Regulatory Roundup
Stay on top of the latest information and actionable deadlines regarding regulatory issues that affect the motorcoach, charter, and group tour and travel industries. This page will be updated monthly along with the Driving Policy newsletter.
Our Roads Our Safety Week
Our Roads, Our SafetyⓇ Week (June 2-6, 2025) is a national, annual safety observance dedicated to raising awareness on how to share the road safely with large trucks and buses. Together with the larger safety community, FMCSA is committed to sharing safety tips, resources, and materials that help improve road safety for all. FMCSA will highlight a different road safety topic and share tips for all road users to help keep our roads safe.
Daily themes
Monday: Distracted driving; Tuesday: Seat belt safety; Wednesday: Sharing the road safely with large trucks and buses; Thursday: Work zone safety; Friday: Safe speed
FMCSA Online Registration Portal Has Changed
The FMCSA Portal provides single sign-on access to FMCSA systems through Login.gov. It allows Federal, State, and industry users to access FMCSA’s information systems with a single set of credentials, enabling quick access to records, safety data, and the ability to make registration changes. Check out a new user guide to help you navigate the portal and keep your records up to date.
MC Numbers to Sunset
The FMCSA has announced some major changes, perhaps none more significant than overhauling its carrier identification system. By Oct. 1, 2025, the agency plans to phase out Motor Carrier (MC) numbers and transition entirely to USDOT numbers. By eliminating MC numbers and forcing all authority records to be tracked under a single USDOT number, FMCSA hopes to reduce fraud and hold carriers more accountable for their history. More information can be found at the FMCSA site.
CDL Medical Qualification Goes Digital
On June 23, 2025, the compliance date for the FMCSA’s Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration rule will go into effect nationwide, resulting in significant changes for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) Holders in terms of medical qualification reporting. The rule is intended to digitize and streamline the medical certification process for commercial vehicle drivers, eventually eliminating the need for drivers to present a paper copy of their Medical Examiner’s Certificate.
IRP Exemption Extended for Ontario Carriers
Due to a transition of the International Registration Plan program services in Ontario, Canada, a declaration providing an exemption through June 30, 2025 is in place. A grace period is being provided to ensure all carriers with a March 31 – May 31, 2025 renewal have sufficient time to receive their credentials, according to the emergency declaration extension letter. Impacted carriers are advised to keep a copy of the exemption letter in all impacted vehicles operated.
NTSB Issues Highland IL Motorcoach Crash Recommendations
During a public hearing on May 20 related to a fatal motorcoach accident in Highland, IL in 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators and board members discussed multiple safety issues in this collision. These included: Motorcoach driver fatigue; Deficient driver oversight, including lack of a progressive discipline policy; lack of adequate record-keeping; and lack of policies for implementing driver monitoring systems; Insufficient federal guidance on safety management, driver coaching and fatigue mitigation; Lack of seat belt use by motorcoach passengers; Crash risk from lack of truck parking availability along the National Highway System.
U.S. Department of Labor Returns to an Older Independent Contractor Standard
On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will not enforce the 2024 independent contractor rule while DOL considers a new rule, In the interim, DOL will enforce a previous independent contractor standard, first put in place in 2008 and affirmed in 2019. The 2024 rule made hiring and classifying workers as independent contractors more difficult for small businesses. It introduced a confusing “totality of the circumstances” analysis, weighing a list of six factors. The standard to which DOL has returned lists the same six factors used in the 2024 rule, but the factors are defined very differently, making them easier to apply. Check for more information.
SBA Launches New Tool to Connect Small Businesses to more than 1 Million Domestic Suppliers
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched the Make Onshoring Great Again Portal, a free tool designed to help small businesses identify U.S. manufacturers and producers. With a database of more than 1 million American suppliers, the searchable portal will empower small businesses to source domestic suppliers to support their operations – which will support American jobs, reconnect our supply chain with U.S-based production, and end dependence on foreign suppliers.
