FMCSA safety permit

Scope

Motor carriers transporting certain types and amounts of hazardous materials in interstate or intrastate commerce must obtain a safety permit as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR).

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR Part 385 Subpart E — Safety Fitness Procedures

Key definitions

• Hazardous material: A substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under Sec. 5103 of federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 172.101 of this title), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in Part 173 of this title.
• Hazmat employee: A person who is employed by a hazmat employer and who directly affects hazmat transportation including:
  • An owner-operator of a motor vehicle that transports hazmat;
  • A person (including a self-employed person) who:
    • Loads, unloads, or handles hazmat;
    • Tests, reconditions, repairs, modifies, marks, or otherwise represents packagings as qualified for use in the transportation of hazmat;
    • Prepares hazmat for transportation;
    • Is responsible for safety of transporting hazmat; or
    • Operates a vehicle used to transport hazmat.
• Safety permit: A document issued by FMCSA that contains a permit number and confers authority to transport in commerce the hazardous materials listed in 385.403.
• Shipment: The offering or loading of hazardous materials at one loading facility using one transport vehicle, or the transport of that transport vehicle.

Summary of requirements

• The HMSP program applies to intrastate, interstate, and foreign carriers transporting hazardous materials listed in 385.403.
• New entrant motor carriers must use an online-only MCSA-1 form to obtain a USDOT number and HMSP.
• Existing hazardous materials motor carriers must use Form MCS-150B when renewing the safety permit and when completing the biennial update.
• There are certain requirements motor carriers must meet in order to be approved for a HMSP.