Unified Carrier Registration

The federal Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Program requires individuals and companies, including private carriers, that operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate or international commerce to register their business and pay an annual fee based on the size of their fleet.

A “Commercial Motor Vehicle” is defined as a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle:

• has a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more;
• is designed to transport 11 or more passengers (including the driver); or
• is used to transport hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding.

The license year for the UCR runs from January 1 through December 31. UCR fees for 2021 are listed in Table 4, but they can change every year. Fees for later years may be obtained from the Motor Vehicle Division website https://dor.sd.gov/motor_vehicles/ or by contacting the MVD office at (605) 773-3314.

Table 4: UCR Fee Tiers (2021 – 2022)

Tier	Fleet Size (including trailers)	Company Fee
1	0 – 2	$59.00
2	3 – 5	$176.00
3	6 – 20	$351.00
4	21 – 100	$1224.00
5	101 – 1000	$5835.00
6	1001 and up	$56,977.00

Carriers can apply online at https://www.ucr.gov. Payments are accepted by MasterCard, Visa, or e-Check. Credit card fees are applied when registering through the website. The fees listed in Table 5 approximate what carriers are charged when paying by credit card.

Table 5: Estimated UCR Website Fees (2021)

Tier	Fleet Size	Credit Card Fee	e-Check Fee
1	0-2	$1.62	$1
2	3-5	$4.84	$1
3	6-20	$9.65	$1
4	21-100	$33.66	$1
5	101-1000	$160.44	$1
6	1001 and up	$1566.87	$1