- BOC-3
- The filing that names a process agent in every state so you can be served legal papers. Required before FMCSA grants authority.
- CDL / CLP
- Commercial driver's license, and the learner's permit you hold at least 14 days before the skills test.
- Clearinghouse
- FMCSA's database of CDL drug and alcohol violations. Employers must query it; you can see your own record free.
- CSA
- Compliance, Safety, Accountability. FMCSA's scoring of carriers from inspections and crashes. Your violations feed your carrier's score.
- DataQs
- The system for challenging an inspection, violation or crash on your record.
- ELD
- Electronic logging device. Required for most drivers who keep logs; short-haul drivers are exempt.
- ELDT
- Entry-level driver training. Since 2022, required from a registered provider before a first CDL, an upgrade, or a hazmat, passenger or school bus endorsement. Veterans using the military waiver are exempt.
- Form 2290
- The federal heavy vehicle use tax, up to $550 a year on trucks 55,000 lb and up. Tax year July to June.
- IFTA
- International Fuel Tax Agreement. One fuel tax license from your base state, one quarterly return that splits the tax among the states you drove.
- IRP
- International Registration Plan. Apportioned plates: one plate, registration fees split by miles in each state.
- MC number
- Your operating authority docket number, the permission to haul for hire across state lines.
- MCS-150
- The form that creates and updates your USDOT number. Must be updated every two years.
- Medical card (MEC)
- The Medical Examiner's Certificate, form MCSA-5876. Now transmitted electronically to your state; carry the paper too.
- OOS
- Out of service. An inspector's order that the driver or vehicle cannot move until the problem is fixed.
- Per diem
- The daily IRS allowance for meals and incidentals when you are away from home overnight. $80 a day in the lower 48, 80% deductible for drivers under hours-of-service rules.
- PSP
- Pre-Employment Screening Program. Your five-year inspection and three-year crash history that carriers buy when you apply.
- QBI
- Qualified business income deduction. Up to 20% of an owner-operator's profit, off the top.
- SAFER
- FMCSA's public lookup of any carrier's authority, safety rating and inspection record.
- SE tax
- Self-employment tax, 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare, paid by owner-operators on their profit.
- UCR
- Unified Carrier Registration. The yearly fee every interstate carrier and broker pays, due December 31.
- USDOT number
- Your carrier identifier with FMCSA. Required for interstate operation at 10,001 lb and up.
- VR&E
- Veterans Readiness and Employment, VA Chapter 31. Pays for training, including CDL school, for veterans with a service-connected disability.