Sooner or later, every carrier needs another copy of their FMCSA operating authority letter — for insurance, a broker, a buyer, or a case file. What they want is the official FMCSA-issued PDF, not a screenshot of a government website. There are two real ways to get one. Have your docket number and an email address ready; that is usually enough to order.

Option 1: Instant order from getmymcletter.com

For most carriers who need a document fast, start at getmymcletter.com. It is DNA’s instant catalog of more than 1.7 million MC authority letters, served on demand. You can order one document or several — as long as each was issued between October 2004 and May 2026.

How it works:

  1. Search by your docket number (MC, MX, or FF).
  2. Confirm the document(s) you want and pay by card.
  3. Download the PDF(s), usually within minutes.

It is the right tool when:

  • Your authority was issued between October 2004 and May 2026 (the range of the instant catalog).
  • You need one or more documents in that range, right now, ready to use.
  • You are comfortable self-serving and do not need help reading what comes back.

The PDF you receive is the same FMCSA-issued document — clean and ready to forward to a broker or underwriter.

Option 2: Bulk, complex, or older requests through DNA

For everything outside the instant catalog — and there is more of it than you would think — request the document from us directly.

Use this path when:

  • Your authority was issued after May 2026, when FMCSA moved filing to MOTUS.
  • Your authority was issued before October 2004.
  • You need a Mexican-carrier (MX-docket) document.
  • You need help confirming which docket your authority sits under, or which authority types are on it.
  • You want a single point of contact, billed account, or priority turnaround.

DNA has been collecting operating-authority documents since 1966. Anything issued before the FMCSA moved filing to MOTUS in May 2026 comes out of our own archive of more than 2.1 million FMCSA documents, typically within two hours of your request. Anything issued since then never reached that archive — it no longer posts to any public document feed, and we can’t pull it from the agency. Contact us and we’ll tell you what’s actually obtainable, or start from our authority document retrieval service.

Either way, what you receive is a copy of the FMCSA-issued document, delivered by email as a clean PDF.

What about MOTUS?

Anyone can use the free, no-login MOTUS company search, but that search does not produce an authority letter. Carriers are supposed to be able to pull MC operating-authority documents from their MOTUS account at motus.dot.gov. As of this writing, that does not appear to work. Until it does, use Option 1 or Option 2 above.

What you need on hand before you order

Required:

  • Your docket number — MC, MX, or FF format (e.g. MC-123456).
  • An email address for delivery.

Helpful for verification (not required):

  • Your USDOT number if you have one (e.g. USDOT 2847193).
  • The exact legal name on the authority. Not the DBA. Matching the legal name helps confirm you are ordering the correct document.

If you do not know your docket number, start with the MOTUS company search or SAFER. As of September 2026, those systems may show incomplete or conflicting information, so cross-check the result or call us — we can usually find the docket from the legal name and state.

Who actually needs a copy, and why

Most of the requests we see come from one of four situations:

  • Insurance underwriting. An underwriter often wants to see the letter before binding or renewing. The document does not prove the authority is currently active — it only shows that the FMCSA issued it for that matched name at some point. Current status is a separate check, and no single public FMCSA lookup is currently complete and dependable.
  • Broker or shipper onboarding. A broker will not tender a load until they have a clean copy attached to your carrier packet.
  • Fleet sales and acquisitions. Buyers, lenders, and M&A counsel building a diligence file need copies of the seller’s authority letters.
  • Legal cases. Defense attorneys and claims adjusters need the authority document as part of the record.

They want the official FMCSA-issued document — not a screenshot of an FMCSA web page.

What counts as a usable copy

A usable copy is a reproduction of the FMCSA-issued document that an underwriter or court will accept as authentic. It is not a screenshot. It is not a printout of a database page. It is the actual letter or certificate as the FMCSA released it.

Common mistakes

  • Ordering the wrong document type. A docket can carry common, contract, and broker authority in any combination. If you only ordered “common” but the underwriter wanted proof of your broker license, you have to order again.
  • Guessing the wrong docket. Carriers who restructured, acquired another company, or operated under multiple entities sometimes order a document for the wrong business.
  • Sending a MOTUS screenshot. It will not be accepted. Get the real document the first time.

Where to start

If your authority was issued between October 2004 and May 2026 and you need it now, start at getmymcletter.com.

For older authority or anything outside the instant catalog, see our authority document retrieval service or contact us directly.