DOT increases civil penalty amounts
Posted January 6, 2023
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a 7.745 percent increase to civil penalties for all modes, including highway. The increase goes into effect on January 6, 2023, and is intended to maintain the financial motivation for DOT-regulated employers to abide by federal regulations.
The increases apply to 68 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) violations, including violations related to:
- Out-of-service orders
- Recordkeeping
- Non-recordkeeping
- Hazardous materials regulations
- Commercial regulations
- Operating authority requirement
- Tariffs
- Loading and unloading
- Evasion of U. S. Codes
- Reporting and recordkeeping
Examples of the new penalty amounts are included in the table below:
Description | Existing penalty | New penalty |
| Appendix A IV (h) Out-of-service order (operating in violation of order) | $26,269 | $28,304 |
| Appendix B (a)(1) Recordkeeping — maximum total penalty | $13,885 | $14,960 |
| Appendix B (a)(3) Non-recordkeeping violations | $16,864 | $18,170 |
| Appendix B (b)(3) Special penalties pertaining to railroad-highway grade crossing violations | $17,995 | $19,389 |
| Appendix B (d) Financial responsibility violations | $18,500 | $19,933 |
| Appendix B (e)(4) Violations of Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs) and Safety Permitting Regulations (compliance with FMCSRs) | $89,678 | $96,624 |
For a full list of penalties that are affected by the increase, see 49 CFR 386 Appendices A and B.
This article was written by Jen Loomis of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
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