How do you get a USDOT and MC number?
A USDOT number identifies your vehicles in FMCSA safety records and is free. It is required once a vehicle meets the federal definition of a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce: a gross vehicle or combination weight of 10,001 lbs or more, rating or actual; the passenger thresholds; or hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards. An MC number is your interstate operating authority to haul regulated freight for hire, and it requires a filing fee, a BOC-3, and proof of insurance before it activates. You apply through Motus, FMCSA's registration system, which replaces both the Unified Registration System and the FMCSA Portal. FMCSA's own estimate for a new application is 20–25 business days, and protests are due within 10 days of your application appearing in the FMCSA Register.
How to get your USDOT and MC number
Decide which numbers you need
A USDOT number is required once your vehicle meets the federal definition of a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce: a gross vehicle or combination weight — rating or actual, whichever is greater — of 10,001 lbs or more, or a vehicle designed or used to carry more than 8 passengers including the driver for compensation, or more than 15 including the driver without compensation, or one carrying hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards. Hauling regulated freight for hire across state lines usually adds MC operating authority, with real exceptions — exempt commodities, and operations wholly inside a federally defined commercial zone. Intrastate-only carriers in some states, like Florida, may have separate state requirements instead.
Register with the FMCSA
Apply through Motus, FMCSA's registration system. Motus replaces both the Unified Registration System (URS) and the FMCSA Portal: FMCSA opened it to supporting companies — BOC-3 blanket filers and insurance filers among them — on 8 December 2025, planned general availability for the second quarter of 2026, and has said the current URS will be disabled. Start there rather than at a URS login. You provide your business details, vehicle and driver counts, and cargo classifications. The USDOT number is issued at no cost.
Apply for operating authority (MC)
For-hire carriers of regulated commodities file for MC authority and pay the FMCSA operating-authority fee (currently $300 per authority type). This is the step that separates for-hire carriers from private ones.
File your BOC-3 and insurance
Before authority activates, you must have a BOC-3 (process agents in every state) on file and the required liability insurance — typically $750,000 to $1,000,000 — filed with FMCSA by your insurer.
Clear the vetting period
Your application is published in the FMCSA Register and protests are due within 10 days of that; FMCSA's own estimate for the application as a whole is 20–25 business days. Once active, you can legally operate for hire in interstate commerce.
Keep it compliant
After activation, keep your MCS-150 updated every two years, maintain UCR registration, and stay current on insurance so your authority isn't revoked. Your MCS-150 month is not a date you pick — it is read off the USDOT number itself: the last digit sets the month (1 is January, on through 9 for September, and 0 is October) and the second-to-last decides whether you file in odd or even years.
Common questions
Is a USDOT number free?
Yes — the FMCSA issues USDOT numbers at no cost. The paid step is MC operating authority, which carries the FMCSA filing fee (currently $300 per authority type) plus your BOC-3 and insurance.
How long does it take to get MC authority?
FMCSA's own estimate is 20–25 business days for a new application — four to five weeks — and it can run eight weeks or more beyond that if the agency pulls the application for further review. Protests are due within 10 days of publication in the FMCSA Register. Your BOC-3 and insurance must be on file before authority can activate, so those are the parts worth having ready.
Do I need both a USDOT and an MC number?
They answer different questions. A USDOT number is required once the vehicle meets the federal commercial-motor-vehicle definition in interstate commerce — 10,001 lbs or more gross vehicle or combination weight, rating or actual, whichever is greater; more than 8 passengers including the driver for compensation, or more than 15 including the driver without compensation; or hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards. An MC number is separate: it is the operating authority to haul regulated freight for hire across state lines. Private carriers moving their own goods, and for-hire carriers of exempt commodities, hold the USDOT number without MC authority — and an exempt for-hire carrier is still fully subject to the safety regulations.
Can I operate before my authority is active?
No. Hauling regulated freight for hire before your MC authority is active — or without the required insurance and BOC-3 on file — exposes you to fines and out-of-service orders.
What happened to URS — is that still where I apply?
No — FMCSA is retiring it. In a Federal Register notice of 29 April 2026 the agency announced Motus, its new USDOT registration system, said Motus replaces both URS and the FMCSA Portal, and said the current URS will be disabled. Phase I opened on 8 December 2025 to supporting companies — BOC-3 blanket filers and insurance and surety filers among them — and general availability to all regulated entities was planned for the second quarter of 2026. FMCSA's plan is for new applications, biennial MCS-150 updates, authority changes and BOC-3 filings all to run through Motus; Phase I already put the BOC-3 blanket filers and the insurance filers there. Your existing USDOT and MC numbers are unaffected — what changed is where you file, not what you hold.
Sources
- 49 CFR § 360.3T — the $300 application fee, charged per type of authority
- 49 CFR § 365.115 — protests against an application — due within 10 days of publication in the FMCSA Register
- 49 CFR § 387.9 — the minimum financial responsibility amounts, including the $750,000 for general freight
- FMCSA — Get an MC Number — FMCSA's own processing estimate for a new registration
- FMCSA — Move into Motus — the registration system that replaces URS and the FMCSA Portal
- FMCSA — Do I Need a USDOT Number? — FMCSA's own page for the weight test, including that it counts the rating or the actual weight, whichever is greater
- Federal Register — Availability of Motus, FMCSA's New Registration System — FMCSA's own notice, 29 April 2026: Motus replaces URS and the FMCSA Portal, Phase I on 8 December 2025, general availability planned for the second quarter of 2026
Updated
This guide is general information about US federal and state transportation regulation — it is not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not make you our client. Rules change, and how one applies depends on your own operation: check anything you intend to rely on against the primary source above, or call us and we will check it with you.