The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has moved its freight broker transparency proposal to the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, restarting a rulemaking that has been idle since 2024. The agency transmitted the supplemental rulemaking on Aug. 27. Review at that office can run up to 90 days, after which the rule may be published in the Federal Register or sent back to FMCSA for more work.
The original proposal, published in 2024, would require brokers to keep transaction records in electronic form and would clarify that motor carriers are entitled to that information within 48 hours of requesting it. FMCSA extended the public comment period in 2025 and never issued a final rule. The supplemental filing signals that the agency is weighing changes to the earlier text, and it would open another comment period if the review clears.
Industry groups remain divided. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association asked that records be sent automatically inside the 48 hour window without requiring a carrier request, and it asked the agency to bar contract provisions that waive carrier access rights. The Transportation Intermediaries Association opposes the proposal, calling it rate intrusion that does not suit the modern freight marketplace, and it has urged FMCSA to concentrate on freight fraud, which the group says costs the US supply chain more than $1 billion a year. American Trucking Associations filed comments against the changes in 2025.
Carriers and brokers now wait on the review outcome, which will determine whether the record access requirements advance to a second round of public comment.
Source: Transport Topics - https://www.ttnews.com/articles/fmcsa-3pl-transparency-2026