USDOT number
Glossary · Last reviewed: November 1, 2026 · By VetCarrier
A USDOT number is the identification number FMCSA issues to a motor carrier once it has received and processed the carrier’s identification report, Form MCS-150. SAFER describes it as the census number for the company’s record, issued in sequence with no coded meaning, and each company should have only one active.
Who has one and where it appears
Interstate motor carriers file Form MCS-150 before they start operating, and the USDOT number follows from that filing. The carrier must display it on each self-propelled commercial vehicle, preceded by the letters “USDOT”, together with its legal or single trade name. Under Motus, FMCSA’s new registration system, FMCSA continues to identify every regulated company by its USDOT number, and suffixes that show each type of registration were, as of April 2026, visible only inside the system.
Active and inactive
The number stays active only if the carrier keeps its registration up to date. A carrier that does not complete its biennial MCS-150 update can have its USDOT number deactivated, and SAFER then shows it as inactive under 49 CFR 390.19(b)(4). What an inactive number means for booking is explained in Not Authorized or Inactive USDOT: what it means.
What it looks like in a carrier check
VetCarrier prints the USDOT number FMCSA links to the MC number, next to it at the top of the check. If the number is inactive, the check opens with the red flag “The USDOT number is inactive,” adds a neutral line under the carrier’s name, and the FMCSA operating status row reads “Not active on the FMCSA record.” Compare the number on the check with the one painted on the truck at pickup, and with the number on the rate confirmation; a mismatch means the truck may belong to a different company than the one you booked.
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Criminals copy real carrier records, so a clean check does not prove the caller is that carrier: always confirm their phone, email and address another way. A VetCarrier check is not a guarantee that a carrier is safe or legitimate.
This page is general information, not legal or insurance advice.
Sources
- 49 CFR 390.19T, Motor carrier identification reports (MCS-150) (eCFR) (read 2026)
- FMCSA SAFER, Company Snapshot help (field definitions) (read 2026)
- 49 CFR 390.21T, Marking of commercial motor vehicles (eCFR) (read 2026)
- FMCSA, Availability of Motus, FMCSA’s New Registration System, Federal Register, April 29, 2026 (govinfo) (read 2026)