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Sanctions can be levied against a motor carrier or other entity that does not pay a civil penalty assessed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Scope
These regulations apply to motor carriers, intermodal equipment providers (IEPs), property brokers, freight forwarders, and their agents and employees.
Regulatory citations
- 49 CFR 386.83 — Sanction for failure to pay civil penalties or abide by payment plan; operation in interstate commerce prohibited
- 49 CFR 386.84 — Sanction for failure to pay civil penalties or abide by payment plan; suspension or revocation of registration
Key definitions
- Broker: A person, other than a motor carrier or an employee agent of a motor carrier, who arranges, for compensation, the truck transportation of cargo belonging to others, utilizing authorized for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation. A broker does not assume responsibility for the cargo and usually does not take possession of the cargo.
- Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): A self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway, in interstate commerce, that meets any one of the following criteria: Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight rating (GCWR), or gross vehicle weight (GVW) or gross combination weight (GCW), of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
- Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
- Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver), and not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
- Is transporting hazardous materials of a type or quantity which requires placarding.
- Freight forwarder: A person offering the general public (other than as a pipeline, rail, motor or water carrier) transportation of property for compensation and in the ordinary course of business.
- Intermodal equipment provider (IEP): Any person who interchanges intermodal equipment with a motor carrier according to a written agreement or has contractual responsibility for the maintenance of the intermodal equipment.
- Motor carrier: A for-hire motor carrier or a private motor carrier. The term includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers, and representatives as well as employees responsible for hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers and employees concerned with the installation, inspection, and maintenance of motor vehicle equipment and/or accessories.
Summary of requirements
Motor carriers, IEPs, brokers, and other entities that fail to pay a fine (civil penalty) from the FMCSA, or who fail to follow a payment plan, will face additional penalties. For a motor carrier, this includes being prohibited from operating in interstate commerce.
These additional penalties do not come without warning. The FMCSA will notify a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder in writing if it has not received payment within 45 days after the due date, whether the payment was to be for the full amount or an installment payment.
The notice will include a warning that failure to pay the entire penalty within 90 days after payment was due will result in the suspension of the respondent’s registration. This suspension can be avoided only if the respondent can show evidence that:
- The entire amount due has been paid; or
- It has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A broker, freight forwarder, for-hire motor carrier, foreign motor carrier, or foreign private motor carrier that continues to operate during a period of suspension for failing to pay a civil penalty may be assessed a fine for each day that operations are conducted during the suspension period. Registration may also be revoked.