Updates dotGrants, Publication 9 

The state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) sent out 2027 municipal estimates for Liquid Fuels and Turnback allocations in late September. Estimates are based on Liquid Fuels taxes collected by the commonwealth for the first three quarters of 2026. If you did not receive your township’s estimate or have questions, reach out to your PennDOT Financial Consultant, which can be found here. Note that if your county’s Financial Consultant position is vacant, you may reach out to the consultant in another county.  

In preparation for annual reports due in January 2027, township officials should be sure to log onto PennDOT’s new dotGrants system and ensure access well in advance. This is where township officials will file their MS-965 and supporting reports. If you have trouble accessing the new site (and you likely will until the bugs get worked out), contact your PennDOT Financial Consultant from the link above. The dotGrants system can be accessed here: https://liquidfuels.penndot.pa.gov/. 

PennDOT has also announced that Publication 9, Policies and Procedures for the Administration of County and Municipal Liquid Fuels Taxes, was recently updated. If you are using a printed manual, the current version is dated 10-26 on the lower right side of the cover. You can access the updated manual here. Note that additional updates were made in December 2025 and previous versions of the manual should be discarded. Updates include multiple clarifications to Chapter 3, Local Bridges; addition of ADA curb ramps to criteria to determine when project approval is needed; and additional notes to appendices K and L. If you have questions about these updates, reach out to your PennDOT Municipal Services representatives.