Regulatory Guidance on the Definition of “Principal Place of Business”, 37653-37654 [E9-18142]

Agencies

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37653-37654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18142]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 390


Regulatory Guidance on the Definition of ``Principal Place of 
Business''

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of regulatory guidance.

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SUMMARY: The FMCSA announces regulatory guidance concerning its 
definition of ``principal place of business.'' The regulatory guidance 
is presented in a question-and-answer format and is generally 
applicable to motor carrier operations subject to the Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Regulations. No prior interpretations or regulatory 
guidance concerning the term ``principal place of business,'' whether 
published or unpublished may be relied upon as authoritative if they 
are inconsistent with the guidance published today. This guidance will 
provide the motor carrier industry and Federal, State and local law 
enforcement officials with uniform information for use in determining 
which locations may be designated by a motor carrier as its principal 
place of business.

DATES: Effective Date: This regulatory guidance is effective on August 
12, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Mahorney, Chief, Enforcement 
and Compliance Division, (202) 493-0001. Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 
EST, Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Legal Basis

    The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-554, Title II, 98 
Stat. 2832, October 30, 1984) (the 1984 Act) provides authority to 
regulate drivers, motor carriers, and vehicle equipment. It requires 
the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations on commercial 
motor vehicle safety. The regulations shall prescribe minimum safety 
standards for commercial motor vehicles. At a minimum, the regulations 
shall ensure that--(1) Commercial motor vehicles are maintained, 
equipped, loaded, and operated safely; (2) the responsibilities imposed 
on operators of commercial motor vehicles do not impair their ability 
to operate the vehicles safely; (3) the physical condition of operators 
of commercial motor vehicles is adequate to enable them to operate the 
vehicles safely; and (4) the operation of commercial motor vehicles 
does not have a deleterious effect on the physical condition of the 
operators. (49 U.S.C. 31136(a)). Section 211 of the 1984 Act also 
grants the Secretary broad power, in carrying out motor carrier safety 
statutes and regulations, to ``prescribe recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements'' and to ``perform other acts the Secretary considers 
appropriate.'' (49 U.S.C. 31133(a)(8) and (10)).
    The Administrator of FMCSA has been delegated authority under 49 
CFR 1.73(g) to carry out the functions vested in the Secretary of 
Transportation by 49 U.S.C. chapter 311, subchapters I and III, 
relating to commercial motor vehicle programs and safety regulation.
    This document provides regulatory guidance to the public with 
respect to the definition of ``principal place of business'' in 49 CFR 
390.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
    Members of the motor carrier industry and other interested parties 
may also access the guidance in this document through the FMCSA's 
Internet site at: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
    Specific questions addressing any of the interpretive material 
published in this document should be directed to the contact person 
listed above or the FMCSA Division Office in each State.

Basis for This Guidance

    The regulatory guidance in this notice responds to recurring 
questions FMCSA has received concerning the definition of ``principal 
place of business'' in 49 CFR 390.5: What location may a motor carrier 
designate as its principal place of business?
    Section 390.5 defines principal place of business as ``the single 
location designated by the motor carrier, normally its headquarters, 
for purposes of identification under this subchapter. The motor carrier 
must make records required by parts 382, 387, 390, 391, 395, 396, and 
397 of this subchapter available for inspection at this location within 
48 hours (Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays excluded) after a 
request has been made by a special agent or authorized representative 
of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.''
    The original definition of ``principal place of business'' in Sec.  
390.5 required that the motor carrier designate a single location where 
records required by Parts 387, 391, 394, 395, and 396 would be 
maintained. However, other provisions of the regulations permitted 
certain records to be maintained at other locations. (53 FR 18054). In 
1993, the definition was revised to remove part 394 from the regulatory 
text and to add part 390. (58 FR 33777). In 1995, the definition was 
revised again. However, it still required that the location designated 
by the carrier be a location where records were maintained and 
available for inspection. (60 FR 38744). The current definition of 
``principal place of business'' was adopted in 1998 in order to allow 
motor carriers with multiple terminals and business locations to 
maintain records, such as driver records of duty status or vehicle 
maintenance records, at a location where activity related to the 
records took place rather than at a company's headquarters. The 
definition was revised to accompany a new Sec.  390.29 allowing motor 
carriers with multiple terminals or offices to maintain all records 
required by Subchapter B at regional offices, driver work reporting 
stations or the principal place of business. Nonetheless, it was still 
anticipated that in most cases the ``principal place of business'' 
would also be the company headquarters. (63 FR 33254).
    It has been the position of FMCSA and its predecessor agencies that 
a

