49 U.S.C. § 13905 — Effective periods of registration

(a) Person Holding ICC Authority: Anyone who had authority to operate as a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or broker under the old law as of December 31, 1995, is treated as already registered under this part. (b) Person Registered With Secretary. (1) In general: Except as (2) says, anyone registered with the Secretary as a motor carrier or motor private carrier under the old law as of January 1, 2005 — but who hasn't registered under section 13902(a) — is treated as registered for purposes of sections 13908 and 14504a. (2) Exclusively intrastate operators: (1) doesn't apply to a motor carrier or motor private carrier — including a waste or recyclable-materials hauler — that operates only within one state. (c) Effective Period. (1) In general: Except as otherwise stated, each registration under section 13902, 13903, or 13904 (A) starts on the date the Secretary sets, and (B) lasts for whatever period the Secretary sets by regulation. (2) Reissuance of registration: (A) Requirement: Within 4 years of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2012 becoming law, the Secretary must require freight forwarders and brokers to renew their registrations. (B) Effective period: Each renewal (i) expires no later than 5 years after it's granted, and (ii) can be renewed again under this chapter. (d) Suspension, Amendments, and Revocations. (1) Applications: The Secretary may amend or revoke a registration if the registrant asks. (2) Complaints and actions on secretary's own initiative: On complaint, or on the Secretary's own initiative, and after notice and a chance for a hearing, the Secretary may: (A) suspend, amend, or revoke part of a motor carrier's, foreign motor carrier's, foreign motor private carrier's, broker's, or freight forwarder's registration for willfully failing to follow (i) this part, (ii) a Secretary or Board regulation or order, including bus accessibility rules, or (iii) a registration condition; (B) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke registration for failing to (i) pay a civil penalty under chapter 5, 51, 149, or 311, (ii) arrange and stick to an acceptable payment plan within 90 days of the payment deadline, or (iii) obey a Secretary subpoena; (C) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke registration if the Secretary finds the registrant failed to disclose a material fact in its application relevant to its willingness or ability to follow (i) this part, (ii) a Secretary or Board regulation or order, or (iii) a registration condition; or (D) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke registration if the registrant doesn't disclose a common-ownership, management, control, or family relationship with another carrier, broker, or freight forwarder, or applicant, that the Secretary has found unwilling or unable to comply with sections 13902, 13903, or 13904. (3) Limitation: (2)(B) doesn't apply to someone who can't pay a civil penalty because they're a debtor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. (4) Regulations: Within 12 months of this paragraph becoming law, the Secretary must issue, after notice and public comment, regulations for suspending, amending, or revoking registration for failing to pay a civil penalty as (2)(B) describes. (e) Procedure: Except when the registrant itself requests action, or when the Secretary finds the registrant failed to disclose a material fact under (d)(2)(C), the Secretary may revoke a registration only after (1) issuing an order under section 14701 requiring compliance with this part, a regulation, or a registration condition, and (2) the registrant willfully not complying for 30 days. (f) Expedited Procedure. (1) Protection of safety: Despite the usual hearing procedures in title 5, the Secretary (A) may suspend a motor carrier's, freight forwarder's, or broker's registration for failing to meet requirements under section 13904(e) or 13906, or a related order or regulation, and (B) must revoke a motor carrier's registration if it has been barred from interstate commerce for failing to meet the safety fitness requirements in section 31144. (2) Imminent hazard to public health: Despite those same hearing procedures, the Secretary must revoke a motor carrier's registration if the Secretary finds the carrier is or was running unsafe operations that pose or posed an imminent hazard to public health or property. (3) Notice; period of suspension: The Secretary may suspend or revoke a registration under this subsection only after giving the registrant notice. A suspension lasts until the registrant complies with the relevant sections, or — for a suspension under (2) — until the Secretary lifts it. (g) Mexico-Domiciled Motor Carriers: Despite anything else in this section, if an order under section 324(a) of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act requires it, the Secretary must revoke or limit existing registrations of Mexico-domiciled cargo carriers to operate beyond the U.S.-Mexico border municipalities and their commercial zones, as directed.