DOT increases civil penalty amounts

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.