What a guided 2027 filing looks like
This is the real thing, built for an example carrier. Yours runs as a live conversation from your own USDOT — free to start. Note the two things a fee table alone will never tell you: this carrier sits exactly on a fee cliff, and is based in a state that doesn't participate in UCR.
You see the screen before you get there
Each screen UCR.gov will show you, drawn out with your own values already in the right boxes and a pointer on every field telling you whether to type it, pick it, or check it. Print it and keep it beside you.
Prepared for SAMPLE CARRIER LLC · USDOT 9999999
Start at www.ucr.gov
One box and a tick-box. Check the address bar really does read www.ucr.gov before you type anything — lookalike sites charge far more for the same registration.
Your number, nothing else.
Tick “I Agree”, then complete the reCAPTCHA if it appears.
The security check is there to confirm a real person is filing. You complete it yourself — that is exactly why nobody can do this part for you, and why you stay the filer.
“Is this you?” — confirm by re-entering your USDOT
The portal shows the record it found and asks you to type the USDOT a second time to confirm it. Check the name and address first; if they are wrong, press TRY AGAIN rather than continuing.
Same number again — this is the confirmation box.
Your registration history — pick the year
A dashboard listing every year with its status. This is where you choose the year: find the row and press REGISTER NOW on it. There is no year dropdown.
Press REGISTER NOW on that row.
Worth a look while you are here — any year showing “Unregistered” is a gap that can still be cited at roadside.
The left panel also shows the MCS-150 “Last Updated” date and your base state, both pulled from your FMCSA record. If that date is old, the vehicle count on the next screens comes from stale data.
“Intrastate Only” notice — the eligibility gate
A pop-up asking you to confirm your business is actually subject to UCR. Read it rather than clicking through: UCR applies to interstate commerce, and that includes a movement entirely inside one state when it is part of a longer interstate journey.
By clicking “I ACCEPT” you confirm your business meets the criteria to be subject to UCR and its registration fees. If you operate purely intrastate and never cross a state line as part of a through movement, press CANCEL — you may not owe this at all.
Registered By — who is filing
The first step of the wizard. Your name, and a certification that you are authorised to file for this USDOT.
The person filing — you.
Tick “I Agree”. You are certifying this for yourself — which is precisely why we prepare and you file.
Carrier classification
Tick every category that applies. The portal pre-ticks what it already knows from your FMCSA record — check it rather than assuming it is right.
The five options are Motor Carrier, Motor Private Carrier, Freight Forwarder, Broker, and Leasing Company.
If you hold broker authority as well as running trucks, tick both. Brokers with no power units fall in the lowest bracket, but a carrier who also brokers is still priced on their vehicles.
Vehicles — the screen that sets your fee
Two ways to answer. Option A autofills from your most recent MCS-150. Option B lets you enter the vehicles you operated during a fixed 12-month window. Everything else in this process is admin; this screen is the money.
Use this when your MCS-150 is current. The portal takes the count straight off that filing.
Use this when your MCS-150 is stale or the fleet has changed. You enter the numbers yourself.
Power units only. Trailers never count.
Usually 0 for freight carriers.
Answer Yes if you need to exclude units used exclusively in intrastate commerce — that is the most common way carriers overpay a whole bracket.
The portal computes this. It is the number that picks your bracket, so make sure it matches.
Your Vehicle Total should read 20, which keeps you in the 6–20 bracket. You are at the very top of it — one more unit moves you to 21–100 at $1,163, which is $830 more. This one number is where that money is won or lost.
Billing and payment
Billing address on the left, payment on the right, and the fee for your bracket shown at the bottom. You enter your own card here — we are not involved in this step and never see any of it.
You can reuse the Principal or Mailing address from your MCS-150 in one click, or clear it and type another.
Credit/Debit Card or ACH/eCheck. Note that American Express is NOT accepted — Discover, Mastercard and Visa are.
Yours, typed by you, on the government site. Nobody from EasyUCR will ever ask you for these.
Check the bracket label beside it matches your fleet size too.
Card and ACH payments carry a convenience fee. The portal offers a mail-in option that avoids it — but your registration is not valid until the payment actually arrives and clears, so mailing it close to the deadline is a false economy.
Summary, submit, and save the receipt
The last look before it is final. Check the vehicle total and the fee one more time, then submit.
