UCR for Canadian carriers
If you run into the United States, you owe UCR — and because no Canadian province participates in the UCR Agreement, you register with a participating US state instead, chosen by geography from your province. We file it from $96.00 USD, government fee included.
How base state selection works
UCR is collected by states, so every registrant is assigned to one. A US carrier normally uses the state where its principal place of business is. That option does not exist for you — no province is part of the agreement.
Instead, the UCR Plan groups Canadian provinces to sets of participating US states, broadly by region: western provinces map to a western set, eastern provinces to an eastern set. You choose one state from the set that applies to you.
The choice does not change your price. The fee is set nationally by the UCR Plan and is the same in every participating state. Your base state decides who collects it, not how much you pay.
We have deliberately not published a province-by-province lookup table here. The groupings are the UCR Plan's to define and they are not published in a form we are willing to reproduce as fact — getting one wrong means filing in the wrong state. Tell us your province when you order and we will confirm the correct base state, or ask the UCR Plan directly.
What it costs
Priced in bands by fleet size, identical to what a US carrier pays. All figures in US dollars.
The smallest band starts at $96.00 USD including the government fee. The full fee bracket table shows every band with the government portion listed separately.
Registration opens 1 October each year and is due before 1 January. Enforcement is at roadside, on the US side of the border, and it starts the day the registration year does — see UCR renewal deadlines.
Questions from Canadian carriers
Do Canadian carriers have to register for UCR?
Yes, if you operate commercial motor vehicles into the United States in interstate commerce. UCR applies to carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies regardless of which country they are based in. There is no exemption for being foreign-based and no minimum number of trips.
Which state do I register in if I am based in Canada?
A participating US state, assigned by geography. No Canadian province takes part in the UCR Agreement, so you cannot use your home province as a base. The UCR Plan groups Canadian provinces to sets of participating US states, and you select one from the set that corresponds to your province.
Does it matter which state I pick?
Not for the price. The fee is set nationally by the UCR Plan and is identical in every participating state, so a carrier registering in New York pays exactly what a carrier registering in Washington pays for the same fleet size. What the base state determines is who collects the money, not how much.
Do I pay in Canadian or US dollars?
US dollars. The UCR fee is set by the UCR Plan in USD and our filing fee is in USD.
How many vehicles do I count?
The commercial motor vehicles you operated during the previous 12 months. For a cross-border carrier this is your whole fleet, not just the units that crossed the border — the count is about the company, not about US mileage.
Is UCR the same as my CVOR or NSC number?
No. A CVOR, an NSC number and UCR are three different things administered by three different authorities. Provincial credentials do not cover you in the United States and UCR does not cover you in Canada.