MC Authority in 2026: Cost, Timeline, and the MC Number Status

Who needs operating authority

Operating authority is FMCSA's permission to run a for-hire business across state lines. You need it, in addition to a USDOT number, if you haul federally regulated commodities owned by someone else for pay in interstate commerce, or carry passengers interstate for compensation. Brokers and freight forwarders need their own separate authority types.

You do not need operating authority if you are:

• A private carrier hauling your own goods or equipment.
• A for-hire carrier that hauls only exempt commodities, such as certain unprocessed agricultural products.
• A carrier that runs only inside a federally designated commercial zone that is exempt from interstate authority rules.

Exempt commodity rules have real edges. Fresh produce can be exempt while the same produce frozen or processed is not. If you plan to build a business on exempt freight, read FMCSA's guidance on it before you skip the application.

Is the MC number going away?

Not yet. FMCSA has said for several years that it wants to identify every company by USDOT number alone and retire MC docket numbers. When the agency launched its new registration system, Motus, in May 2026, it said plainly that this release does not eliminate MC or FF numbers. Here is where things stand as of October 2026:

• MC numbers are still issued. Motus continues to assign docket numbers, and the MC, MX, and FF prefixes stay the same.
• Existing numbers do not change. If you already hold a USDOT number or an MC number, you keep it.
• New numbers are randomized. To make fraud harder, Motus no longer hands out new USDOT and docket numbers in sequence. A number's size no longer hints at how new the authority is.
• One docket number per new authority. If you request carrier and broker authority on one application, each gets its own docket number. Existing carriers with several authorities keep sharing one number.
• USDOT suffixes are new. New registrants see suffixes after their USDOT number in Motus that show each registration they hold. They are not a truck marking requirement.
• Elimination is a future rulemaking. FMCSA says ending docket numbers, along with changes to the BOC-3 process and a new safety registration, will go through a proposed rule open for public comment.

In practice, brokers and load boards still ask for your MC number, and most also search by USDOT number. Give both during onboarding. Brokers who want to know how long you have had authority look at the grant date in FMCSA's records.

How to apply and what it costs

New carriers apply for authority inside the same Motus application that issues the USDOT number. You pick the authority type, such as motor carrier of property, household goods, or passengers, and pay online. FMCSA accepts only electronic payment now.

FMCSA does not refund application fees, including for a mistaken authority type. Pick only what you need, because the authority type also sets your insurance minimum.

The protest period and the real timeline

After FMCSA reviews your application, it publishes a summary in the FMCSA Register. Anyone then has 10 days to file a protest. If no one does, the grant takes effect when FMCSA issues the certificate.

FMCSA's published estimate for new applicants is 20 to 25 business days. An application pulled for further review can take an additional 8 weeks or longer. Motus is new, and FMCSA has posted notices about stabilization work since launch, so leave room in your plan.

What has to be on file before authority goes active

FMCSA will not grant authority until two filings are on record:

1. Proof of insurance. Your insurer files Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X electronically. Minimum liability for general freight is $750,000 for trucks rated 10,001 pounds or more and $300,000 under that. Some hazardous materials require $1,000,000 or $5,000,000. FMCSA says to contact your insurer as soon as you get your docket number. If the filing is not in within 20 days of publication, FMCSA notifies you that the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days.
2. BOC-3 designation of process agents. Filed by a process agent company on your behalf. See our BOC-3 guide.

A certificate of insurance emailed to you is not the filing. The insurer has to submit it to FMCSA. Many brokers set their own coverage requirements above the federal minimum, so ask before you buy a policy.

How to check whether your authority is active

The official record is FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance system, not the paper certificate. Search your USDOT or MC number there and open the authority history to see the grant date. FMCSA also posts daily decision letters publicly the day they are generated, and Motus emails copies of the main letters to the account owner. The SAFER Company Snapshot shows the same status in summary.

Use the wait

Most of the startup list does not depend on the grant. While the protest period runs, line up UCR registration, a drug and alcohol consortium, IRP and IFTA if your truck qualifies, and your ELD. Brokers vet new authorities hard, and many confirm your ELD connection before the first load. Our new authority ELD guide covers that setup, and you can order a PT-40 so it is installed before your authority activates. The full sequence is in how to start a trucking company.