[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 219 (Monday, November 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51435-51436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19974]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0091]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a New
Information Collection Request: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles
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. This ICR will enable FMCSA to document the burden
associated with the for-hire truck leasing regulations and passenger
carrier regulations. These regulations require certain for-hire
property carriers and certain for-hire and private passenger carriers
to have a formal lease when leasing equipment from other motor
carriers. One public comment was received in response to the 60-day
notice.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before December
17, 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: Stacy Ropp, Compliance Division, DOT,
FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; (609) 661-
2062; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0056.
Type of Request: Renewal of currently approved ICR.
Respondents: Motor carriers authorized by the Secretary to
transport property and passengers that use leased equipment.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 31,677 [28,758 property carriers
(lessees and lessors) + 2,013 interstate authorized for-hire passenger
carriers (lessees and lessors) + 236 interstate exempt for-hire
passenger carriers (lessees and lessors) + 671 interstate private motor
carriers of passengers (lessees and lessors)].
Estimated Time per Response: Varies from 5 to 30 minutes.
Expiration Date: December 31, 2025.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 186,102 hours [28,758 hours for
master lease (creation of master leases by lessees and lessors that are
property carriers) + 48,446 hours for standard statement (creation of a
statement or copy of the lease to be carried in each leased truck
tractor) + 93,395 hours for one-time lease negotiations by lessees and
lessors that are passenger carriers + 15,504 hours for lease
documentation by lessees and lessors that are passenger carriers + zero
or de minimis hours for lease copying by passenger carriers].
Background
Under 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) 14102(a), The Secretary of
Transportation (Secretary) ``may require a motor carrier providing for-
hire transportation that uses motor vehicles not owned by it to
transport property under an arrangement with another party to
(1) make the arrangement in writing signed by the parties
specifying its duration and the compensation to be paid by the motor
carrier;
(2) carry a copy of the arrangement in each motor vehicle to which
it applies during the period the arrangement is in effect;
(3) inspect the motor vehicles and obtain liability and cargo
insurance on them; and
(4) have control of and be responsible for operating those motor
vehicles in compliance with requirements prescribed by the Secretary on
safety of operations and equipment, and with other applicable law as if
the motor vehicles were owned by the motor carrier.''
The Secretary has delegated authority pertaining to leased motor
vehicles to FMCSA pursuant to 49 CFR 1.87(a)(6). The Agency's
regulations governing leased motor vehicles are at 49 CFR part 376.
[[Page 51436]]
The regulations were adopted to ensure that small trucking
companies would be protected when they agreed to lease their equipment
and drivers to larger for-hire carriers. They also ensure the
government and members of the public can determine who is responsible
for a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Prior to
adoption of the regulations, some equipment was leased without written
agreements, leading to disputes over which party to the lease was
responsible for charges and actions and, at times, who was legally
responsible for the vehicle.
The regulations specify what must be covered in the lease but leave
open how many responsibilities must be divided. The parties to the
lease determine numerous details between themselves.
Part 376 applies only to certain motor carriers in interstate
commerce and only to certain leasing situations based on exemptions set
forth in Sec. 376.11, which cross reference other provisions in part
376. Section 376.11 provides that an authorized carrier (a person or
persons authorized to engage in the transportation of property as a
motor carrier under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 13901 and 13902) may
perform authorized transportation using equipment it does not own only
when the following conditions are met:
(1) There shall be a written lease granting the use of the
equipment and meeting the requirements contained in Sec. 376.12;
(2) Receipts, specifically identifying the equipment to be leased
and stating the date and time of day possession is transferred, shall
be given; and
(3) The authorized carrier acquiring the use of equipment under
this section shall identify the equipment as being in its service.
Passenger transportation. FMCSA can regulate the lease and
interchange of passenger-carrying CMVs based on the authority of the
Motor Carrier Act of 1935 and the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, as
amended. FMCSA's regulations about the lease and interchange of
passenger-carrying CMVs in 49 CFR part 390 subpart G help ensure that
passenger carriers cannot evade FMCSA oversight and enforcement by
entering into lease agreements to operate under the authority of
another carrier that exercises no control over these operations. Motor
carriers that:
(1) operate passenger-carrying CMVs,
(2) have active operating authority registration with FMCSA to
transport passengers, and
(3) engage in the lease or interchange of passenger-CMVs with other
motor carriers that have active operating authority registration with
FMCSA to transport passengers, are not subject to the regulations in 49
CFR part 390 subpart G and the recordkeeping requirements therein.
Such regulations and requirements also do not apply to financial
leases (such as a closed-end lease, hire purchase, lease purchase,
purchase agreement, installment plan, demonstration or loaner vehicle,
etc.) between a motor carrier and a bank or similar financial
organization or a manufacturer or dealer of passenger-carrying CMVs.
Section 390.403(b) specifies the four required items of information
that any lease or interchange record document for passenger-carrying
CMVs is required to contain. These are:
(1) vehicle identification information;
(2) information about and signatures of the involved motor carriers
of passengers (the lessor and the lessee);
(3) specific duration of the lease or interchange agreement; and
(4) a clear statement about exclusive possession and
responsibilities.
Section 390.403(c) requires a copy of the lease or interchange
agreement be on the passenger-carrying CMV during the period of the
lease or interchange agreement. Both the lessee and lessor must retain
a copy of the lease or interchange agreement for one year after the
expiration date.
These property carrier and passenger carrier provisions account for
the burden in this information collection. The program change decrease
of 26,154 estimated annual burden hours (186,102 proposed estimated
annual burden hours--212,256 currently approved estimated annual burden
hours) is due to the availability of new data. Previous estimates were
based on 2021 data. Current property carrier and passenger carrier-
related estimates are based on the December 27, 2024, Motor Carrier
Management Information System and Safety Measurement System snapshots.
The data pulled for the current ICR shows a decrease in the overall
number of affected property carriers and an increase in the overall
number of affected passenger carriers from the data used in the
previous ICR. The decrease in the number of affected property carriers
was greater than the increase in the overall number of affected
passenger carriers which resulted in a decrease in the overall burden
hours associated with this ICR.
FMCSA received one public comment in response to the 60-day notice
published in the Federal Register on May 28, 2025 (90 FR 22560). The
comment stated that the proposed agency collection should be extended
for accountability needs of reporting applicable contract expenditures
and passenger carrier regulations. FMCSA agrees that the IC should be
renewed for another 3 years.
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.
Nicole Michel,
Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2025-19974 Filed 11-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P