About
The Commission provides two options for making payment for services – electronic and by check. Some Commission services, such as Freedom of Information Act requests must be paid after the request has been processed and the requester receives an FMC invoice for the actual services rendered. However, most Commission services can be paid without an invoice when you submit a filing, application, or request for service.
The first section of the table below lists Commission fees by service that can be paid (either electronically or by check) at the time you submit a filing, application, or request for service, and provides a link to the Pay.gov portal where you can make your electronic payment.
Instructions for Paying Electronically
Electronic payment options include debit/credit card and Automated Clearing House (ACH), in which your payment is debited from your checking or savings account. These options are available using Pay.gov. Please review our list of fees below to identify the fees for these services associated with your filling. Select the Pay for Services link below to start the payment process.
Fees by Service (no invoice needed)
| Requests for Commission Action | Fees |
| Petition for Declaratory Orders –46 CFR § 502.93(a)(3) | $450.00 |
| Petitions, General – 46 CFR § 502.94 | $450.00 |
| Petition for relief from conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade of the U.S. – 46 CFR § 550.402 | $450.00 |
| Petition for investigation to determine the existence of adverse conditions affecting U.S. Flag carriers that do not exist for foreign carriers in the U.S. – 46 CFR § 555.4(a) | $450.00 |
| Petition for relief from conditions unduly impacting access of U.S. Flag vessels to ocean trade between foreign ports – 46 CFR § 560.3(a)(2) | $450.00 |
| Non-Attorney Admission to Practice – 46 CFR § 503.50(d)(e) & 46 CFR § 502.27 | $229.00 |
| Private Party Complaints for Formal Adjudication – 46 CFR § 502.62(a)(6) & 46 CFR § 502.182 | $387.00 |
| Special Docket Application for permission to refund or waive freight charges – 46 CFR § 502.271(d)(5) | $187.00 |
| Informal Procedures for Adjudication of Small Claims – 46 CFR § 502.304(b) | $176.00 |
| Services for Ocean Transport Intermediaries | Fees |
| Electronic Application for License – 46 CFR § 515.5(c)(2)(i) | $1,304.00 |
| Electronic Application for Status Change or License Transfer – 46 CFR § 515.5(c)(2)(ii) | $943.00 |
| Tariffs and Service Contracts for Common Carriers | Fees |
| Application for Special Permission to establish rate increases or decreases on less than statutory notice – 46 CFR § 520.14(c)(1) | $394.00 |
| Request for Correction of Clerical Errors on Service Contracts – 46 CFR § 530.10(c) | $0.00 |
| Agreements and Filings For Ocean Common Carriers and Marine Terminal Operators – 46 CFR § 535.401(g)(h) | Fees |
| New Agreement Requiring Commission Review | $3,980.00 |
| Agreement Amendments Requiring Commission Review | $4,637.00 |
| Agreement Filing Review under Delegated Authority | $1,174.00 |
| Carrier Exempt Agreement Filing | $343.00 |
| Terminal Exempt Agreement Filing | $96.00 |
| Expedited Review Request – 46 CFR § 535.401(h) & 46 CFR § 535.605 | $151.00 |
| Passenger Vessel Operators Certificates of Performance and Casualty | Fees |
| Certificate of Financial Responsibility for Indemnification of Passengers for Nonperformance of Transportation (Performance) – 46 CFR § 540.4(e) | $4,936.00 |
| Addition or Substitution of Vessel to a Certificate (Performance) | $2,400.00 |
| Certificate of Financial Responsibility to Meet Liability Incurred for Death or Injury to Passengers or Other Persons on Voyages (Casualty) – 46 CFR § 540.23(b) | $2,080.00 |
| Addition or Substitution of Vessel (Casualty) | $1,013.00 |
| Agreements and Filings For Ocean Common Carriers and Marine Terminal Operators – 46 CFR § 535.401(g)(h)Agreements and Filings For Ocean Common Carriers and Marine Terminal Operators – 46 CFR § 535.401(g)(h) | Fees |
| See the List of Licensed and Bonded OTIs page to download the OTI List for free. | N/A |
Fees by Service (invoice needed)
Commission materials that are available for public inspection and copying are billed by invoice. Public records fall into two categories:
