UCR 2027 fees are final. The portal opening date was October 1, 2026.

FMCSA published a final rule on September 1 that sets Unified Carrier Registration fees for the 2027 registration year. The rule took effect October 1, 2026, and UCR set October 1, 2026 as the opening date for the 2027 registration portal.

If you run interstate, this is its own annual fee. It's not IFTA, it's not IRP, and it's not IRS Form 2290. Mixing them up can cause problems at a roadside inspection.

The new fees

FMCSA adopted the UCR Board's September 18, 2025 recommendation. That's an average increase of about 20 percent over the 2025 and 2026 fees:

• 0 to 2 trucks: $46 goes to $55
• 3 to 5 trucks: $138 goes to $167
• 6 to 20 trucks: $276 goes to $333
• 21 to 100 trucks: $963 goes to $1,163 (a 25-truck carrier falls here)
• Brokers and leasing companies pay the bottom-bracket fee, also $55

Those numbers come from the UCR Plan's fee page, which cites the September 1 Federal Register rule. FMCSA's summary says that even with the increase, 2027 fees are still below the 2019 through 2022 levels. The reason given is a projected $21.79 million shortfall against what the law says the 41 participating states are entitled to collect.

Carriers objected

After the April 7 proposal, FMCSA received 34 comments. OOIDA, the Small Business in Transportation Coalition, and the National Propane Gas Association were among the groups that weighed in, and many individual carriers said it's one more expense on top of fuel, insurance, and parts. FMCSA's answer was that Congress wrote the program into 49 U.S.C. 14504a, the agency can't stop collecting, and the money funds state motor carrier safety programs and enforcement. SBTC asked a federal appeals court to pause the rulemaking, and the D.C. Circuit denied that request on June 17, 2026. The new fees are in effect.

How to count your trucks

Count your trucks the way the bracket table defines them. For 2027 you use either the number on your last MCS-150 or the number of trucks you owned or ran in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. Adding or parking a truck after that doesn't automatically change your 2027 bracket. The fee is per company, not per truck. That's why a broker with no trucks and a one-truck owner-operator both fall in the 0 to 2 bracket.

Register before January 1

The UCR Plan says to finish registering and paying before January 1 of the registration year. After that the fee is still due, and an unregistered carrier can face state enforcement. That can lead to problems at a roadside inspection.

Pay through the official National Registration System. Keep the receipt with your IRP cab card, your IFTA license, and your IRS-stamped Schedule 1. Each of those answers a different question. An officer asking about UCR isn't asking about fuel tax, and none of it stands in for a current medical card or a Clearinghouse query.

If you're a private carrier, a leasing company, or a mixed interstate and local carrier, read the rule yourself. Start with the sources below and your base state.

Sources

• FMCSA final rule summary (FR Doc. 2026-17893), published September 1, 2026, effective October 1, 2026
• Federal Register PDF
• UCR Plan fee brackets
• UCR.gov
• NPRM, April 7, 2026
• 49 U.S.C. 14504a

Access date for linked pages: September 10, 2026. Not legal advice. Check fees and deadlines with the UCR Plan and your base state.