FMCSA plans to stop issuing MC numbers as new registration system launches in 2025

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has plans to phase out Motor Carrier (MC) numbers when it launches a new registration system later this year.

The FMCSA has outlined plans to transition away from MC numbers when the agency launches a new registration system in 2025.

The agency plans to stop issuing MC numbers, making “the USDOT Number … the sole identifier for all FMCSA registrants.” Officials say that “specific types of operating authority registration would instead be indicated by a suffix to the USDOT Number for each type an entity may hold.”

After the FMCSA stops issuing MC numbers, existing MC Numbers will not be replaced by USDOT Numbers, and those numbers could continue to be used for other purposes like advertising.

The agency says that under the new system, existing registrants will keep their current USDOT Number. Previously registered brokers, freight forwarders, and motor carriers operating non-commercial vehicles who never received a USDOT Number in the past will receive a USDOT Number.

“To comply with MAP-21, FMCSA began assigning USDOT Numbers to brokers, freight forwarders, and motor carriers who operate non-commercial motor vehicles and did not already hold a USDOT Number. Motor Carrier Docket Numbers (MC Numbers) were never a statutory or regulatory requirement. Historically, MC Numbers were used by FMCSA to track proceedings related to a single operating authority registration and not to identify a specific person, employer, operator, motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder. The need for separate tracking numbers for each type of registration became unnecessary when all operating authorities became nationwide, with the elimination of route-specific and common or contract authorities, and with the newer requirement for all regulated entities to hold a USDOT Number,” FMCSA explained.

The FMCSA noted that trucking industry stakeholders have expressed concern about the elimination of MC numbers, and in order to provide “more time to understand some of the proposed changes, assess the impact, and adjust their systems and processes accordingly,” this change would not be implemented as part of the first phase of the release of the new registration system this year.

“FMCSA will take a measured approach to implement these changes in later releases while continuing to engage our stakeholders as we maximize the new registration system’s benefits in enhancing safety, reducing fraud, and improving data accuracy,” the agency said.

Plans to eliminate MC numbers were announced in the Unified Registration System (URS) Final Rule issued by FMCSA in 2013.

You can click here to learn more about FMCSA’s new registration system.