Free tool · Live FMCSA data
Free carrier risk check
About this tool
This check pulls a carrier's public FMCSA record live from data.transportation.gov and turns it into findings a factor can act on. Every finding names the dataset it came from and the date that data reflects. Nothing here is a verdict on a person or a company. It is a fast first read of the public record before you spend time on an application.
What each finding means and why it matters
| Finding | What we check | Why a factor cares |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT status | Active, inactive or pending in the FMCSA census. | An inactive or pending carrier shouldn't be hauling, so there should be no invoices to buy. |
| Operating authority | Whether an MC, FF or MX docket is active, pending, inactive or withdrawn. | Interstate for-hire carriers and brokers need active authority to haul or arrange regulated freight. |
| Authority age | Days since authority was first granted, from grant dates only. | New authority has no track record. Factors commonly review authority under 90 days and 90 to 365 days more closely. |
| Revocations and suspensions | Involuntary and voluntary revocations, suspensions, reinstatements and pending suspension notices. | A recent involuntary action usually means insurance or the process agent lapsed, or FMCSA took safety action. |
| Insurance | Liability filings or broker bonds on file, plus recent or pending cancellations. | No filing, or a cancellation with nothing replacing it, means the authority is about to stop being valid. |
| Out-of-service orders | Orders in FMCSA's out-of-service file and whether they were lifted. | A carrier under an open order can't operate at all. |
| MCS-150 update | When the registration profile was last updated. | FMCSA requires an update at least every 24 months. A stale profile means stale contact details. |
| USDOT registration date | When the USDOT number was added to the census. | A brand-new registration has no public history, so every other check carries more weight. |
| Shared contacts | Other USDOTs with the same census phone, email or street address, split by status. | Links to inactive or revoked carriers are the chameleon carrier pattern. |
The 90-day and 365-day authority cut-offs are common factor rules of thumb, not FMCSA rules. Adjust them to your own credit policy. Very common contact values (25 or more matches) usually belong to a filing agent or compliance service, so we label them that way and give them little weight. For the full playbook, read how to tell if a carrier is legit and chameleon carriers.
How to read the result
- High risk: at least one finding is a flag, such as an inactive USDOT, no active authority, an open out-of-service order, a recent involuntary revocation, no insurance on file, or authority under 90 days. Resolve each flag before you fund.
- Review: no flags, but at least one caution, such as authority between 90 and 365 days old, a recent reinstatement, a stale MCS-150 or a contact shared with an inactive carrier. Ask about each one.
- No obvious flags: nothing in the public record stood out. That is the most this data can say. It does not confirm who is applying or who gets paid.
Why authority age comes from dates, not numbers
Underwriters used to guess authority age from how high an MC number was. That stopped working when FMCSA moved registration to Motus, because new USDOT and docket numbers are now assigned at random. A brand-new carrier can have a number that looks decades old. This check computes age only from grant dates in the authority history files. When no grant date exists, it says so instead of guessing. FMCSA Motus explained covers the change in detail.
What the frozen legacy data means
FMCSA's legacy L&I open datasets stopped updating on 2026-05-14 when Motus replaced them. The Motus files update daily but only hold authorities that have been touched since Motus launched. So this check layers the two: Motus first, then the frozen legacy snapshot for anything Motus doesn't have yet. When a carrier's authority or insurance status comes only from the legacy snapshot, the report says so and dates it 2026-05-14. Confirm those carriers' current status directly with FMCSA before you fund.
What public data can't verify
A clean public record is exactly what an impersonator wants. Fraudsters pick real, established carriers with no flags and apply in their name, then route payments to an account they control. FMCSA data can't tell you whether the person filling in your application controls the carrier, and FMCSA doesn't collect bank details at all.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the carrier check get its data?
From FMCSA's public datasets on data.transportation.gov: the Company Census File, the Motus authority, insurance and revocation files, the frozen legacy L&I files, and the out-of-service order file. Each finding shows its source dataset and an as-of date. Upstream data is cached for up to 24 hours.
Can I look up a carrier by MC number?
Yes. Choose MC and enter the digits, with or without the MC prefix. The check finds the USDOT behind the docket through the census docket fields and the authority files, then runs the full report on that USDOT.
Does "No obvious flags" mean I can fund the carrier?
Not on its own. It means nothing in the public record stood out. It can't tell you whether the person applying controls the carrier or whether the bank account belongs to it, and those are the gaps impersonation and payment-redirect fraud exploit.
Why does the report show other USDOTs that share a phone, email or address?
Shared contact details between a new carrier and inactive or revoked ones is the classic chameleon carrier pattern. Related companies also share contacts for honest reasons, and very common values usually belong to filing agents, so treat a match as a question to ask, not a verdict.
Why does some data say "as of 2026-05-14"?
That is when FMCSA's legacy L&I datasets stopped updating after the move to Motus. Motus data updates daily but only covers authorities touched since Motus launched, so older authority history and some current statuses still come from the frozen legacy snapshot.
Is there a limit on how many carriers I can check?
The free check allows a reasonable number of lookups per connection every few minutes to keep the public data service responsive. If you hit the limit, wait a few minutes and try again.
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