49 U.S.C. § 13901
Section 13901 · Requirement for registration
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 35 court decisions — leading case Pierre v. Providence Washington Insurance (2002)
Most recently applied in Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd. (June 2019)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) In General.—A person may provide transportation as a motor carrier subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 or service as a freight forwarder subject to jurisdiction under subchapter III of such chapter, or service as a broker for transportation subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of such chapter only if the person is registered under this chapter to provide such transportation or service.
(b) Registration Numbers.—
(1) In general.—If the Secretary registers a person under this chapter to provide transportation or service, including as a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or broker, the Secretary shall issue a distinctive registration number to the person for each such authority to provide transportation or service for which the person is registered.
(2) Transportation or service type indicator.—A number issued under paragraph (1) shall include an indicator of the type of transportation or service for which the registration number is issued, including whether the registration number is issued for registration of a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or broker.
(c) Specification of Authority.—For each agreement to provide transportation or service for which registration is required under this chapter, the registrant shall specify, in writing, the authority under which the person is providing such transportation or service.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2012—Pub. L. 112–141 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “A person may provide transportation or service subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I or III of chapter 135 or be a broker for transportation subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of that chapter, only if the person is registered under this chapter to provide the transportation or service.”
Effective Date of 2012 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways.
Effective Date
Chapter effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 701 of this title.