Truckers who have their own authority are facing a tighter deadline to resolve insurance issues before the FMCSA revokes their authority.

In a notice issued Dec. 16, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the change for carriers – including truckers with their own authority – who fail to have sufficient levels of insurance on file.

“The current process takes at least 66 days,” according to the FMCSA notice. “The new 33-day process will only allow a carrier to hold operating authority without insurance reflected on our licensing and insurance database for up to three days.”

The FMCSA revocation decisions will be tied to its enforcement program, which will focus on the operations of uninsured carriers.

“This improvement will further ensure that the public is adequately protected in case of a motor carrier crash,” the notice said.

The new procedure for revoking operating authority includes two steps:

1. The first notice will go out three days after the FMCSA receives notification from an insurance company that the carrier’s policy will be canceled in 30 days. The notice will inform carriers or owner-operators that they must provide evidence that they are in compliance with FMCSA’s insurance regulations within 30 days.
2. If carriers or owner-operators with their own authority do not comply with the insurance requirements in 30 days, a final decision revoking their authority will be issued.