CarrierScrub
How do I check if a DOT number is active?
Enter the USDOT number above. The result states whether FMCSA shows active operating authority, whether a revocation is pending against it, and whether the insurance on file meets the amount FMCSA requires, all from the carrier's FMCSA record: its current Motus record where FMCSA has one, and otherwise FMCSA's legacy file, which FMCSA stopped updating on 14 May 2026. The result says which record it used and that record's date. Active authority with no other flags is a GO.
To read the raw record yourself, FMCSA offers two public tools. Motus, the registration system that replaced URS and the FMCSA Portal in May 2026, has a public search of an entity's registration record. The older SAFER Company Snapshot still shows the USDOT registration status and the operating-authority status side by side. Both are free; SAFER says its snapshot is available "one carrier at a time" and "free of charge."
You can also ask FMCSA directly. Its Contact Center, 1-800-832-5660, handles "anything related to FMCSA safety and operating authority registration, including USDOT and Motor Carrier (MC) Docket Numbers," from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm Eastern Monday to Friday and 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Eastern on Saturday.
What does each DOT number status mean?
A carrier has two different statuses, and confusing them is the most common mistake in a status check.
| Status | Where it appears | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT status: Active | SAFER snapshot, Motus | The registration record is current. Says nothing about for-hire authority or insurance. |
| USDOT status: Inactive | SAFER snapshot, Motus | SAFER: "biennial update of MCS-150 data not completed." The record lapsed; a company that reported itself out of business also shows inactive. |
| USDOT status: Out-of-service | SAFER snapshot, Motus | SAFER: the "carrier is under any type of out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate." The snapshot shows the date of the earliest order. |
| Operating authority: Active | Motus, SAFER snapshot, CarrierScrub | FMCSA has granted for-hire authority and it is in force. Required to move freight for hire across state lines. |
| Operating authority: Not authorized / Inactive | Motus, SAFER snapshot, CarrierScrub | Never granted, voluntarily revoked, or involuntarily revoked, most often for an insurance lapse. SAFER notes that not authorized "does not apply to Private or Intrastate operations." CarrierScrub: STOP. |
| Revocation: pending | FMCSA revocation records, CarrierScrub | FMCSA's revocation file shows an order against this authority. This can be on file before the authority's own status flag changes, so it does not by itself mean the authority is inactive. CarrierScrub: CAUTION. |
| Insurance below required or cancellation filed | Motus insurance filings, CarrierScrub | Coverage on file is under the required minimum (STOP) or the insurer has filed a future-dated cancellation (CAUTION). |
An active USDOT number with no active operating authority is a carrier that can legally operate its own trucks for its own freight, but cannot legally haul yours for hire.
Four carriers that all read Active on SAFER
Each of these showed USDOT status Active and for-hire authority on its SAFER Company Snapshot, information as of 22 September 2026. Three of them still carry a finding that the status alone does not show.
SAFER shows 4 of 4 Active; CarrierScrub finds 1 GO, 1 CAUTION and 2 STOP.
| Carrier | SAFER snapshot | CarrierScrub | FMCSA filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Werner Enterprises Inc | Active | GO | Authority active, no revocation on file, cover meets the requirement. |
| AVI Trucking LLC | Active | CAUTION | Involuntary suspension notice served 9 September 2026, taking effect 9 October 2026. |
| Iron Horse Trucking LLC | Active | STOP | Liability cover on file is $750,000 against a required $1,000,000. |
| Evergreen Trading Co LLC | Active | STOP | Broker authority, no active motor carrier authority, so it cannot haul the load itself. |
Each carrier's page shows its current record, which may have moved since these dates. None of these findings says anything about why; each is a fact FMCSA published.
Which FMCSA status means you can't book?
Ten entries as FMCSA's records print them. Sort each one: book the carrier, check first, or don't book. Take each fact on its own, as if nothing else were on the record.
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Status 1 of 10
Motus Carrier dataset · op_auth_status
PendingThe carrier's only operating authority. On 9 October 2026, 23,255 authority rows in Motus read Pending.
Answer
STOPDon't book. CarrierScrub reason: Operating authority not active.
Pending is an application, not a grant. FMCSA publishes it in the FMCSA Register, allows a protest period, and grants the authority only once the BOC-3 process agent and proof of insurance are on file. CarrierScrub counts a status of Active, and nothing else, as active authority, so Pending, Inactive and Withdrawn all read STOP.
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Status 2 of 10
Motus Carrier dataset · op_auth_status
ActiveMotor Carrier of Property (Except Household Goods). Liability cover on file meets the requirement. Nothing else on file.
Answer
GOBook. No CAUTION or STOP reason on the result.
Active authority, enough cover and nothing pending is the whole definition of GO. Active on its own is not: every other string in this quiz can sit beside an Active status.
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Status 3 of 10
Motus suspension notices · order1_type_desc
Operating Authority Involuntary Suspension NoticeServed three weeks ago, takes effect in nine days. The authority itself still reads Active.
Answer
CAUTIONCheck first. CarrierScrub reason: Revocation pending.
The notice is on file before the authority's status changes, so the carrier is still authorized today. The result shows the date served, the date it takes effect and the days left. Once the effective date passes, the same notice reads STOP: suspension took effect.
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Status 4 of 10
SAFER Company Snapshot · USDOT Status
OUT-OF-SERVICEMotus still lists the carrier's operating authority as Active.
Answer
STOPDon't book. CarrierScrub reason: Federal out-of-service order.
SAFER's legend says the carrier "is under any type of out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate." An order in force bars the carrier whatever its authority record says, and Motus goes on listing many of these carriers as Active, which is why the authority status alone missed them.
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Status 5 of 10
Motus authority history · reason
Reinstated - insurance coverage restoredStatus Active again. Liability cover on file meets the requirement. Nothing else on file.
