FMCSA REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition to filing the appropriate forms, all applicants for motor carrier, forwarder, and broker authorities must have specific insurance and legal process agent documents on file before the FMCSA will issue the actual authorities. The required filings vary, based on the types of registrations involved.
Applicants should be prepared to contact their insurance agents to request filing of the required forms immediately after obtaining their designated docket number. These filings must be received within 90 days after the FMCSA has published public notice of intention to register the applicant. (Applicants will be notified by letter of their docket number and date of publication in the FMCSA Register.) Applicants are cautioned to ensure that the name and address of the business as set out in all pre-registration filings matches exactly the information provided in their Application filings.
Any deviation will result in rejection of the supplemental pre-registration filings.
Failure to comply promptly with all pre-registration requirements will result in dismissal of the application. Refunds of filing fees are not permitted.
TRUCKING DEFINITIONS
In government language what most people call a "trucker" or a "trucking company" is called a "motor carrier" or sometimes just a "carrier." If you are attempting to fill out a form asking you or your company what kind of trucking activities you are engaged in, the following simplified definitions may be helpful. The word "company" is used below as shorthand to mean any person, partnership, corporation, etc., engaged in these activities.
Motor Carrier: A company that provides truck transportation. There are two types of motor carriers, private carriers and for-hire carriers. To operate as an interstate motor carrier, either as a private or as a for-hire carrier, a company must register with FMCSA.
Private Carrier: A company that provides truck transportation of its own cargo, usually as a part of a business that produces, uses, sells and/or buys the cargo being hauled.
For-Hire Carrier: A company that provides truck transportation of cargo belonging to others and is paid for doing so. To operate as an interstate for-hire carrier, a company must also register with FMCSA. There are two types of for-hire carriers, common carriers and contract carriers. A for-hire carrier may be both a common and a contract carrier, but must file separate registrations to obtain both licenses.
Common Carrier: Before January 1, 1996, this was a company that provided for-hire truck transportation to the general public. The services offered and the prices charged were published in a public tariff and these were the only prices the common carrier could charge.
Contract Carrier: Before January 1, 1996, this was a company that provided for-hire truck transportation to specific, individual shippers based upon private contracts between the carrier and each shipper, stipulating the services offered and the prices charged to each.
Selecting "Common" or "Contract": The Application forms require an applicant to designate whether it is registering as a "common carrier" or a "contract carrier." The historical difference between these two types is reflected in the definitions immediately above. The ICC Termination Act of 1995 defines contract carriage as truck transportation provided under a contract, but, effective January 1, 1996, it no longer distinguishes between common or contract carriers. However, the Act specifically authorizes FMCSA to continue registering applicants as either common or contract carriers. The current principal distinction between the two types is that common carrier applicants must file proof of cargo insurance while contract carrier applicants are not required to do so.
Freight Forwarder: A company that arranges for the truck transportation of cargo belonging to others, utilizing for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation. The Forwarder does assume responsibility for the cargo from origin to destination and usually does take possession of the cargo at some point during the transportation. Forwarders typically assemble and consolidate less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments into truckload shipments at origin and disassemble and deliver LTL shipments at destination. Forwarders must register with FMCSA.
Broker: Also a company that arranges for the truck transportation of cargo belonging to others, utilizing for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation. However, the Broker does not assume responsibility for the cargo and usually does not take possession of the cargo. Brokers must register with FMCSA.
These trucking definitions are simplified for easier understanding. Legally acceptable definitions of these activities would be longer, more complex, and supported by the results of many administrative proceedings, court decisions and judicial opinions. If there is any question about the applicability of these simplified definitions, a legal authority should be consulted.
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