Trucking Laws · Nationwide · October 26, 2026

Small-Carrier Trucking Group Asks Federal Court to Void 2027 UCR Fees and Halt Collections

Two semi trucks parked on a quiet city street lined with autumn trees near a stone government building — Illustration for this story. Not a photo of a specific location.

A small-carrier trucking group has asked a federal appeals court to throw out the 2027 Unified Carrier Registration fees that interstate truckers and carriers pay, and to stop UCR collections altogether. The Small Business in Transportation Coalition, known as SBTC, says it filed the petition Oct. 20 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, according to the group's announcement on PRWeb.

The court has not ruled, and no stay has been reported, so the 2027 fees remain in effect for now, according to CDLWire.

What UCR is

UCR is the annual registration nearly every interstate motor carrier pays, CDLWire reported. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration set the 2027 fees in a final rule dated Sept. 1, 2026.

What the petition claims

The petition for review, docket No. 26-1297, was filed under a federal law called the Hobbs Act, which sends challenges to certain agency rules directly to an appeals court. Everything below is SBTC's argument or allegation. None of it has been decided by the court.

The system itself: SBTC argues the UCR System Plan and Agreement were never lawfully established by regulation, as it says the UCR Act of 2007 requires.
What it wants: SBTC asks the court to set aside the fee rule, block further UCR fee collection and enforcement, and disband the UCR board, among other relief.
Privacy: SBTC alleges that FMCSA has been sharing truckers' personal information, including Social Security numbers, with the UCR system without their knowledge or consent, in violation of the Privacy Act.

Earlier round in the same court

This is not SBTC's first trip to the D.C. Circuit on UCR. The court denied the group's earlier motion to halt the rulemaking on June 17, 2026, CDLWire reported, and FMCSA went on to finalize the rule.

What it means for carriers today

Filing a petition does not suspend the rule. Until a court says otherwise, carriers are still expected to register and pay on the normal schedule, according to CDLWire.

Small carriers tracking yearly costs can add UCR to the fixed costs in the owner-operator profit calculator.