FMCSA is accepting comments through November 9 on renewing the information collection for carrier accident registers, three-year retention and records produced during official inquiries.
FMCSA published the notice on September 9
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a notice and request for comments on September 9, 2026 concerning the information collection titled Accident Recordkeeping Requirements. The agency plans to seek Office of Management and Budget approval to renew the collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Comments must be received by November 9, 2026 under docket FMCSA-2026-1552.
The notice concerns an existing requirement
This action is an information-collection renewal, not a new accident-reporting rule. FMCSA points to 49 CFR 390.15(b), which requires motor carriers to maintain specified information about qualifying commercial-motor-vehicle accidents. The notice does not create a September deadline for carriers to submit historical accident data and does not say that every minor incident belongs in the federal accident register.
Carriers keep an accident register
For each accident covered by the rule, the carrier's register must include the date, the city or town—or the nearest city or town—and state, the driver's name, the number of injuries, the number of fatalities and whether hazardous materials other than fuel spilled from the vehicle. The carrier also must retain copies of accident reports required by a state or another governmental entity or insurer.
Records are retained for three years
The Federal Register notice states that carriers must maintain the accident-register information for three years after the date of the accident. The register and supporting reports must be available when an authorized federal, state or local official requests them or conducts an inquiry. Record location, accessibility and responsibility should therefore be clear before an audit or investigation begins.
The rule does not require routine submission to FMCSA
FMCSA emphasizes that 49 CFR 390.15 does not require carriers to send the accident register or records to FMCSA or another party on a routine basis. The obligation is to maintain the records and produce them when properly requested. Separate federal, state, local, insurer, employer and contractual reporting duties may still apply to a specific crash.
Not every collision meets the federal definition
The notice uses the definition in 49 CFR 390.5T. A covered accident involves a commercial motor vehicle operating on a public road and results in a fatality, bodily injury requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage that requires one or more motor vehicles to be transported away by a tow truck or other motor vehicle. Carriers should apply the exact definition rather than using repair cost alone.
FMCSA updated its burden estimates
FMCSA estimates 115,547 annual respondents and 172,203 reportable accidents per year, based on 2023 through 2025 Motor Carrier Management Information System data for interstate and intrastate carriers associated with crashes. At an estimated 18 minutes per response, the agency calculates 51,661 annual burden hours. These are regulatory-analysis estimates, not forecasts of 2026 crashes.
Estimated costs also increased
The notice estimates annual labor cost for maintaining accident registers at $1,534,344 and non-labor recordkeeping cost at $99,107. FMCSA assumes about 15 percent of carriers store registers electronically at no extra cost and about 85 percent keep hard copies at their principal place of business. Those assumptions are among the details stakeholders can address in comments.
The current approval expires in March 2027
The information collection carries OMB Control Number 2126-0009 and a listed expiration date of March 31, 2027. FMCSA is seeking renewal before that date. The notice invites comment on whether the collection is necessary, whether the burden estimate is accurate, how the information's quality and usefulness could improve and how burden could be reduced without reducing quality.
Drivers and dispatchers still need a clean handoff
A driver should protect the scene, obtain emergency help, follow carrier instructions and provide accurate facts without speculating about fault. Dispatch or safety staff should determine whether the event meets the federal definition, collect required reports and place the record in the correct retention system. A police report, insurance claim, post-accident drug and alcohol testing decision and accident-register entry are related workflows but not interchangeable.
Carriers can audit the process now
Review the written crash procedure, confirm who owns the accident register and test whether a three-year record can be located quickly. Check that the template captures each element listed in 49 CFR 390.15, that supporting reports are linked to the event and that retention does not end early. Train staff to distinguish immediate emergency actions from later record classification and to preserve factual source documents.
How to comment
Stakeholders may submit comments through Regulations.gov or by the mail, hand-delivery or fax methods listed in the notice. FMCSA asks commenters to identify docket FMCSA-2026-1552, cite the specific portion addressed and explain the reason for each suggestion. Comments become part of a public docket, so submitters should review the notice's privacy warning before including personal information.
Primary-source note
This report is based on Federal Register document 2026-18276, published September 9, 2026, and the current text of 49 CFR 390.15. The notice requests comment on renewing an existing information collection; it does not replace the regulation, amend the federal accident definition or require routine electronic filing of the accident register. The official notice and current regulation control over this summary.
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Official sources
Federal Register: Accident Recordkeeping Requirements, September 9, 202649 CFR 390.15: assistance in investigations and special studiesRegulations.gov docket FMCSA-2026-1552CDL Truck Pro provides educational information. Confirm licensing, safety, tax, and regulatory requirements through current official sources and qualified professionals.