Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved Information Collection: Financial Responsibility Motor Carriers, Freight Forwarders, and Brokers
Published Date: 1/6/2025
Notice
Summary
The FMCSA is renewing a paperwork form that helps motor carriers, freight forwarders, and brokers prove they have the money to cover damages or losses. This update keeps the rules clear and ensures everyone stays financially responsible. If you’re in these businesses, you can comment on the changes until March 7, 2025, but no new fees or big changes are coming.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Brokers/Forwarders Must Hold $75,000 Bond
If you are a property broker or freight forwarder, you must have a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund agreement in effect before FMCSA will issue operating authority registration.
Paperwork Time Burden and Aggregate Hours
FMCSA estimates 200,147 respondents and an estimated total annual burden of 49,722 hours. Specific burdens: Form BMC-40 averages 40 hours per response; forms BMC-34, BMC-35, BMC-82, BMC-83, BMC-91, BMC-91X, and BMC-32 average 10 minutes each; BMC-36, BMC-84, and BMC-85 average 10 minutes for the six months before the rule and 12 minutes for the 2.5 years after January 16, 2026.
Option to Apply to Self-Insure (BMC-40)
If you are a motor carrier with a satisfactory safety rating, you may apply to FMCSA to self-insure bodily injury, property damage, and/or cargo liability instead of filing certificates of insurance; the application uses Form BMC-40 and the estimated average burden per response is 40 hours.
Two Versions of Some BMC Forms
FMCSA will use two versions of forms BMC-36, BMC-84, and BMC-85: one version for the six months before January 16, 2026, and a second version for the 2.5 years after January 16, 2026, because the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility Rule implementation was aligned to a single compliance date of January 16, 2026.
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