A major administrative shift is coming to the trucking industry. Starting October 1, 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will phase out Motor Carrier (MC) numbers, consolidating all federal motor carrier, broker, and freight forwarder registrations under a single USDOT number. This change is part of FMCSA’s Registration Modernization initiative and aims to simplify identification, reduce fraud, and streamline compliance.
If you run a trucking company, this change impacts how you mark your trucks, how industry partners verify your authority, and how you manage compliance. Below is what you need to know and what you need to do to be prepared.
Why FMCSA Is Eliminating MC Numbers
For years, trucking entities have held both a USDOT number (for safety and compliance tracking) and an MC number (for operating authority). The dual‑system has led to confusion, redundant records, and fraud opportunities such as “chameleon carriers” that retire an MC number and start fresh under a new one.
Under the Registration Modernization plan, FMCSA will:
- Stop issuing new MC numbers
- Consolidate regulatory identification so the USDOT number is the sole federal identifier
- Use suffixes appended to USDOT numbers to denote different types of authority (e.g. motor carrier, broker, forwarder)
- Retain historical records of MC numbers for reference but shift all future authority tracking to USDOT.
In short: your USDOT becomes your main ID. Your authority is tracked via suffixes, not a separate MC number.
What Will Show on Your Truck Doors
A key question is how motor carriers should display authority markings on their trucks once MC numbers are retired. Here’s what the current information suggests:
- Carriers must continue to display their USDOT number on marked vehicles, as required under FMCSA regulations.
- Because MC numbers will no longer be valid for authority, they should not be included on new vehicle markings.
- If suffixes are used (e.g. USDOT 1234567‑CA for an operating authority suffix), those suffixes are not expected to be mandatory on vehicle markings, but rather used internally and in documentation.
- Any old signage or decals containing MC numbers should be removed or updated to reflect USDOT-only identification to avoid confusion by law enforcement, brokers, or shippers during the transition.
How to Verify Authority and Interstate Status (SAFER, URS, etc.)
Once MC numbers are retired, how will brokers, shippers, and the public check whether a carrier is active, in good standing, and has interstate authority? Here’s what the new system will enable:
- SAFER / Company Snapshot: These tools will continue to show information using USDOT number as primary identifier, including active authority, safety records, and filings.
- Unified Registration System (URS): This is FMCSA’s new registration platform. It will consolidate registration, identity verification, and filing under the USDOT system. All filings (authority, insurance, BOC‑3, etc.) will be handled through URS.
- Entities will need a Login.gov account and multi-factor authentication to access and manage registration in URS.
- Records will show USDOT number plus suffixes for each type of registration an entity holds (e.g. operating authority, safety registration).
As a result, brokers and shippers that formerly validated carriers via MC numbers will need to shift to USDOT + suffix and rely on the new URS / SAFER data sources.
What Trucking Companies Should Do to Prepare
To ensure a smooth transition by October 1, 2025, here is a practical checklist:
- Ensure your USDOT number is active and accurate
Check your business name, address, contact info, and authority status in FMCSA’s systems, especially in the MCS-150 filings. - Update all documentation
Replace MC number references in contracts, permits, BOC-3 filings, insurance policies, factoring documents, dispatch systems, and your website. - Notify business partners
Inform brokers, shippers, and insurance providers that MC numbers will be retired and that USDOT is the identifier going forward. - Adapt your internal systems
Adjust TMS, CRM, dispatch, compliance, or back-office software to drop MC-required fields and support the USDOT + suffix format. - Obtain a Login.gov account
Ensure your business principals or authorized representatives have an active Login.gov identity to use URS. - Monitor FMCSA updates and compliance rules
URS will roll out in phases, so stay current with FMCSA announcements for when new functionalities and enforcement become active. - Train your staff and communication
Make sure your compliance, dispatch, sales, and admin teams know about the change and can answer questions accurately.
Potential Challenges & Risks
Even though this change promises simplification in the long term, there are short-term challenges to watch out for:
- Brokers or shippers may reject contracts referencing MC numbers, causing delays in load assignments.
- Insurance providers may request updated documentation or may decline authority when MC numbers are used incorrectly.
- Legacy systems and software may not support USDOT-only validation yet.
- During transition, some platforms may still flag newly reactivated authority as “new MC” because their logic hasn’t switched.
What This Means for Your Business
The elimination of MC numbers is a watershed moment for U.S. trucking regulation. It moves the industry to a more streamlined, fraud-resistant framework by consolidating all authority and compliance tracking under one unchanging USDOT number.
For carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders, success in this transition depends on early preparation: updating all references, verifying your USDOT, communicating to partners, and ensuring your systems are compliant. The carriers who treat this not merely as a bureaucratic update but an opportunity to clean up operations will come out ahead.
Want help navigating this transition? The team at InsuranceHub can assist with updating your documentation, communicating the change, and making sure your authority remains active and verifiable under the new system.