[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17990-17992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07392]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2024-0165]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved
Information Collection Request: Financial Responsibility Motor
Carriers, Freight Forwarders, and Brokers
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review
and approval. FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled,
``Financial Responsibility Motor Carriers, Freight Forwarders, and
Brokers.'' The purpose of this ICR is to provide registered motor
carriers, property brokers, and freight forwarders a means of meeting
financial responsibility filing requirements. This ICR sets forth the
financial responsibility documentation requirements for motor carriers,
freight forwarders, and brokers as a result of Agency jurisdictional
statutes. On January 6, 2025, FMCSA published a 60-day notice in the
Federal Register announcing its intention to submit this ICR to OMB for
renewal. FMCSA received two comments in response to the published
notice.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before May 30,
2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of
publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find
this information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana Alvarez, Financial Analyst, Office
of Registration, Financial Responsibility Filings Division, DOT, FMCSA,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-0401;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Financial Responsibility Motor Carriers, Freight Forwarders,
and Brokers.
[[Page 17991]]
OMB Control Number: 2126-0017.
Type of Request: Revision of currently approved ICR.
Respondents: For-hire motor carriers, brokers, and freight
forwarders.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 200,147.
Estimated Time per Response: The estimated average burden per
response for Form BMC-40 is 40 hours. The estimated average burden per
response for forms BMC-34, 35, 82, 83, 91, and 91X is 10 minutes per
form. In addition, form BMC-32 takes 10 minutes. Forms BMC 36, 84, and
85 are affected by the implementation of the Broker Freight Forward
Financial Responsibility rule. For the 6 months prior to the rule
implementation the estimated average burden per response for these
three forms is 10 minutes per form. For the remaining 2.5 year after
the rule is implemented the estimated average burden per response for
the revised forms is 12 minutes per form.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2025.
Frequency of Response: Certificates of insurance, surety bonds, and
trust fund agreements are required when the transportation entity first
registers with FMCSA and then when such coverages are changed or
replaced by these entities. Notices of cancellation are required only
when such certificates of insurance, surety bonds, and trust fund
agreements are cancelled. The BMC-40 is filed only when a carrier seeks
approval from FMCSA to self-insure its bodily injury and property
damage (BI and PD) and/or cargo liability coverage.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 49,722 hours. The annual burden was
revised for Forms BMC-84, BMC-85, and BMC-36. The initial collection
period for those forms is the 6-month period prior to the compliance
date of the Broker and Freight Forward Financial Responsibility rule
where the estimated average burden per response is 10 minutes. The
second collection period is a revision for the 2.5 years following the
January 16, 2026, rule compliance date where the estimated average
burden per response is 12 minutes. The annual burden hours for the
revised forms equal 2,249. The annual burden hours for the remaining
forms are unchanged at 47,473.
Background
The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is authorized to
register for-hire motor carriers of property and passengers under the
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13902, surface freight forwarders under the
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13903, and property brokers under the
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13904. These persons may conduct transportation
services only if they are registered pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 13901. The
Secretary has delegated authority pertaining to these registration
requirements to the FMCSA (49 CFR 1.87) and the regulations
implementing these requirements may be found at 49 CFR part 387. The
registration remains valid only as long as these transportation
entities maintain, on file with FMCSA, evidence of the required levels
of financial responsibility pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 13906. FMCSA
regulations governing the financial responsibility requirements for
these entities are found at 49 CFR part 387. The information collected
from these forms are summarized and displayed in the Licensing and
Information system.
Forms for Endorsements, Certificates of Insurance and Other Evidence of
Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability and Cargo Liability
Financial Responsibility
Forms BMC-91 and BMC-91X, titled ``Motor Carrier Automobile Bodily
Injury and Property Damage Liability Certificate of Insurance,'' and
Form BMC-82, titled ``Motor Carrier Bodily Injury Liability and
Property Damage Liability Surety Bond Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' provide
evidence of the required coverage for BI and PD liability. A Form BMC-
91X filing is required when a carrier's insurance is provided by
multiple companies instead of just one. Form BMC-34, titled ``Household
Goods Motor Carrier Cargo Liability Certificate of Insurance,'' and
Form BMC-83, titled ``Household Goods Motor Carrier Cargo Liability
Surety Bond Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' establish a carrier's compliance
with the Agency's cargo liability requirements. Only household goods
motor carriers are required to file evidence of cargo insurance with
FMCSA (Sec. 387.303(c)). Form BMC-90, titled ``Endorsement for Motor
Carrier Policies of Insurance for Automobile Bodily Injury and Property
Damage Liability Under Section 13906, Title 49 of the United States
Code,'' and Form BMC-32, titled ``Endorsement for Motor Common Carrier
Policies of Insurance for Cargo Liability Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' are
executed by the insurance company, attached to BI and PD or cargo
liability insurance policies, respectively, and forwarded to the motor
carrier or freight forwarder.
