WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have extended the compliance date for broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility according to a post in the Federal Register.
The FMCSA has amended its Nov. 16, 2023, final rule, “Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility,” by extending the compliance date for certain provisions from Jan. 16, 2025, to Jan. 16, 2026.
“FMCSA is taking this action because the agency determined that only its forthcoming online registration system will be used to accept filings and track notifications, and this functionality will not be added to its legacy systems,” FMCSA said in the post. “As the online registration system is not expected to be available before Jan. 16, 2025, FMCSA extends the compliance date to provide regulated entities time to begin using and familiarizing themselves with the system before compliance is required.”
On Nov. 16, 2023, FMCSA published a final rule adopting regulations to implement 49 U.S.C. 13906(b) and (c) (88 FR 78656). The final rule became effective 60 days later, on Jan. 16, 2024. However, compliance with the provisions relating to immediate suspension, financial failure or insolvency, and penalties for trust or surety providers who fail to comply with the regulations was not required until Jan. 16, 2025, and full compliance with all of the final rule’s provisions is not required until 2 years after the effective date, beginning on Jan. 16, 2026.
On Nov. 4, 2024, FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), proposing to extend the compliance deadlines for the provisions of the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility rule from Jan. 16, 2025, to Jan. 16, 2026. The affected provisions relate to immediate suspension, financial failure or insolvency, and penalties for trust or surety providers who fail to comply with the regulations., In addition, FMCSA proposed to amend the expiration date of the temporary rule governing current practices, § 387.307T, and the compliance dates in § 387.307. This extension would create a single compliance date for all provisions in the rule, allow FMCSA to implement the new online registration system for filers to use, and ensure that filers are familiar with the online registration system and able to perform all duties mandated by the rule prior to the compliance date.
The close of comments was initially set as Nov. 19, 2024. The Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) requested an extension of the comment period, and FMCSA granted a 7-day reopening of the comment period on Nov. 21, 2024, with the comment period closing on Nov. 29, 2024 (89 FR 92084).
Comments and Responses
FMCSA received 13 comments on this proposed rule with nine opposing the extension of the compliance date, two supporting it, one requesting an extension to the comment period, and one out of scope comment. The National Owner Operators Association (NOOA), the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), and seven individual commenters opposed delaying the compliance dates for the provisions outlined in the Nov. 16, 2023, final rule. First Century Financial Corporation and one individual commenter supported delaying the effective date for certain provisions outlined in the November 2023 final rule. SBTC requested an extension of the comment period, which was granted. One commenter addressed broker transparency issues, which fall outside the scope of this rule.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
