Stop 1 of 4 · Start your journey

Start your journey: your USDOT number and authority.

Running both? Follow the CDL track, which covers everything, and scope by unit as you go: the testing program covers anyone who ever drives a CDL vehicle, IFTA and IRP follow the trucks over 26,000 lbs, and your lighter trucks' drivers may qualify for short-haul time records instead of an ELD.

This is the step that makes your company real to FMCSA: your USDOT number, your operating authority, and the two filings that switch the authority on. Do it in this order and nothing stalls.

1. 1.1Create a Login.gov account and verify your identity.

   Login.gov is the government's shared sign-in. FMCSA requires the person registering the company to prove their identity here first, with a photo of their ID and a face scan. Nobody can do this part for you.

   1. 1Have three things next to you: your driver's license (or state ID), your Social Security number, and your phone.
   2. 2On login.gov, choose “Create an account,” enter your email, and set a password. It texts your phone a code to confirm.
   3. 3When it asks to verify your identity, follow the prompts: take a photo of the front and back of your license with your phone, then a photo of your face. It compares the two.
   4. 4Write your password down somewhere safe. You will sign in with this account for every federal filing from here on.

   Where: login.govCost: Free.Time: About 20 minutes with your ID in hand.

   Save this: Your Login.gov email and password, kept somewhere you can find them.

2. 1.2Register in Motus for your USDOT number and authority.

   Motus is FMCSA's registration site — the one place you apply for your USDOT number and your operating authority (your MC number). For-hire interstate carriers need both before booking a load.

   1. 1Gather this before you start: your EIN (or SSN if you have no EIN), your business name and address, the names of company officers, how many trucks and drivers you'll run, and what kind of freight you'll haul.
   2. 2On motus.dot.gov, sign in with the Login.gov account you just made.
   3. 3Start a new registration and answer the questions. It walks you through screen by screen; your answers become your USDOT record, so answer exactly, not approximately.
   4. 4When it asks about authority, for-hire interstate trucking needs “motor carrier of property.” Pay the $300 fee by card at the end.
   5. 5The application gives you your USDOT number and your MC number. The authority itself stays pending until the insurance and BOC-3 steps below are done.

   Where: motus.dot.govCost: $300 per authority type.

   Save this: Your USDOT number and MC number. Put them where you can recite them.

3. 1.3Get insured, and have your insurer file the proof.

   You need commercial truck insurance from an agent who handles trucking — not the office that does your car policy. For-hire carriers need at least $750,000 in liability, and most brokers and shippers won't work with you under $1,000,000. Expect this to be one of your biggest startup costs.

   1. 1Search for “commercial truck insurance agent” or ask other carriers who they use. Independent agents who specialize in trucking can quote several companies at once — get at least two or three quotes, because prices for new authorities vary a lot.
   2. 2Tell the agent exactly this: “I'm getting my authority as a for-hire interstate motor carrier. I need primary liability at one million dollars, and I need the BMC-91 filing made with FMCSA.” They will know what that means.
   3. 3You buy the policy; the insurance company files the proof electronically with FMCSA. You never file this one yourself.
   4. 4A few days after you pay, call the agent and confirm the FMCSA filing went through. Your authority cannot activate without it.

   Cost: Varies widely. Get multiple quotes before you commit.

   Save this: Your certificate of insurance and the MCS-90 endorsement page from your policy. Keep both where you can produce them.

4. 1.4Have a process agent company file your BOC-3.

   A BOC-3 names a person in each state who can accept legal papers for your company. It's required before your authority activates, and only a process agent company can file it — you hire one, they file it the same day.

   1. 1Open FMCSA's process agent page and pick a company that offers “blanket coverage” — one filing that covers all states. Most of the companies on the list do.
   2. 2Call or use their website. They'll ask for your company name, your USDOT and MC numbers, and payment.
   3. 3They file the BOC-3 electronically with FMCSA, usually the same day, and email you a confirmation.

   Where: FMCSA: Form BOC-3Cost: Typically $20 to $100, one time.Time: Usually done the same day.

   Save this: The BOC-3 confirmation email from your process agent.

5. 1.5Watch for your authority to activate, then verify it.

   With the insurance filing and the BOC-3 both in, FMCSA grants your authority after a short waiting period. Then check it yourself.

   1. 1Give it a couple of weeks after the filings land. FMCSA holds new authority through a protest period before it goes active.
   2. 2Type your USDOT number into our free checker. It pulls your record live from FMCSA — the same data a broker or an officer sees.
   3. 3You're looking for authority showing active and insurance showing on file. If either is missing after a few weeks, call your insurance agent first; a missed filing is the usual culprit.

   Where: Dotra USDOT checker

   Save this: Nothing to file here. Just the good feeling of watching your own number come back active.

Dotra is a tool, not your compliance department. The duty to comply sits with the motor carrier under 49 CFR, and it doesn’t transfer to a vendor, a consultant, or a software product. This road is general information about federal requirements, not legal advice: state obligations aren’t covered, hazmat, passenger, and intrastate-only operations carry requirements it doesn’t address, and rules change. Verify anything that matters at fmcsa.dot.gov before you rely on it.