Glossary · FMCSA & freight
Authority age
Also called: MC age, Age of authority
Definition
Authority age is how long a carrier or broker has held its operating authority, measured from the date FMCSA granted it, not inferred from the size of its number.
Factors and brokers use authority age as a screen because a new authority has no payment or safety history to judge. Calculate it from dates: the earliest grant in the authority history, from the legacy AuthHist file through 2026-05-14 and the Motus AuthHist file after that. For the USDOT registration itself, the census add_date shows when the record was created.
Never estimate age from the number. Motus randomizes newly issued USDOT and docket numbers, so a new authority can carry a higher or lower number than one granted years ago. Old rules of thumb about MC number ranges no longer work.
The carrier check computes age from FMCSA dates, and the new authority risk guide covers how to treat young carriers.
Sources
- 01NGWA: FMCSA announces new online registration system, Motus · Summary of FMCSA's Motus guidance, 2026-08-27
- 02FMCSA AuthHist, All With History (legacy L&I) · data.transportation.gov, last refreshed 2026-05-14
- 03FMCSA Motus AuthHist, All With History · data.transportation.gov
- 04FMCSA Company Census File · data.transportation.gov