Another Extension: FMCSA Announces an Extension of the Unified Registration System Effective Date beyond Jan 17, 2017

FMCSA is extending the implementation date of the final stage of the Unified Registration System (URS) beyond January 14, 2017 (previous compliance date of April 14, 2017). This extension is due to needing additional time to securely migrate data from multiple legacy platforms into a new central database and to conduct further compatibility testing with its State partners.

The FMCSA is working with its Information Technology contractor to finalize a revised implementation schedule. FMCSA will publish a Federal Register Notice in early January 2017 announcing the revised regulatory compliance dates.

The FMCSA recently completed a complex migration of its information technology systems to a “cloud” environment. This mitigation effort was a necessary step in order to provide a foundation to successfully implement URS.

According to FMCSA’s announcement, by moving the implementation date, FMCSA is providing its State partners more time to develop, update, and verify data connectivity and system reliability. The additional time will also enable the Agency to conduct more thorough training and to implement broader outreach and education activities that will provide for a seamless transition.

This work will provide the agency and its state partners a foundation to successfully launch the final stage of URS. The agency estimates that the initial phase of URS, launched in December 2015, has saved the industry approximately $1.6 million in processing time during the first six months.

To date, FMCSA has issued 62,000 USDOT numbers, removed 340,000 dormant USDOT numbers from agency databases, and screened 100% of operating authority applications for reincarnated carriers.

Click here to read the Federal Register notice.