Chameleon carrier

FMCSA can act against them under 49 CFR 386.73, which allows out-of-service orders and record consolidation when a company operates under a new identity to avoid an order, a penalty, enforcement or a negative compliance history. The factors FMCSA weighs include common ownership and officers, shared addresses, phones and email, the same equipment and drivers, and continuity of insurance and customers. GAO reported new applicants with chameleon attributes rising from 759 in 2005 to 1,136 in 2010.

For a factor, the new entity looks young and clean, while the old one may have left unpaid fuel advances, chargebacks or liens at another factor. Detection means matching people, contacts and equipment across entities, not reading one record. FMCSA's census file includes prior_revoke_flag and prior_revoke_dot_number fields that tie some carriers to an earlier revoked registration.

The carrier check shows carriers sharing the same phone, email or address, and the chameleon carriers guide explains how to read those links.