Application to Register Mexican Carriers for Motor Carrier Authority to Operate Beyond U.S. Municipalities and Commercial Zoneson the U.S.-Mexico Border
FMCSA registers for-hire motor carriers of regulated commodities and of passengers, surface freight forwarders, property brokers, and certain Mexico-domiciled motor carriers, as mandatory reporting. These motor carriers may conduct transportation services in the United States only if they are registered with FMCSA. FMCSA is still accepting forms OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA) for existing registrants wishing to apply for additional authorities. FMCSA requires Form OP-1(MX) for Mexico-domiciled carriers that wish to operate beyond the U.S. municipalities on the U.S.-Mexico border and their commercial zones.
Information collected through these forms, as an ICR extension, aids FMCSA in determining the type of operation a company may run, the cargo it may carry, and the resulting level of insurance coverage the applicant will be required to obtain and maintain to continue its operating authority. The OP-1 series requests information on the applicantâs familiarity with relevant safety requirements, the applicantâs willingness to comply with those requirements during its operations, and the applicantâs willingness to meet any specific statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to its proposed operations. FMCSA also uses information from these forms to prepare (for each applicant) a public notice of the registration application, which is published in the âFMCSA Register.â Publication of this notice initiates a 10-day period during which an interested party may file a complaint seeking denial of the registration on a limited number of statutory grounds.
Effective December 12, 2015, OP-1 series forms, with the exception of OP-1(MX), can only be used to apply for additional authorities, not for initial registration with FMCSA. These forms request information to identify the applicant, the nature and scope of its proposed operations, a narrative description of the applicantâs safety policies and procedures, and information regarding the drivers and vehicles it plans to use in U.S. operations.
There is no requirement for the OP-1, OP-1(P), OP-1(FF), and OP-1(NNA) forms be filed on a periodic basis. The forms are filed on an âas neededâ basis. Since the rollout of URS Phase I, the sole purpose of these forms is to allow existing registrants to apply for additional authorities. A new OP-1(MX) application form is currently required only if a Mexico-domiciled carrier wishes to extend the scope of its authority or is applying for new authority.
The current iteration of this ICR estimated the average annual burden to be 162,476 annual burden hours, with 81,209 total annual respondents. For this renewal, the estimated average annual burden is an increase to 318,656 with total average annual 159,312 respondents. The annual burden hourly increase of 156,180 is due to the increase in average annual respondents that registered from 2020-2022 and were required to obtain operating authority registration. The average number of entities which registered in the three-year period 2020 and 2022 increased by 96 percent compared to the number that registered 2017 through 2019. This was used to build the estimates for 2024, 2025 and 2026. Table 26 details the changes in burden estimates.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.