unified Carrier Registration fees expected to increase by 20% in 2027, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is sharing its concerns regarding the fee with the federal government.
In April, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that the Unified Carrier Registration Board of Directors recommended a 2027 fee increase ranging from $9 to $9,329, depending on the applicable bracket. At that time, the agency opened a 30-day comment period on the proposed increase.
UCR is an annual permit fee that most motor carriers are required to pay if they maintain an active U.S. DOT number, regardless of whether the DOT number is currently being used or designated for interstate operations, according to OOIDA’s Permits and Licensing Department.
Every state is responsible for enforcing UCR compliance, even if the state does not participate in the program. The non-participating states are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Wyoming, along with Washington, D.C. The UCR requirement applies to all motor carriers and entities that must register with the FMCSA, including carriers based in Canada and Mexico.
On Tuesday, May 26, OOIDA submitted comments on the proposal in a letter signed by President Todd Spencer. In its letter, the Association said that truckers have “many concerns” about the UCR system.
One of those concerns, according to OOIDA, is the inequity in how fees are assessed on motor carriers.
The Association said the current tax structure is “particularly burdensome” for owner-operators and small fleets, who they say are “assessed disproportionately higher fees than their larger competitors.”
Another shortcoming in the program highlighted by OOIDA is a lack of “transparency and accountability” with the UCR system. The Association contends that it is often difficult to determine which programs UCR fees support and that many states use the funds for commercial motor vehicle enforcement.
“Essentially, these states are utilizing a federally-authorized tax on motor carriers to leverage additional federal funding for the policing of them,” OOIDA said in its comments.
Regarding transparency, the Association urged FMCSA to audit the UCR Board’s contracts and administrative expenses to ensure that future fee increases would be only as much as necessary for the program to fulfill its statutory purpose. Additionally, OOIDA suggested the agency conduct an audit regarding how states are using UCR revenue and how the board is allocating those funds.
“Once again, the UCR Board has failed to properly justify how they determined the proposed 20% fee increase for 2027,” the Association said. “As the U.S. Department of Transportation continues to review wasteful spending programs, UCR is a prime candidate for review.”
OOIDA has been vocal in its opposition to UCR fees, calling them nothing more than a “slush fund” for states. In 2025, the Association told Congress that the program no longer meets its objectives and should be repealed.
The trucking group isn’t alone in its opposition to an increase in UCR fees. In total, FMCSA received 33 comments on the proposal. All but two opposed the increase. The two comments in support were submitted anonymously.
FMCSA will now review the comments submitted before moving forward with a final rule on UCR fees. LL
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