CUA Annual Reporting and Management Fees

Annual Report Form

The annual report form collects information on the number of clients, trips, and revenue earned from the CUA holder’s operations in the park for the operating year (January through December).

• All CUA holders are required to submit an annual report, NPS Form 10-660, by February 28th following the operating year. For 2026 operators, the annual report will be hosted on the CUA Online Application and Reporting System (COARS).
• The 2026 Annual Report form will be available on the COARS website.
• A separate annual report is required for each CUA.
• An annual report is required even if no revenue was earned during the operating year.
• Towing and Automotive Service and Water Access CUA holders are not required to pay management fees but must still submit an annual report.

Management Fees

 

Fee Authorization

The authority for the NPS to recover and retain costs associated with managing CUAs can found at 54 U.S.C. 101925 (PL 105-391 Sec 418(2)(A)).

(2) Elements of commercial use authorization. — The Secretary shall—  

(A) require payment of a reasonable fee for issuance of a commercial use authorization, the fees to remain available without further appropriation to be used, at a minimum, to recover associated management and administrative costs;

The above stated law gives the NPS the authority to collect fees for issuing an authorization to provide services to visitors. The NPS bases fee amounts on a determination of what is “reasonable”. Once collected, the NPS uses the fees first to pay for the costs incurred for administrative and management costs associated with that activity. Beyond that, the NPS must look to other sources to determine what constitutes a reasonable fee. Yellowstone National Park collects these management fees on a yearly basis from CUA holders.

 

Management fees at Yellowstone National Park are based on a percentage of the gross receipts earned for authorized commercial activities conducted in the park during the operating year. Management fees are required for the following CUAs:

• Avalanche Safety Courses, Bicycle Tours, Motorized Boating, Non-Motorized Boating, Overnight Backcountry Trips, Stream & Shoreline Fishing, Guided Interpretive Tours, Painting & Photography Instruction, and Skiing/Snowshoeing Tours.

Management Fees are calculated using the amount reported under Gross Receipts (question 8) on the NPS 10-660 Form.

• “Gross receipts” represents the total amount of all revenues received from services CUA holder is permitted to offer within Yellowstone National Park. Services conducted outside Yellowstone National Park should not be included when calculating gross receipts.
• The percentage of gross receipts for Services will be calculated by:
  • Businesses with gross annual receipts of $250,000 or less will pay 3% of their gross receipts.
  • Businesses will pay 4% of gross receipts for amounts between $250,001 to $500,000, this is in addition to the 3% for gross receipts under $250,000 listed above.
  • Businesses will pay 5% of gross receipts for the amount of gross receipts over $500,000.01; this is in addition to the amounts listed above.
• The $300 application fee is a mandatory, one-time, non-refundable fee submitted when applying for a CUA. The application fee is credited toward the determined management fee due for each activity during the Annual Report submittal process.