Requirement To Obtain Surety Bond or Trust Fund Agreement
Form BMC-84, titled ``Broker's or Freight Forwarder's Surety Bond
Under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' and Form BMC-85, titled ``Broker's or Freight
Forwarder's Trust Fund Agreement Under 49 U.S.C. 13906 or Notice of
Cancellation of the Agreement,'' are filed by brokers or freight
forwarders to comply with the requirement that they must have a $75,000
surety bond or trust fund agreement in effect before FMCSA will issue
property broker or freight forwarder operating authority registration.
Both forms are being revised due to the implementation of the Broker
and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility rule (88 FR 78656, Nov.
16, 2023). As originally published in 2023, the rule had two compliance
dates, January 16, 2025, and January 16, 2026. In anticipation of the
January 16, 2025, compliance date, a 60-day Federal Register notice was
published on August 1, 2024 (89 FR 62842) to revise the current
information collection. However, FMCSA subsequently extended the
compliance date for all requirements to January 16, 2026, creating a
single compliance date for all provisions of the rule. FMCSA issued a
second 60-day notice on January 6, 2025 (90 FR 720) to reflect the
extended compliance date (see discussion below). The implementation of
the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility rule 6 months
after the forms are set to expire necessitates the use of two versions
of forms BMC-36, BMC-84, and BMC-85. The first version of the forms
will apply to the 6 months prior to the implementation of the rule on
January 16, 2026. The second version will apply to the 2.5 years
following the implementation of the Broker and Freight Forwarder
Financial Responsibility rule after January 16, 2026.
Cancellation of Prior Filings
Form BMC-35, titled ``Notice of Cancellation Motor Carrier
Insurance under 49 U.S.C. 13906,'' Form BMC-36, titled ``Motor Carrier
and Broker's Surety Bonds under 49 U.S.C. 13906 Notice of
Cancellation,'' and Form BMC-85, titled ``Broker's or Freight
Forwarder's Trust Fund Agreement Under 49 U.S.C. 13906 or Notice of
Cancellation of the Agreement,'' can be used to cancel prior filings.
Forms BMC-36 and BMC-85 are being revised due to the implementation of
the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility rule's
extended compliance date of January 16, 2026.
Self-Insurance
Motor carriers can also apply to FMCSA to self-insure BI and PD
and/or cargo liability in lieu of filing certificates of insurance with
the FMCSA, as long as the carrier maintains a satisfactory safety
rating (see
[[Page 17992]]
Sec. 387.309.) Form BMC-40 is the application used by carriers to
apply for self-insurance authority.
On January 6, 2025, FMCSA published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register (90-FR 720) with a 60-day public comment period to announce
its intention to submit this ICR to OMB for the proposed revision.
FMCSA received two comments in response to the published notice. One of
the comments was not related to this ICR and was removed from the
docket because it contained possible personally identifiable
information.
The second commenter opposed the Broker and Freight Forwarder
Responsibility rule, stating that the $75,000 financial responsibility
requirement imposes a financial burden on smaller brokers and freight
forwarders. Additionally, the comment implied that the rule would
impose 49,722 burden hours on the participants.
In response, FMCSA notes that the minimum amount of financial
responsibility is set by statute and the Agency has no discretion to
change it (see 49 U.S.C. 13906(b)(3)).
The commenter's calculation of burden hours is inaccurate, as it
represents the annual burden of hours for all 11 forms included in this
ICR, not just the three forms updated here.
The commenter did not address whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the accuracy of the estimated burden; nor the ways the
burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the collected
information.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2)
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4)
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of
the collected information.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Kenneth Riddle,
Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2025-07392 Filed 4-29-25; 8:45 am]
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