[[Page 37654]]

motor carrier's principal place of business is a physical location 
where the motor carrier conducts a significant portion of its business 
and maintains company records and where management reports to work. In 
many instances, the principal place of business identified by a motor 
carrier will be the location where FMCSA conducts a safety audit or 
compliance review pursuant to part 385. For this reason, it is 
necessary to emphasize that the definition of ``principal place of 
business'' has always required that a motor carrier designate a single 
physical location operated, controlled, or owned by the motor carrier 
where the carrier conducts operations relating to the transportation of 
persons or property and where some if not all of the records required 
by parts 382, 387, 390, 391, 395, 396 and 397 are regularly maintained. 
It has long been understood that the principal place of business is the 
location designated by the motor carrier for the purpose of managing 
and administering its safety and regulatory compliance programs. 
Activities conducted at the principal place of business include 
oversight, retention, and retrieval of records required to be 
maintained by the FMCSRs.

Regulatory Guidance

PART 390--FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS; GENERAL

Sections Interpreted

Section 390.5 Definitions

    Question: What location may a motor carrier designate as its 
``principal place of business''?
    Guidance: In instances where a motor carrier has more than one 
terminal or office, the regulations do not explicitly place a 
restriction on which location a motor carrier may designate as its 
principal place of business. The definition states that such a location 
is ``normally'' the carrier's headquarters; the rule does not require 
motor carriers to use the company's corporate headquarters as its 
principal place of business. However, motor carriers are limited to 
using an actual place of business of the motor carrier. Moreover, a 
motor carrier may designate as its principal place of business only 
locations that contain offices of the motor carrier's senior-most 
management executives, management officials or employees responsible 
for the administration, management and oversight of safety operations 
and compliance with the FMCSRs and Hazardous Materials Regulations. In 
determining its principal place of business a motor carrier must 
consider the following factors: (a) The relative importance of the 
activities performed at each location, and, if this factor is not 
determinative, then (b) time spent at each location by motor carrier 
management or corporate officers.
    FMCSA authorized representatives will use the above two factors in 
determining whether a motor carrier has designated an appropriate 
location as its principal place of business. In addition, FMCSA may 
also consider whether the location is operated, controlled or owned by 
the motor carrier, whether operations relating to the transportation of 
persons or property regularly take place at the designated location, 
whether any of the employees of the motor carrier regularly report to 
the location for duty, whether any leased or owned vehicles of the 
company are maintained on the premises, and whether any of the records 
required by parts 382, 387, 390, 391, 395, 396 and 397 are maintained 
on the premises. In the event a carrier does not designate a qualifying 
location as its principal place of business, FMCSA may initiate 
appropriate enforcement action or take action regarding the carrier's 
USDOT registration.
    A motor carrier with multiple business locations may maintain some 
records at locations of the motor carrier other than, or in addition 
to, its principal place of business. However, after a request has been 
made by an FMCSA authorized representative, a motor carrier with 
multiple business locations must make records required by parts 382, 
387, 390, 391, 395, 396 and 397 available for inspection at the 
principal place of business or other location specified by the special 
agent or authorized representative within 48 hours. Pursuant to Sec.  
390.29, ``Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays are excluded from 
the computation of the 48-hour period of time.'' A motor carrier with a 
single business location must make records required by parts 382, 387, 
390, 391, 395, 396 and 397 available upon request.
    A motor carrier may not designate as its principal place of 
business any location where the motor carrier is not engaged in 
business operations related to the transportation of persons or 
property. For example, post office box centers or commercial courier 
service establishments that receive and hold mail or packages for third 
party pickup may not be designated a ``principal place of business'' 
(other than by the courier service provider itself). A motor carrier 
may not designate the office of a consultant, service agent, or 
attorney as the motor carrier's principal place of business if the 
motor carrier is not engaged in operations related to the 
transportation of persons or property at that location.
    Question: May a motor carrier with a single business location, 
including a private residence, designate a different location as its 
``principal place of business''?
    Guidance: No. The definition of ``principal place of business'' in 
49 CFR 390.5 allows a carrier with multiple terminals or offices to 
designate a single terminal or office as its primary business location 
for identification purposes. Consistent with this definition, a motor 
carrier with a single place of business may designate only its actual 
place of business as the ``principal place of business.'' 
Notwithstanding this restriction, a motor carrier and an authorized 
representative of FMCSA may agree that a compliance review or other 
investigation of a motor carrier will be conducted at a mutually 
acceptable location other than the motor carrier's principal place of 
business.

    Issued on: July 24, 2009.
 Terry Shelton,
Acting Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-18142 Filed 7-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P