Significance of Process Agent:

Finance transactions and legal documentation procedures always require assistance. If you want to work on finance agreements, you need to appoint an agent to get your legal process done. That legally authorized person is known as a process agent. The role and value of the process agent should be understood by all the parties involved in the deal. They should be aware of the appointment method of the process agent and their responsibilities. When it comes to the transport industry, there are some rules and regulations that should be followed by any of the companies dealing with motor carriers, freight forwarders, or brokers of transport companies. One of the main legal processes required for running a logistic company is hiring a process agent as mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Service Administration (FMCSA). This article highlights the importance of FMCSA process agents, their roles, responsibilities, and implications in the logistics or transport industry.

Who is the FMCSA Process Agent?

The FMCSA process is agent is a representative who deals with all the legal matters and proceeds with all the court papers served against the broker, motor carrier, or freight forwarder. The process agent is required for each of the states in which that particular logistics or transport company or individual logistics or trucking will process. In early times, the process agent was designated only for the hire carriers. The brokers are required to process in a particular state or should be authorized to work in multiple states. There is a regulation set by the FMCSA to designate the process agent. FMCSA regulates the law of process agent designation in 49 CFR Part 366. The law was revised on 17 January 2017 by the FMCSA. FMCSA published a detail on the suspension of the Unified Registration System effectiveness in the Federal Register Notice.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The FMCSA process agent is also known as the BOC-3 process agent. BOC-3 is a legal form known as Blanket of Coverage or Designation of Agents for Service of Process. The process agent is required to fill out the BOC-3 form to get legal authorization to operate in the particular desired states. That form is comprised of the name, address, and identification of the process agent, who will process all other legal regulations. You can designate the process agent for single or multiple states, that person should be legal in those states. The FMCSA process agent acts as an intermediary between the court and motor carrier to deal with legal matters. The agent works as a legal channel between the carrier and the court. The agent is required to receive all the summons and legal papers from the court and hand them over to the carrier. The process agent is also known as the SOP agent. The process agent is required to be physically present in the state where the logistic business operates.

Selection of Process Agent:

The broker, motor carrier, or freight forwarder can act as his own process agent but within the state of residency. The person must have the official living address of the place where the company resides. But if you are about to select the process agent then there are some considerations that should be followed.

• That person should be aware of dealing with legal matters.
• The designated agent must be a true and trustworthy person.
• The person should be a professional in the transportation industry.
• That person must be required to go beyond the statutory requirements.
• The agent must be updated with tools, alerts, and compliance rules and regulations.
• The registered agent should be trained and in service with the transportation industry.
• He must have a proper service charge plan and should not apply additional service charges.
• That person should have an idea of handling and proceeding with legal and official documents.

Final Words:

The FMCSA process agent works as a middleman between the legal proceedings and the motor carrier. This helps the company to deal with all the regulatory bodies and proceed with official documentation without hassle. The process agent saves you time and stress in understanding legal matters. By designating the process agent, the company not meet only legal obligations but also keeps them updated and navigated with the new decisions and policies of the transportation industry. The FMCSA agent will make your motors and trucks operate in the desired states. Professional FMCSA process agent charges on an annual basis.