General
The UCR Plan and Agreement are part of a federally-mandated, state-administered program effective September 10, 2007. Under this program, states collect fees from motor carriers, motor private carriers, freight forwarders, brokers and leasing companies, based on the number of qualifying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in their fleets. The revenues generated are used for enforcement of motor carrier safety programs.
File your UCR registration at plan.ucr.gov, the official website for UCR filing. You can even file your UCR and pay by smartphone or tablet of you wish, and the site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Please mail any payments to UCR as outlined in the billing statement.
Use of a website other than plan.ucr.gov to file UCR may incur charges above and beyond the UCR fees.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Unit mails out UCR registration reminders each year to all interstate motor carriers, motor private carriers, freight forwarders, brokers and leasing companies that do not have a registered email address in FMCSA.
Please note that all UCR filings must be performed online. UCR registration forms that are mailed to the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Registration Unit will no longer be accepted.
UCR requirements for recordkeeping
Carriers are required to "maintain records adequate to substantiate the information reported by the registrant on its application. A registrant must maintain a list of all its vehicles and those subtracted from its UCR count as set forth on UCR forms 1 and 2 or in some other form." [UCR Agreement, Section 10 (9)]
Forms 1 and 2 as well as instructions can be found at plan.ucr.gov.
In addition states are now required to audit a percentage of carriers annually. Forms 1 and 2 will not be required unless you are notified that you have been selected for an audit.
"A registrant is required to preserve the UCR records upon which the annual applications and renewals are based for three (3) years from the due date or filing date, whichever is later, plus any time period included as a result of State decisions or inquiries. The three (3) year period is the current calendar year and the prior two (2) calendar years." [UCR Agreement, Section 18 (a)]
Who needs to file
UCR applies to businesses that:
- operate a truck, truck tractor, or bus in interstate or international commerce, or
- make arrangements for the transportation of cargo and goods, namely brokers, and freight forwarders and leasing companies also acting as a motor carrier.
Which vehicles
For the fee tables linked below, count only commercial motor vehicles that are power units, and that operate in interstate or international commerce.
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Commercial motor vehicles: A "commercial motor vehicle" is a self-propelled vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle:
- has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
- is designed to transport 10 or more passengers (including the driver); or
- is used in transporting hazardous materials in a
quantity requiring placarding.
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Power units only: Count only power units – trucks, truck tractors and buses. Do not count trailers.
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Interstate or international vehicles only: Count only vehicles operated interstate or internationally. Exclude intrastate vehicles from your count.
Fee table
The fee tables for UCR can be found at plan.ucr.gov
- Broker, freight forwarder or leasing company not operating as a motor carrier: lowest fee rate.
- Motor carriers; and a broker, freight forwarder or leasing company also operating as a motor carrier see the linked tables to determine the fee rate.
Payment
Pay your fees through the website plan.ucr.gov. You may make an online payment using Credit/Debit Card or by ACH/eCheck. A payment can be mailed to UCR as well. Please follow the payment instructions provided when your filing is complete. Be aware that if you choose to mail your payment that your registration will not be active until the payment has been received and applied. Do not send the payment to the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Registration Unit.
If you have not registered, you may be cited by law enforcement. Important notice: If you operated in 2018 or 2019 and did not register for UCR, you must pay 2018, 2019 and 2020 UCR fees to avoid possible enforcement actions.
Registration by agents
Agents may contact you to perform UCR registration on your behalf. Note that agents may charge you a substantial service fee. WisDOT does not call and ask you for your credit card number.
Related link: