Identity verification is one of the ways the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hopes to combat fraud in the trucking industry.
As part of FMCSA’s efforts to modernize its registration system, new carriers are expected to be required to confirm their identity before the year is over. Existing carriers will likely need to go through the verification process sometime in 2025.
“It’s kind of a QR code that you will scan or go online via your laptop or smartphone,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs. “It takes facial recognition and confirms your individual identity … Hopefully this will create another layer of fraud prevention. (Fraud) has run rampant throughout the industry.”
FMCSA has held several meetings in 2024 to inform truck drivers and motor carriers about the new registration system.
The goals are to simplify and streamline the process while also fighting fraud.
“Fraud and freight theft are at an all-time high in the commercial motor vehicle industry,” Ken Riddle, FMCSA’s director for the Office of Registration and Safety Information, said at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March. “Every corner of the industry is experiencing fraud, whether it be on the carrier side, the broker side … We’ve been asked, ‘What can you do, FMCSA?’”
The agency already has suspended online PIN requests and has contracted with technology security company Idemia to verify identities and protect sensitive data. There will be no additional fees associated with the identity verification process. Truck drivers should be able to complete the process with their smartphone. If additional assistance is needed, there will be about 300 assistance centers located throughout the country.
New registrants who go through the verification process in 2024 will do so under the current registration system. The new registration system will be released in stages throughout 2025.
FMCSA has released a fact sheet and a list of frequently asked questions to help motor carriers and owner-operators throughout the new registration process. LL
Credit: Source link
