By Rose Peña
If you have a USDOT number, this affects you. FMCSA permanently shut off the registration system that trucking companies, brokers, and freight forwarders have used for years. There is no going back to the old portal. The new system — called Motus — is now live for all registrants.
That means if you haven’t claimed your Motus account yet, you’re already sitting in a manual verification queue. You can’t update your records, modify your operating authority, or complete a biennial update until you do. And the longer that window sits open, the more exposure you have — on compliance, on insurance, and with the brokers and shippers who vet you.
I want to walk you through what this system is, why it matters, and exactly what to do. No jargon, no runaround.
Motus is FMCSA’s new unified online registration platform. The name comes from the Latin word for “movement” — and that’s fitting, because this is the biggest overhaul to federal motor carrier registration in decades. It replaces a patchwork of old systems: the Unified Registration System (URS), the FMCSA Portal, and parts of the legacy Licensing and Insurance system that has been running since 1994.
Everything is now in one place: your USDOT number, your operating authority, your insurance filings, your biennial updates, and your compliance history. FMCSA can also pull your data in real time — and so can the brokers and shippers you work with.
FMCSA partnered with two verification companies — IDEMIA and CLEAR — to require identity proofing for every registrant. That means a government-issued ID scan and a facial photo from your phone. It sounds like a lot, but the process takes about five minutes.
FMCSA sent letters to approximately 2.2 million registered entities with a clear deadline: complete your prep steps by May 14th, or risk being locked out when Motus goes live. The legacy portal shut off at 8 PM Eastern on May 14th. There was a short data migration window. And on May 19th, Motus opened to all motor carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders.
The steps that were supposed to happen before May 14th:
- Log into your FMCSA Portal account to confirm it was still active — accounts go inactive after 90 days, archived after 12 months
- Verify that the correct Company Official was listed — this must be the owner or an authorized internal employee, not a third-party agent
- Confirm the Company Official’s Login.gov email — this same email must be used to log into Motus
- Update any outdated company information using the Biennial Update (MCS-150) function
If any of those steps didn’t happen, claiming your USDOT number in Motus gets more complicated. Not impossible — but slower.
What Happens If You Haven’t Set Up Yet
This is the part I want you to really sit with. Not to scare you — but because understanding the actual risk helps you act on it.
- You’re locked out of your registration Without an active Motus account, you cannot make any changes to your USDOT record. No updates, no new authority, no biennial update. You’ll be in a manual review queue, and FMCSA has warned that queue can take time to clear.
- Your biennial update window could lapse Missing a biennial update (MCS-150) puts your USDOT number at risk of going inactive or being revoked. You won’t get a grace period because the system was new — the compliance clock doesn’t care about the transition.
- Insurance filing delays can trigger a compliance hold When you renew or switch insurance carriers, you have 10 days to update proof of insurance in Motus. If your account isn’t active, that window passes — and a compliance hold can show up on your public record.
- Brokers and shippers are checking Motus directly Many brokers have already moved away from requesting paper certificates. They check Motus in real time. If your profile isn’t active, verified, and current, they may simply move on to the next carrier.
- Email or login mismatches can block account access entirely To claim your USDOT number in Motus, the Company Official must use the exact same Login.gov email they used in the old portal. If that person has changed, left the company, or the email is different — you’ll have to resolve that through FMCSA directly before you can access anything.
- There is no paper fallback As of September 2025, FMCSA stopped accepting paper transactions. Motus is it. There is no workaround, no manual form to submit while you wait.
What to Do Right Now
1. Go to https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration and log in with your Login.gov credentials.
2. Claim your USDOT number. The Company Official will need to complete identity verification — have your driver’s license or passport ready and use a smartphone for the facial scan.
3. Verify your company information. Check that your name, address, operating classification, and authorized users are all current.
4. If you can’t get in, contact FMCSA at fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/ask-fmcsa — don’t wait and hope it resolves itself.
A Note About Who the “Company Official” Can Be
This is one of the most common places things get stuck. Many carriers have been using a third-party transportation service provider, freight agent, or consultant to manage their FMCSA registration over the years. In Motus, the Company Official must be an owner or direct internal employee — not a third party.
If your current Portal Company Official is someone outside your company, you’ll need to update that before or during the Motus claim process. This is worth checking right now, before you hit a wall at login.
One thing worth knowing: once you’re set up in Motus, you can grant access to a Transportation Service Provider (TSP) — such as your insurance agent — directly through the system. BTP Insurance Services is already registered as a TSP in Motus. Once your account is active, you can add us and we’ll have authorized visibility into your registration and filings. That means we can help monitor your account, catch filing gaps early, and flag anything that could affect your coverage before it becomes a problem. Reach out and we’ll help you get that set up once you’re in.
Not sure where you stand?
If you have questions about your Motus account, your insurance filings, or what a lapse means for your policy — let’s talk before it becomes a problem.
Contact BTP Insurance