The Owner-Operator Compliance Calendar

Most compliance trouble for owner-operators isn't a hard rule. It's a date that slipped: an expired medical card, a late IFTA return, a UCR that never got renewed.

Each one can mean fines, an out-of-service order at a roadside inspection, or a problem in your safety audit. Here's every recurring deadline in one place, so you can put them on a calendar once and stop worrying about them.

Which items apply depends on your truck's weight, whether you drive under a CDL and where you run. Check each line against your operation, and check your state's rules for anything intrastate.

The year at a glance

Every quarter

IFTA fuel tax returns

If your truck qualifies for IFTA (generally over 26,000 lbs or three or more axles, running in more than one state), you file one fuel tax return each quarter with your home state. Our IFTA calculator estimates the amount with this quarter's rates.

Returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter ends: January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31. You report miles and fuel purchased by state, and you file even in a quarter you didn't run.

Keep fuel receipts and trip records as you go. Your ELD's state mileage report makes this much easier than rebuilding it at the end of the quarter.

Once a year

UCR (Unified Carrier Registration)

Interstate carriers, brokers and freight forwarders pay an annual UCR fee based on fleet size, at ucr.gov. Registration for the next year usually opens October 1. Pay before January 1, because enforcement for the new year starts then and an unpaid UCR can mean a fine at an inspection.

Form 2290 (Heavy Vehicle Use Tax)

Trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lbs or more owe the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. The tax year runs July 1 to June 30, and the return is due by the last day of the month after the month the truck is first used in the period, so August 31 for trucks on the road in July.

Our trucking calculators work out the 2290, IFTA and MCS-150 numbers for you. You'll need the stamped Schedule 1 to register or renew plates. The IRS Form 2290 page has the details. To figure the amount and deadline for your truck, use the Form 2290 calculator.

IRP apportioned plates

If your truck runs on IRP plates, your home state sets the renewal date. Renewal also asks for your mileage by jurisdiction, so keep those records clean all year.

Annual vehicle inspection

Every commercial motor vehicle needs a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months, with the report or decal kept on record. An expired annual inspection is one of the 16 violations that can cause automatic failure of the new entrant safety audit when it shows up on more than half of the records checked.

Annual driving record review

At least once a year, you must get a motor vehicle record (MVR) for each driver from every licensing authority where they hold a license, review it, and note in the driver qualification file who reviewed it and when.

Yes, that includes you as an owner-operator driving for your own company. The old annual "list of violations" the driver filled out was dropped in 2022, but the MVR review was not.

Clearinghouse query

If you drive under a CDL, the employer, which is your company, must run a query in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse on each CDL driver at least once a year. Owner-operators usually do this through their consortium or third-party administrator.

Insurance renewal

Your policy has its own renewal date. Start shopping 60 days before. Confirm the new insurer files your liability proof with FMCSA before the old policy ends, so there's no gap that could revoke your authority.

Every two years

MCS-150 update

Every carrier must update its USDOT registration information (the MCS-150) every two years, even if nothing changed.

The month is set by the last digit of your USDOT number (1 is January through 9 is September, and 0 is October) and the year by the next-to-last digit (odd digit, odd years; even digit, even years). Our MCS-150 due date tool works it out from your number. The update now runs through FMCSA's Motus system. Missing it can lead to your USDOT number being deactivated.

Update it sooner if anything changes: your address, your fleet size, the miles you run or your type of operation.

Driver deadlines

• DOT medical card. Valid for up to 24 months, sometimes less. Book your exam with a certified examiner from FMCSA's National Registry a month before it expires. Since June 2025, the examiner reports your result to FMCSA, which sends it to your state licensing agency, so check your driving record afterward to make sure it posted.
• CDL renewal. Set by your state. Endorsements like hazmat have their own renewal and background-check timelines.
• Random drug and alcohol testing. If you drive under a CDL, you stay in your consortium's random pool. Keep your enrollment paid and current.
• English proficiency. Not a deadline, but a driver qualification that inspectors now enforce. Here's what the English proficiency rule requires.

Ongoing, all year

• Hours of service and ELD records. Kept for six months, along with supporting documents like fuel receipts and bills of lading. Here's how the hours of service rules work in planning terms.
• Driver vehicle inspection reports. Write up defects found during the day, and fix out-of-service defects before the truck moves again.
• Maintenance records for each truck and trailer you control.
• Driver qualification file: application, MVRs, road test or CDL copy, and medical certificate, kept current.
• Load records: rate confirmations, bills of lading, proof of delivery and invoices. You'll need them for taxes, IFTA and any payment dispute.

New carriers also go through FMCSA's new entrant program, with a safety audit that checks most of these records. Here's how to pass the safety audit the first time.

A simple system to stay on top of it

1. Put every date on one calendar, with a reminder 30 days before and another 7 days before.
2. Keep one compliance folder, paper or digital, split into: company registrations, insurance, vehicle records, driver file and taxes.
3. Block one hour a month to check what's coming up in the next 60 days.
4. Save confirmations for everything you file: UCR receipts, the stamped 2290 Schedule 1, IFTA returns, MCS-150 confirmations.
5. Review the list every January, because rules and fees change.

Compliance is your job as the carrier, and a dispatcher can't do it for you. What we can do is take the broker side of the paperwork off your plate: setup packets, rate confirmations and invoices on every load. That frees your office time for the dates on this page.

See how our owner-operator dispatch works, or start with our new authority guide if you're just getting set up.