If your petroleum business ships or transports hazardous materials, you’re required by federal law to register and pay an annual fee to The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA. When you complete these steps, PHMSA provides you with an official certificate of authority to operate in intrastate and interstate commerce.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated workplace restrictions, the processing of applications is expected to take longer than usual. That’s especially true when it comes to paper HAZMAT registration forms. To speed up the application process and prevent hiccups, PHMSA has set up an online portal for annual HAZMAT registrations. The portal opened May 1 and will remain open until July 1.
Two months might seem like a significant amount of time, but July will be here before you know it. If possible, download, fill out and submit your form within the next week. Moving quickly will help limit processing delays and ensure you’re registered before it’s too late.
To get started, click here.
Unsure if you need to register? Look at your last registration certificate for the “date of renewal.” If you’ve misplaced it, you can check your registration status by visiting PHMSA’s online portal. The registration look-up function makes it easy to enter your personal information. Once you do, an algorithm will let you know if your registration is due for renewal. PHMSA allows multi-year registration, so it’s possible you don’t even need to worry. Even so, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you don’t renew (and it was time to) you might be hit with a series of expensive penalties or fines.
Do you still have questions? We’ve answered a few of the most common below:
1.) Who must register and pay the fee? HAZMAT Transporters and Offerors. I.e., “Any business (intrastate or interstate) shipping hazardous materials requiring a U.S. DOT placard must register and pay a fee.” Or “Any business that offers a hazardous material for transportation in commerce – energy marketers using common carriers are offerors and must register.”
2.) Do I really have to register? If you fail to acquire your HAZMAT registration certificate before the July 1 deadline, you’ll lose the authority to operate your trucks in both intrastate and interstate commerce. If one of your drivers is pulled over without a certificate, your authority to operate will be revoked and you’ll face a potential civil penalty of up to $75,000.
If you still have questions or need additional information, click here to view the Energy Marketers of America Regulatory Compliance Bulletin.