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Keep your DOT and MC active, or get them back

Something’s due, something changed, or something got shut off. Tell us what happened and we’ll get you back in good standing.

Tell us your goal or call 703-821-0000

Where you might be

Your biennial update is due

If you run across state lines, your DOT number needs an update every two years. Miss it and FMCSA can shut the number off. We file it and confirm it went through.

Your MC number was revoked

Usually your insurance or process agent filing lapsed. We find out why, line up what’s missing, and file to get your authority reinstated.

Your DOT number went inactive

Most often it’s a missed biennial update. Reactivating a DOT number and reinstating an MC number are separate fixes. We’ll tell you which you need, or if it’s both.

Your business changed

New name, new address, more trucks. Most changes are an update to your DOT record. A new name on your MC authority is its own filing. New owners are a different story, so ask us first.

What’s at stake

Inactive means parked

With a revoked MC number, brokers won’t book you and you can’t legally haul for hire across state lines. Reinstatement takes a few weeks even when everything is in order, so start the day you get a cancellation notice, not the week you need a truck moving. And watch the mail: official-looking letters about your biennial update often come from third parties. FMCSA doesn’t charge for the update. Call us before you pay one.

What you have to keep up

Nothing renews your DOT and MC numbers all at once. Three separate things have to stay current:

  • Your DOT record, updated every two years. That’s the biennial update. Update it sooner when your business changes. Miss it and FMCSA can mark your DOT number inactive. If that happens, we can reactivate it.
  • Insurance on file with FMCSA. Your insurance company keeps it there. Let it lapse and your MC number gets revoked, and then it takes a reinstatement to get it back.
  • Your process agent on file. If it drops off, your MC number can be revoked too.

UCR is separate. You pay it every year if you run interstate. It’s run by the states under federal law, not by FMCSA, and skipping it can mean fines at a roadside stop. We file UCR.

Changed your company name? A DOT update won’t change the name on your MC authority. That takes its own filing, and your insurance and process agent have to be refiled under the new name within 30 days. Need a copy of your MC letter for a broker or a bank? We can send one, often within hours.

How it works

Three steps. Most of them are ours.

1

Tell us your goal

Call or send a note. Plain words are fine. You don’t need to know which filing it takes. That’s our job.

2

We handle it with FMCSA

We know what the agency wants and how to get it through.

3

You get back to driving

We follow it through until it’s done. You get back to work.

Questions

What carriers ask us

My authority was revoked for an insurance lapse — can it be reinstated?

Yes. An insurance lapse is the most common reason authority is revoked, and reinstatement is a well-defined process for restoring it.

The sequence is straightforward:

  1. New insurance is filed first. Your insurance carrier files the required coverage — BIPD and, where it applies, cargo — directly with the FMCSA. Until that filing posts to your docket, the FMCSA won’t accept a reinstatement application.
  2. BOC-3 process agent designation is verified. If your BOC-3 lapsed alongside the insurance, it has to be re-filed.
  3. The reinstatement application is submitted. Once insurance and BOC-3 are confirmed on record, DNA files the application.
  4. The FMCSA reviews it. See how long reinstatement takes — typically a few weeks from acceptance.
  5. Your authority is restored. It shows active on the FMCSA record again. We watch your docket through the agency’s review cycle and tell you as soon as it flips.

Your original MC docket number stays the same throughout. You’re not starting over, and you’re not applying for new authority — you’re restoring the authority you already hold.

To get started, tell us what happened.

How long does authority reinstatement take?

Plan on a few weeks after the FMCSA accepts your application to reinstate revoked MC operating authority, even when your insurance and BOC-3 process agent filings are already reflected in the FMCSA database.

That timeline can feel slow when you’re losing revenue, so it helps to understand why it isn’t instant:

  • The FMCSA has to verify that all required filings (insurance, BOC-3, any penalties) are on record and current.
  • The reinstatement decision moves through the FMCSA’s internal review and release queue before the document is served.
  • Even when everything is in order on the carrier’s side, the agency’s processing cycle governs the calendar.

DNA can prepare and submit your reinstatement request the same business day we receive your information. After that, the clock is the FMCSA’s, and we watch your docket until the authority shows active again.

See what you need to provide for reinstatement for the document checklist, or tell us what happened to get started.

What is re-entitlement (an FMCSA authority name change) and when do I need it?

A re-entitlement is a decision the FMCSA issues when a carrier or broker changes its legal name on file. It confirms that the authority associated with your existing docket number now belongs to the renamed entity. The re-entitlement covers all authority types held under that docket — common, contract, broker, and household goods — so you don’t need a separate filing for each.

Common triggers for re-entitlement:

  • Legal entity name change — DBA filings updated with the state, rebranding, or a corporate rename.
  • Restructuring — converting from a sole proprietorship to an LLC, an LLC to a corporation, or similar.
  • Marriage, divorce, or inheritance affecting the legal name of a sole proprietor.
  • DBA changes that the FMCSA needs to recognize on the authority record.

What re-entitlement is not: it is not a transfer of authority between two unrelated companies (that’s a transfer of authority, a separate process), and it is not required for address changes.

To start a re-entitlement, tell us your new name.

What is a UCR (Unified Carrier Registration)?

UCR — Unified Carrier Registration — is a federal annual fee program for businesses that operate in interstate commerce: for-hire and private motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. It is not the same thing as your operating authority, your USDOT number, or your MCS-150 biennial update — it is a separate yearly registration and fee that sits alongside them.

How it works:

  • Your fee is based on the size of your fleet — the more vehicles you run, the higher the bracket.
  • You file and pay through your base state, which collects on behalf of every participating state.
  • It renews every year — registration for the coming year opens in the fall, and enforcement begins January 1.

Skip it and you can be stopped, fined, or flagged at a roadside inspection. It is also easy to overpay when your vehicle count is off, and just as easy to forget in the fall rush — which is why many carriers have us file the UCR and set it to renew automatically each year.

Sixty years and counting

Tell us your goal. We’ll take it from there.

One call or one form. That’s the whole first step.

Tell us your goal or call 703-821-0000