- Records, Information and Materials Generally Available to the Public Without Resort to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Procedures – 46 CFR §§ 503.21 to 503.22
- Requests for Records Under FOIA – 46 CFR §§ 503.31 to 503.34
Records Generally Available to the Public
| Document Search and Duplication Requests | Fees |
| Full Direct Costs of Document Search | $41/hr for clerical/admin personnel time $82/hr for professional/executive personnel time $41 minimum charge for records search |
| Duplication of documents by requester | $0.10 per page $8.00 minimum charge |
| Duplication of documents by FMC | $0.10 per page, $8.00 minimum charge $41/hr for personnel time $41 minimum charge |
| Document Search and Duplication Requests | Fees |
| Full Direct Costs of Document Search | $41/hr for clerical/admin personnel time $82/hr for professional/executive personnel time $41 minimum charge for records search |
| Duplication of documents by requester | $0.10 per page $8.00 minimum charge |
| Duplication of documents by FMC | $0.10 per page, $8.00 minimum charge $41/hr for personnel time $41 minimum charge |
FOIA Requests
| Commercial FOIA Requests | Fees |
| Full Direct Costs of Document Search | $41/hr for clerical/admin personnel time $82/hr for professional/executive personnel time $41 minimum charge for records search |
| Full Direct Cost of Review by FOIA Staff | $109/hr |
| Duplication of documents by FOIA requester | $0.10 per page $8.00 minimum charge |
| Duplication of documents by FMC | $0.10 per page, $8.00 minimum charge $41/hr for personnel time $41 minimum charge |
| Educational Institution, Non-Comercial Scientific Institution, and News Media FOIA Requests | Fees |
| No Charge for Document Search or Review | N/A |
| Duplication of documents by FOIA requester | $0.10 per page $8.00 minimum Charge (First 100 pages free) |
| Duplication of documents by FMC | $0.10 per page, $8.00 minimum Charge (First 100 pages free) $41/hr for personnel time $41 minimum charge |
| All Other FOIA Requests | Fees |
| Direct Cost of Search minus the first 2 hours | $41/hr for clerical/admin personnel time $82/hr for professional/executive personnel time $41minimum charge for records search after the first 2 hours |
| No charge for Review by the FOIA Staff | N/A |
| Duplication of documents by FOIA requester | $0.10 per page $8.00 minimum Charge (First 100 pages free) |
| Duplication of documents by FMC | $0.10 per page, $8.00 minimum Charge (First 100 pages free) $41/hr for personnel time $41 minimum charge |
Requests for Publicly Available Information
| Other Document Charges | Fees |
| Validation of Documents – 46 CFR § 503.50(c)(4) & 46 CFR § 503.69(b)(2) | $107.00 |
Paying by Check: Notice to Customers
Authorization to Convert Your Check
If you send us a check to make your payment, your check will be converted into an electronic fund transfer. Electronic fund transfer is the term used to refer to the process in which we electronically instruct your financial institution to transfer funds from your account to our account, rather than processing your check. By sending your completed, signed check to us, you authorize us to scan your check and to use the account information from your check to make an electronic fund transfer from your account for the same amount as the check. If the electronic fund transfer cannot be processed for technical reasons, you authorize us to process the scanned copy of your check.
Transaction Information
The electronic fund transfer from your account will be on the account statement you receive from your financial institution. However, the transfer may be in a different place on your statement than the place where your checks normally appear. For example, it may appear under other withdrawals or other transactions. You will not receive your original check back from your financial institution. For security reasons, we will destroy your original check, but we will keep the scanned copy of the check for record keeping purposes.
Your Rights
You should contact your financial institution immediately if you believe that the electronic fund transfer reported on your account statement was not properly authorized or is otherwise incorrect. Consumers have protections under a Federal law called the Electronic Fund Transfer Act for an unauthorized or incorrect electronic fund transfer.