Companies that operate commercial vehicles transporting passengers or hauling cargo in interstate commerce must be registered with the FMCSA and must have a USDOT Number. Also, commercial intrastate hazardous materials carriers who haul types and quantities requiring a safety permit must register for a USDOT Number.

FMCSA operating authority is also referred to as an “MC,” “FF,” or “MX” number, depending on the type of authority that is granted. Unlike the USDOT Number application process, a company may need to obtain multiple operating authorities to support its planned business operations. Operating Authority dictates the type of operation a company may run and the cargo it may carry.

In general, companies that do the following are required to have interstate operating authority (MC number) in addition to a DOT number:

• Operating as for-hire carriers (for a fee or other compensation)
• Transporting passengers, or arranging for their transport, in interstate commerce
• Transporting federally regulated commodities or arranging for their transport, in interstate commerce

FMCSA operating authority is also referred to as an “MC,” “FF,” or “MX” number, depending on the type of authority that is granted. Unlike the USDOT Number application process, a company may need to obtain multiple operating authorities to support its planned business operations. Operating Authority dictates the type of operation a company may run and the cargo it may carry.

In general, companies that do the following are required to have interstate operating authority (MC number) in addition to a DOT number:

• Operating as for-hire carriers (for a fee or other compensation)
• Transporting passengers, or arranging for their transport, in interstate commerce
• Transporting federally regulated commodities or arranging for their transport, in interstate commerce

FMCSA requires all drivers operating under DOT# to update their information every two years based on the last two digits of their DOT#. The last digit determines a month it has to be filed on and the next-to-last digit determines if the year is odd or even. Exemple: for DOT 123456 the update has to be filed in June (6) on all odd numbered years (5).

Any time a carrier or other regulated entity changes its address, or other details in their record, they should update their information and operating authority record with FMCSA in a timely manner. If you changed your address you need to fill out the MC # ADDRESS CHANGE form.

You may change the name of your company by submitting MC # NAME CHANGE -PLEASE NOTE: If you change the name associated with your US DOT number, it is not automatically changed on your MC number as well. If you change the name associated with your MC number, however, the name is also changed for your US DOT number

Allows you to Transfer full ownership of the existing owner to a new owner. The person transferring their operating authority needs to sign and submit an MCS-150 form and check “out of business” in the “reason for filing” section.

If your operating authority is not active, you need to request reinstatement of the motor carrier operating authority (to make it active).

A Department of Transportation number is a number that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA assigns to registered commercial vehicles.

If you no longer operate vehicles that requiring you to have a USDOT number you must file an MCS-150 form to deactivate your USDOT number.
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The DOT number will not expire, Therefore you must deactivate it.

Many Owner operators and small trucking companies have had their authority revoked through no fault of their own. When a business owner pays their insurance premium on time, but their insurance company fails to file the proper documents with FMCSA, the business owner typically loses the authority to operate.

The U.S. Department of Transportation defines vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as “the total annual miles of vehicle travel divided by the total population in a state or in an urbanized area.” The DOT notes that federal data has some limitations, using only 4,000 automatic traffic recorders across the country.

The following categories are subject to UCR fees under the law if they conduct interstate commerce in the United States:

• Motor carriers of property, both for-hire and private, whether or not they are considered exempt carriers for purposes of federal regulation
• For-hire passenger motor carriers
• Freight forwarders
• Brokers
• Leasing companies that lease vehicles without drivers to interstate motor carriers or freight forwarders

How is Interstate Commerce Defined?

Interstate commerce refers to the movement of goods or passengers across state lines or across the borders of the U.S. This includes movements of goods or passengers across state or national boundaries, but also a movement entirely within a state when that movement is the beginning or continuation of a movement across a state or national border.

A BOC-3, or ‘Blanket of Coverage’, is a form which is required of individuals or companies in the transportation industry in order to show proof of a designated legal agent to whom process may be served. This means that the individual or company in question has a designated contact in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia that is authorized to handle legal documents on behalf of the company or individual. The FMCSA and other agencies in the United States require the form in order to grant operating authority.

The United States Congress recognized the need for a drug and alcohol-free transportation industry, and in 1991 passed the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act, requiring DOT agencies to implement drug and alcohol testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees.