USDOT Checker

Guide

How to look up a DOT number

Three ways in, one record out. The lookup is free here and free on FMCSA's own site; nobody needs to pay to see a carrier's record.

1. By USDOT number

Type the number, up to eight digits, with or without "USDOT" in front. It is painted on the truck's doors, printed on the carrier's paperwork, and shown on any FMCSA record. The record that opens is the carrier's registration, authority, safety rating, inspections and crashes.

2. By MC number

Type the MC, FF or MX docket number. We find the USDOT number behind it and open the same record. If several carriers share the docket, you pick from a list. More about MC numbers.

3. By company name

Type at least three letters of the legal or trading name and choose the right carrier from the list by city and fleet size. The name search.

Looking for your own number?

Search your company's name here, or on FMCSA's SAFER system, which is linked from every record. If you have never registered, FMCSA issues USDOT numbers free through its own registration system; no third party is needed, and companies that charge a fee to "get you a number" are optional services, not the government.

What the record tells you, and what it doesn't

  • Active status and authority tell you the company is registered and, if it hauls for hire across state lines, whether it may. "None" on a company that wants your freight is a stop sign.
  • Insurance on file is what FMCSA holds, in dollars, against the minimum required.
  • Safety rating exists only for carriers that have had a compliance review. "Not rated" is neither good nor bad.
  • Inspections and crashes are counts from roadside inspections and crash reports. A crash record does not say who was at fault.
  • The record does not show prices, reviews, or whether a driver is any good. It is the public safety and registration file, nothing more.

Numbers aren't transferable

A USDOT number belongs to the company it was issued to, forever. It cannot be sold, leased, rented or transferred, and FMCSA warns against offers to do so. A company that changes hands must register in its own right. MC numbers follow the same rule. FMCSA has long planned to retire MC numbers in favour of the USDOT number as the only identifier; its authority file still carries MC dockets today, so both appear on this site, and FMCSA's own notices are the place to check the status of that change.