Stop 4 of 4 · Manage your compliance

Manage your compliance: the filings that come back every year.

Running both? Follow the CDL track, which covers everything, and scope by unit as you go: the testing program covers anyone who ever drives a CDL vehicle, IFTA and IRP follow the trucks over 26,000 lbs, and your lighter trucks' drivers may qualify for short-haul time records instead of an ELD.

Registration was the one-time part. These are the filings that come back on a clock, each with its own deadline and its own place to file, plus the quiet paperwork the new entrant audit checks.

1. 4.1Register for UCR every year.

   UCR is a yearly fee interstate operations pay, filed in one place online. File it yourself at ucr.gov — third-party sites sell the exact same registration at a markup.

   1. 1On ucr.gov, choose to register and enter your USDOT number. It pulls up your company and sets the fee from your fleet size — $46 for up to two vehicles in 2026.
   2. 2Pay by card, save the receipt, and put next year's deadline on your calendar: the window opens October 1 and payment is due December 31, every year.

   Where: ucr.govCost: $46 for 0–2 vehicles (2026).Time: Ten minutes.

   Save this: The registration receipt.

2. 4.2Set up IRP plates and IFTA fuel tax with your state.

   IRP is the license plate that lets your truck run in every state; IFTA settles your fuel tax between states. Both come from your home state, not FMCSA.

   1. 1Search “[your state] IRP office” — it lives in your state's DMV or motor carrier division. Many states want an in-person or mailed application for a first account, so call ahead and ask what to bring; expect your USDOT number, EIN, proof of address, and the truck's title.
   2. 2Set up your IFTA account at the same office, usually at the same time. You'll get a license for the cab and two decals for the doors.
   3. 3The day the decals arrive, put the four IFTA deadlines on your calendar: quarterly returns due the last day of April, July, October, and January — and you file even for quarters you didn't run.

   Save this: Your IRP cab card and IFTA license, with the quarterly return dates on your calendar.

3. 4.3File Form 2290 if you're at 55,000 lbs or more.

   The federal heavy vehicle use tax, filed with the IRS once a year for trucks at 55,000 lbs or more. The stamped Schedule 1 you get back is what your state demands before it will register the truck.

   1. 1You need an EIN for this one — it can't be filed on an SSN, and a brand-new EIN takes about four weeks in the IRS system before e-filing works. Get the EIN early.
   2. 2On the IRS page, pick an approved e-file provider and file with your EIN, the truck's VIN, and its taxable gross weight.
   3. 3Download the stamped Schedule 1 the provider returns. That's the document your state's plate office asks for.

   Where: IRS: Form 2290

   Save this: The stamped Schedule 1.

4. 4.4Update your MCS-150 every two years.

   The biennial update is you confirming your company information with FMCSA every two years, in Motus, free. Skip it and your USDOT number can be deactivated quietly — the kind of thing you find out about at a scale house.

   1. 1Sign into motus.dot.gov with your Login.gov account and choose the biennial update. Confirm or correct your info; it takes minutes.
   2. 2Your deadline comes from your USDOT number: the second-to-last digit sets the year (odd digit, odd years), the last digit sets the month. Put it on your calendar now — Dotra tracks this date for you once your account is set up.

   Where: motus.dot.govCost: Free.

   Save this: The confirmation, and the next due date where you'll see it coming.

5. 4.5Check your state's layer.

   Everything above is the federal layer. Your state adds its own: some run intrastate registration programs on top of your USDOT number, and four states charge mileage taxes that IFTA doesn't cover. One phone call sorts out what applies to you.

   1. 1Call your base state DMV's motor carrier division and ask three questions: “Do I need a state DOT or intrastate number? Are there state filings or permits for my operation? Anything extra for my weight class?”
   2. 2Planning to run through New York, Kentucky, New Mexico, or Oregon? Each charges its own weight-distance tax (NY HUT, KYU, New Mexico weight distance, Oregon weight-mile), separate from IFTA, and each needs its own permit before you cross the line.
   3. 3Write down what your state told you, who you talked to, and any renewal dates. State permits expire just like federal ones.

   Save this: Any state permits and numbers, with their renewal dates on your calendar.

6. 4.6Open the paperwork nobody mentions.

   Three small things that cost nothing today and sting at an audit if they don't exist: the accident register, signed policies, and the name on the door.

   1. 1Accident register: one sheet (paper or spreadsheet) titled “Accident Register,” dated today, even while it's empty. If a DOT-recordable accident ever happens, it gets a line here. Keep three years.
   2. 2Written policies, each with a signed driver acknowledgment: hours of service, no handheld phone or texting, seat belts, and what a driver does after an accident. Your insurance agent has templates (so does your consortium, if you run CDL vehicles), and Dotra provides them in your account.
   3. 3The name on the door: your legal business name and USDOT number on both sides of the truck, readable from 50 feet. A local sign or vinyl shop does it from a photo of your door.

   Save this: The register and every signed acknowledgment.

7. 4.7Be ready for the new entrant audit.

   FMCSA audits every new carrier within the first 12 months, usually with 5 to 20 business days of notice — not enough time to build a compliance program, which is why every step on this road happens first. The audit checks exactly what you've built: the testing program, the driver folders, the hours records, the vehicle folders, and insurance. If the steps above are done, it's a formality.

Dotra is a tool, not your compliance department. The duty to comply sits with the motor carrier under 49 CFR, and it doesn’t transfer to a vendor, a consultant, or a software product. This road is general information about federal requirements, not legal advice: state obligations aren’t covered, hazmat, passenger, and intrastate-only operations carry requirements it doesn’t address, and rules change. Verify anything that matters at fmcsa.dot.gov before you rely on it.