VERIFIED JULY 17, 2026 · EVERY SOURCE LINKED

Every government fee in trucking compliance (2026)

A USDOT number costs $0. Operating authority costs $300. The MCS-150 and BOC-3 cost $0. UCR starts at $46. These fees are set by the government and are identical no matter who files — every dollar you pay above them is someone's service fee, whether they show it to you or not. Here is the whole list, with the official source for each number.

USDOT number: $0

FMCSA never charges for a USDOT number — not to issue it, not to update it. Registration runs through FMCSA's Motus system (what changed in 2026). The entire real cost is the work of filing correctly; that's the only thing our $99 service charges for, and we say so.

Operating authority (MC number): $300

FMCSA charges $300 per operating authority, paid at application and non-refundable — even if the application is dismissed. Most for-hire carriers need one authority type. The federal timeline to active authority runs about 3–4 weeks, including a mandatory 21-day protest period. Source: FMCSA — Get Authority to Operate.

BOC-3: $0 from the government, but you can't file it yourself

FMCSA charges nothing for the BOC-3 process-agent designation, but the rule has a catch: for carriers, only a registered process-agent company can file it. So the market price of a BOC-3 is really the agent's fee — ours is $89 flat, all 50 states, one time.

MCS-150 biennial update: $0, with a four-figure penalty for missing it

The update is free and required every two years even if nothing changed. Miss it and FMCSA deactivates your USDOT number; civil penalties can reach about $1,000 per day up to roughly $10,000. Your deadline is coded into your USDOT number's digits — decode yours free here.

UCR: $46 to $44,836 a year, set by fleet size

The 2026 UCR brackets (unchanged from 2025), from the official fee schedule at plan.ucr.gov. Registration opens October 1 and is due December 31; states enforce it roadside. Brokers and forwarders without trucks pay the lowest bracket.

Calculate your exact bracket free, or have us file it for $49 plus the bracket fee.

Form 2290: $100 to $550 per truck, per year

The heavy vehicle use tax applies at 55,000 lbs taxable gross weight and up: $100 at 55,000 lbs plus $22 per additional 1,000 lbs, capped at $550 for 75,000 lbs and heavier. Logging vehicles pay 75% of the standard rate; vehicles driven 5,000 highway miles or less per year (7,500 agricultural) file as suspended and owe nothing. The tax year runs July 1 to June 30 — for trucks on the road in July 2026, the return is due Monday, August 31, 2026. Source: IRS — About Form 2290. Calculate your exact tax free.

State weight-distance permits: free to about $19

Four states tax miles separately from IFTA, each with its own registration:

• Kentucky (KYU): license is $0; the tax is 2.85¢ per Kentucky mile at 60,000 lbs and up. Details and deadlines.
• New York (HUT): certificate is free; the decal is $1.50 per vehicle, required over 18,000 lbs. Details and deadlines.
• New Mexico: weight-distance permit at 26,001+ lbs with quarterly returns; rates by weight table. Details.
• Oregon: weight-mile tax at 26,001+ lbs; new carriers post a bond. Details.

Not sure which apply? Check your truck against all four states free.

Fees nobody should ever charge you for

• EIN — $0 at irs.gov, about 10 minutes. Filing mills charge $75+ for this free form.
• USDOT number — $0, always.
• MCS-150 update — $0 government fee. Pay only if you want it handled and verified.

Penalty and reinstatement fees (the avoidable ones)

• FMCSA authority reinstatement: $80 — only owed if your authority was revoked.
• UCR roadside enforcement: state fines commonly run from hundreds to over a thousand dollars per state, and some states hold the truck.
• Kentucky KYU non-filing: skipping a quarterly return — even a zero-mile quarter — brings penalties, interest, and a $500 revocation fee.

So what should a filing service cost?

That's the question this industry hides. Our answer is public: every ClearHaul price, next to its government fee. And because we could only find two competitors who publish any prices at all, we put what we found side by side: the 2026 price comparison, with sources.