Get your trucking authority set up
Your authority is what lets you haul other people's freight across state lines for pay. Here is what each piece is, the order it goes in, and where new carriers lose time.
USDOT number and MC authority are not the same thing
Your USDOT number identifies your company to FMCSA. Inspections, crashes, audits and your safety record all attach to it. You need one if you run interstate with a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more (FMCSA).
Your operating authority, issued with an MC docket number, is FMCSA's permission to haul regulated freight for hire across state lines. A USDOT number alone does not let you take a load from a broker. You need both, and you apply for both at the same time.
The fee is $300 for each type of authority you apply for. A carrier hauling general freight applies for one type: motor carrier of property.
How to get your authority
Have the business ready
Form your LLC and get your EIN from the IRS first. Your application asks for both, and the names must match exactly.
Apply online in Motus
FMCSA moved registration to Motus, its USDOT Registration System, in 2026. New registrants must pass an identity verification check, so have a government-issued ID ready. You apply for the USDOT number and the operating authority together and pay the fee.
Get your insurance filed
Your insurance company, not you, files your proof of liability coverage with FMCSA on form BMC-91 or BMC-91X. The federal minimum for general freight is $750,000 (FMCSA). If it is not filed within 20 days after your application appears in the FMCSA Register, FMCSA moves to dismiss your application unless you comply within 60 more days (FMCSA).
File your BOC-3
A process agent is the person court papers can be served on. Carriers designate one for each state they operate in. A blanket company covers every state with one filing and submits the BOC-3 for you.
Wait for active status before you haul
Your authority is not usable until FMCSA shows it as active. Do not book a load before then. Brokers check, and running without active authority puts your whole application at risk.
Filings that come right after
Authority is the start. These follow within weeks.
UCR
Every carrier subject to UCR registers each year through its base state, with a fee based on how many vehicles you run (UCR Plan).
Form 2290
Trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more owe the federal heavy vehicle use tax. The stamped Schedule 1 is what your state asks for at registration (IRS).
IRP and IFTA
Your base state issues apportioned plates and your fuel tax license. IFTA returns are filed every quarter.
Drug and alcohol program
Pre-employment testing, a random testing pool and Clearinghouse queries, set up before you or any driver goes to work (49 CFR 382.701).
Your authority set up with education behind it
When LFS sets up your authority, there is a team with up-to-date information on the newest FMCSA rules behind it, making sure your company is built the right way under the Code of Federal Regulations. How we work.
- Current on the newest FMCSA rules
- Built the right way from day one
- A team behind your new company
Getting authority is one step. Keeping it is the job.
We see carriers lose their authority far more often than they fail to get it. It almost never happens on purpose. The insurance premium does not get paid because the carrier did not get paid, the insurance cancels, and the authority goes with it. That record stays public, and brokers see it for years.
Keep a calendar with your UCR renewal, your Form 2290 every July, your IFTA quarters, your biennial registration update and your insurance renewal. Our DOT compliance services and back office services keep those dates for you.
Questions and answers
Can I haul freight with just a USDOT number?
Not for regulated for-hire freight across state lines. A broker load of regular freight moving interstate requires active operating authority as well as a USDOT number. A USDOT number alone covers private carriers hauling their own goods and for-hire carriers hauling only exempt commodities (FMCSA).
Do I file the BOC-3 myself?
The BOC-3 is filed by a process agent. Most new carriers hire a blanket company, which covers every state and files it electronically. FMCSA lists the registered blanket companies on its process agents page.
Is the MC number going away?
As of October 2026, FMCSA still issues MC docket numbers with operating authority. The move to Motus changed how you register, not the need for authority. We will update this page if that changes.
Should I buy an existing authority instead of applying?
Be very careful. An older authority comes with its owner's safety record, claims and history, and FMCSA looks hard at companies that change names or owners to start over. Talk with us before you pay anyone for an authority. See our consulting.
Related
Intrastate trucking authority and your USDOT number
Intrastate trucking authority is what lets you haul inside one state, and many states also require an intrastate USDOT number.
FMCSA Motus registration help
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UCR, BOC-3 and MCS-150 filing services
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Commercial truck insurance for new carriers
Insurance is usually the largest bill a new trucking company pays, and it is the one that can shut you down if it lapses.
DOT compliance services for trucking companies
Most small carriers don't lose their authority because they can't find freight. They lose it because they can't show an investigator the records that prove the company…
Back office services for owner-operators
Billing, load paperwork, payment follow-up and IFTA help for owner-operators and small fleets, so the money you earned on the road reaches your bank account.
Trucking business consulting
Our founder, Michael Thomas, has spent more than 25 years in freight: brokering loads, building trucking companies and teaching the people who run them.
Need help with your authority?
Tell us where you are in the application and what is holding you up. We will reply with the next step.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.
Sources
- FMCSA — Do I need a USDOT number?
- FMCSA — What is the cost of obtaining operating authority?
- FMCSA — Registration (Motus; identity verification)
- FMCSA — Insurance filing requirements
- FMCSA — Insurance requirements
- FMCSA — Process agents
- IRS — Get an Employer Identification Number
- IRS — Instructions for Form 2290
- UCR Plan — Fee brackets
- 49 CFR 382.701 — Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse queries