After submitting, UCR.gov issues a registration receipt. That receipt is your proof at roadside — download it and keep a copy on your phone. There is no UCR card or credential; the receipt is the whole thing.
We walk you through UCR.gov, one step at a time
Open the official portal in a window beside this guide. Each step tells you exactly what to do and gives you the exact value to paste — you never type a number or guess at a field. You click every button yourself, so you stay the filer.
One box and a tick-box. Check the address bar really does read www.ucr.gov before you type anything — lookalike sites charge far more for the same registration.
The security check is there to confirm a real person is filing. You complete it yourself — that is exactly why nobody can do this part for you, and why you stay the filer.
Your number, nothing else.
Tick “I Agree”, then complete the reCAPTCHA if it appears.
Then press SUBMIT.
All 9 screens
Or just show us your screen
Share your UCR.gov window and we'll tell you where you are and what to click next — and stop you if the fee on screen doesn't match the bracket you actually owe. We can see only the window you pick, only while you're sharing, and never at the payment step.
And the reference sheet behind it
You owe $333 — the 6–20 bracket
Adding 1 power unit moves you into the 21–100 bracket, where the government fee is $1,163 — an increase of $830. Because you are right at the boundary, a single miscounted truck is the difference. Verify your count against the rules below before you submit.
How to count your power units correctly
- ✓Trailers never countUCR counts power units — trucks and tractors that move under their own power. Trailers, chassis and dollies are excluded no matter how many you pull.
- ✓Count what you operate in interstate commerceInclude the commercial motor vehicles you own or operate under your own authority for interstate movement, including units you lease in and run under your USDOT.
- ✓Vehicles used exclusively intrastate may be excludedIf a unit never leaves your state and is used only in intrastate commerce, it generally does not belong in your UCR count. This is the single most common way carriers overpay a whole bracket.
- ✓Your count should reconcile to your MCS-150UCR brackets are keyed to the power-unit figure on your most recent MCS-150. If that filing is stale or overstated, you will overpay every single year until you correct it.
- ✓Brokers and forwarders with no trucks register at the lowest bracketIf you hold broker or freight-forwarder authority and operate no power units, you still register — at the 0–2 bracket. If you run trucks AND broker freight, your power units set the bracket.
Florida does NOT participate — you must designate a base state
Florida is one of nine non-participating states (AZ, FL, HI, MD, NV, NJ, OR, VT, WY). This does not exempt you. As an interstate carrier you still must register, by designating a participating state — generally the nearest participating state to your principal place of business. The brackets and the fee are identical; only the state processing your registration changes. Skipping this is what gets Florida carriers cited the moment they cross into a participating state.
Your MCS-150 sets this number
Your MCS-150 biennial update is due by the end of September, in odd years (your USDOT ends in 99). Update on time even if nothing changed — missing it can deactivate your USDOT number.
This matters for UCR because your bracket is keyed to the power-unit count on that filing.
Every value UCR.gov will ask you for
| USDOT number | 9999999 |
|---|---|
| Legal business name | SAMPLE CARRIER LLC |
| Principal place of business | Jacksonville, FL Street address as it appears on your FMCSA record. |
| Base state | you provide Florida does NOT participate — you must designate a base state |
| Registration year | 2027 |
| Power units | 20 You are at the very top of this bracket — one more unit moves you to 21–100. Verify this number before you submit. |
| Fee bracket | 6–20 power units |
| Government UCR fee | $333 Paid by you, on UCR.gov. |
| Company contact name & title | you provide |
| Contact phone & email | you provide |
| Entity type | you provide Motor carrier, broker, freight forwarder or leasing company. Select every type you hold authority for. |
Filing on UCR.gov, step by step
- 1Open the official portal at UCR.gov and start a new registration for the year above.
- 2Enter the values in your field sheet. The ones marked “you provide” are the only things we cannot pre-fill.
- 3Before paying, confirm your power-unit count against the counting rules — this is where the money is.
- 4Pay the government UCR fee directly on UCR.gov with your own payment method, and submit.
- 5Save the registration receipt UCR.gov issues. That is your official proof at roadside.
Start your own filing
Free to start. Enter your USDOT and we'll walk you through the official portal, one screen at a time, until it's submitted.
Start my filing — free →