Answer
GOBook. No CAUTION or STOP reason on the result.
A revocation that has been cured is history, not a finding. The verdict reads the record as it stands, and the result shows the reinstatement date beside it so you can see the history. On 9 October 2026, 708 authority-history rows in Motus carried this exact reason.
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Status 6 of 10
Motus Carrier dataset · op_auth_type
Motor Carrier of Household GoodsActive. The carrier holds no other active authority.
Answer
CAUTIONCheck first. CarrierScrub reason: Authority not for general freight.
Household-goods authority covers moving people's belongings, not general freight. CarrierScrub does not know your load, so it flags rather than stops: for a household move this may be exactly the right carrier; for general freight, it is not authorized to haul it.
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Status 7 of 10
Motus Carrier dataset · op_auth_type
Broker of Property (Except Household Goods)Active. No motor carrier authority on file.
Answer
STOPDon't book. CarrierScrub reason: Broker authority only, no carrier authority.
A broker can arrange your load but cannot haul it. Under 49 CFR 371.7(b) a broker "shall not, directly or indirectly, represent its operations to be that of a carrier." Tendering to one as if it were a carrier is the setup for double brokering.
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Status 8 of 10
SAFER Company Snapshot · Safety Rating
UnsatisfactoryRating assigned years ago. Authority active, insurance meets the requirement.
Answer
CAUTIONCheck first. CarrierScrub reason: Unsatisfactory safety rating.
This is the one most people put in Don't book. A rating stays on file until FMCSA changes it, and the field does not show what followed it: an upgrade, an out-of-service order, a reinstatement. CarrierScrub states the rating and its date as CAUTION and keeps STOP for filings that settle the question on their own. An out-of-service order, if there is one, is its own STOP.
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Status 9 of 10
Motus insurance filings · filing_status_reason
CANCELThe carrier's liability (BIPD) policy, with a cancellation effective date three weeks from today. No replacement filed yet.
Answer
CAUTIONCheck first. CarrierScrub reason: Insurance cancellation filed.
The cover is still in force until the effective date, so the carrier can haul today. Ask whether a replacement policy is coming. The day the cancellation takes effect with no replacement on file, the verdict becomes STOP: insurance cancelled.
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Status 10 of 10
Motus Carrier dataset · bipd_file, min_cov_amount
750000 · 1000000Liability cover on file, then the amount required, in dollars. Authority active. FMCSA's record from before 14 May 2026 required the same $1,000,000.
Answer
STOPDon't book. CarrierScrub reason: Insurance below the required minimum.
Cover below the amount FMCSA requires for the operation is a STOP. One exception, because Motus raised many carriers' requirements in 2026: where the earlier record required less and the cover meets that, CarrierScrub reads CAUTION and states both amounts, so you ask which requirement applies to your freight.
Why does a carrier with an active DOT number still get STOP?
Because the USDOT registration being active is the weakest of the checks. A STOP means at least one of these is on file: no active carrier operating authority (a broker-only entity included, since it cannot lawfully haul the freight itself); a federal out-of-service order that has not been rescinded, which bars the carrier from operating whatever its authority record says; no liability insurance in force, whether none is on file or a cancellation has taken effect with no replacement; insurance on file below the amount FMCSA requires for that operation; or this USDOT number was registered shortly after a revocation order was served on a different-named carrier at the same phone number. Two cases read CAUTION instead. A revocation pending against an otherwise-active authority is not by itself a STOP -- FMCSA's revocation file can show an order before the authority record reflects it, so CarrierScrub flags that as CAUTION rather than assuming the worse of two readings. And where FMCSA's new Motus record shows less cover than it requires, but its record from before 14 May 2026 shows the carrier covered, the result states both records and reads CAUTION, so the broker asks for the certificate. Each reason is listed on the result with its date where FMCSA publishes one. None of them is an accusation; each is a fact FMCSA published.
Is my DOT number active? What to do if it isn't
Carriers can use the same check above. If the status is inactive, the fix depends on which status lapsed. A lapsed USDOT registration usually means a missed biennial update (the MCS-150), which is now filed in Motus. Revoked or suspended operating authority is reinstated through Motus as well, and an insurance-related revocation needs a new filing from the insurer before FMCSA will reinstate.
Applying for a new USDOT number or operating authority is also done online in Motus, at fmcsa.dot.gov/registration. FMCSA charges only its statutory filing fees; the third-party services that rank for "apply for DOT number online" charge on top of that for filling in the same form. Motus opened to all new and existing registrants in May 2026 and now requires identity verification for new applicants.
What a status check doesn't tell you
Status is a snapshot. It does not show the direction the record is moving: a revocation pending against the authority, a cancellation the insurer filed for next month, a fourth insurer in two years, or a registration date that sits two days after a revocation at the same phone number. CarrierScrub reads all of those from the same FMCSA files and shows them on the result with their dates, which is the difference between "active today" and "safe to tender". In FMCSA's legacy files, last updated 14 May 2026, 13,951 of the 379,060 carriers holding active authority had a revocation pending, according to CarrierScrub's Q3 2026 fraud signals report.
Safety rating, roadside out-of-service history and crash history come from FMCSA's SMS snapshot, dated to it and never guessed. BASIC percentiles do not appear: FMCSA does not publish them for property carriers.
Where the data comes from
Operating authority, suspension and revocation orders, and insurance filings are published free under FMCSA's open data program. FMCSA's current records are its Motus datasets, which it updates daily; its legacy Licensing & Insurance datasets hold every carrier but were last updated on 14 May 2026. CarrierScrub uses a carrier's Motus record where one exists and the legacy file where it does not, and every result names the record it used and that record's date. Disputes about the record itself go through DataQs.