What changed

FMCSA released a follow-up announcement on April 11, 2026 that reaffirms the 2026 UCR fee bracket structure originally posted by the UCR Plan in October 2025. The reminder explicitly addresses carriers that missed the December 31 enforcement window: any interstate operator without paid 2026 UCR is subject to citation at scale stops and weigh stations. UCR is administered by the UCR Plan under 49 USC §14504a and 49 CFR Part 367, with proceeds distributed to participating jurisdictions for safety enforcement.

Bracket A (0–2 power units) holds at $46. Bracket B (3–5) at $138. Bracket C (6–20) at $276. Bracket D (21–100) at $963. The 2026 schedule mirrors the 2025 numbers exactly - no statutory rate change.

How to file late

Carriers that missed the deadline can still pay through the National Registration System (NRS) at ucr.gov or through their base state's portal. The fee remains the bracket amount; jurisdictions vary on whether they assess late penalties on top of the registration fee.

Once paid, the UCR record syncs to FMCSA SAFER within 48 hours and the carrier is removed from the enforcement list. Operating during the gap window is the actual exposure - once the record updates, future inspections are clean.

What enforcement looks like

Indiana, New York, and Ohio are the most active enforcement states; their state police routinely cite UCR violations at fixed weigh stations and at random roadside stops. Penalties typically run $100 to $500 per violation per state. Multiple state stops in a single trip can compound quickly for carriers running OTR.

What to do next

Carriers without a confirmed 2026 UCR receipt should pay immediately through their base state portal. FMCSA recommends keeping a copy of the receipt in the cab as backup during the SAFER sync window. Our UCR fee calculator at /tools/ucr-fee-calculator computes the exact bracket fee from your power-unit count.