You may file this under “Someday Soon.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published an Information Collection Request (ICR), with comments due by September 27, 2024 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/28/2024-18946/agency-information-collection-activities-approval-of-a-new-information-collection-request-fmcsa). An ICR is opened for public review and comment whenever a federal agency seeks to gather new information or data.
As PrePass has written (https://prepass.com/blog/whats-an-icr-and-why-everyone-in-trucking-should-care/), you may wish to submit comments on an ICR because:
- An ICR may request information and data that you consider personal or proprietary.
- An ICR may request information the agency already collected.
- An ICR may request information that is burdensome to produce or report – even when the purpose is applauded.
Here, FMCSA is giving a preview of the transition it proposes to make from today’s Unified Registration System (URS) to a new, online registration system, the FMCSA Registration System (FRS).
As things stand today under the URS, only first-time applicants seeking to register with FMCSA for operating authority must apply online, while existing registrants – companies already in business — use several paper forms to update their information, apply for additional authorities, designate process agents, and conduct other transactions with FMCSA. Under the proposed FRS, almost all FMCSA transactions will take place online.
To combat fraud, the proposed FRS will also include a third-party verification process to confirm the identity of persons and companies using the new online registration system
As proposed, to complete the verification process, a person seeking to use the new FRS must: (1) transmit a photo of a valid state-issued Driver’s License or other acceptable forms of identification and (2) use their personal mobile device for facial recognition verification. The contracted vendor will validate the customer’s form of identification, confirm the identity of the individual, and compare the results with data in their existing databases. Customers who are unable or unwilling to verify their identity using digital means ( e.g., mobile phone or computer), may go in-person to one of the FMCSA-sanctioned support centers and undergo the process of identity verification with the assistance of an agent.
What will the new online registration look like? Where will FMCSA locate support centers? Does this refer to the FMCSA Service Centers and Field Offices (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/mission/field-offices)? The ICR gives only a brief overview and is not seeking comments on such details, because the only question this ICR asks is whether the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should approve this next step to a new online registration system.
The new FMCSA Registration System is coming – but until it does, it’s “Someday Soon.”