(a) For-hire, non-exempt motor carriers of passengers are grouped into the following two classes:

Class I—Carriers having average annual gross transportation operating revenues (including interstate and intrastate) of $5 million or more from passenger motor carrier operations after applying the revenue deflator formula as shown in the Note.

Class II—Carriers having average annual gross transportation operating revenues (including interstate or intrastate) of less than $5 million from passenger motor carrier operations after applying the revenue deflator formula as shown in the Note.

(b)(1) The class to which any carrier belongs shall be determined by annual carrier operating revenues after applying the revenue deflator formula as shown in the Note. Upward and downward reclassification will be effective as of January 1 of the year immediately following the third consecutive year of revenue qualification.

(2) Any carrier which begins new operations (obtains operating authority not previously held) or extends its existing authority (obtains additional operating rights) shall be classified in accordance with a reasonable estimate of its annual carrier operating revenues after applying the revenue deflator formula shown in the Note.

(3) When a business combination occurs, such as a merger, reorganization, or consolidation, the surviving carrier shall be reclassified effective as of January 1 of the next calendar year on the basis of the combined revenues for the year when the combination occurred after applying the revenue deflator formula shown in the Note.

(4) Carriers shall notify the FMCSA of any change in classification or when their annual operating revenues exceed the Class II limit by writing to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at the address in § 369.6. In unusual circumstances where the classification regulations and reporting requirements will unduly burden the carrier, the carrier may request from the FMCSA a waiver from these regulations. This request shall be in writing specifying the conditions justifying the waiver. The FMCSA then shall notify carriers of any change in classification or reporting requirements.

(c) For classification purposes, the FMCSA shall publish in the Federal Register annually an index number which shall be used for adjusting gross annual operating revenues. The index number (deflator) is based on the Producer Price Index of Finished Goods and is used to eliminate the effects of inflation from the classification process.