Free MC number lookup

An MC number, also called operating authority or a docket number, is FMCSA's grant of permission to operate for hire. It reflects what a company is allowed to do and with what. The USDOT number, by contrast, identifies the company and tracks its safety record across inspections and crashes.

You need operating authority if you haul federally regulated freight or passengers for compensation across state lines, or if you arrange that transport as a broker or freight forwarder.

You don't need it if you're a private carrier hauling your own goods, you haul only exempt commodities, or you operate purely within one state. That's why plenty of legitimate carriers have a USDOT number and no MC number.

Operating-authority numbers carry one of three prefixes: MC for motor carriers and brokers, FF for freight forwarders, and MX for carriers domiciled in Mexico. A single company can also hold more than one type of authority, for example a business registered as both a carrier and a broker.

The USDOT number identifies the carrier and can't be transferred; the MC number is for-hire authority and can be. For the full breakdown, see USDOT number vs MC number, or run a free DOT number lookup.

Not yet. FMCSA's new Motus registration system keeps the USDOT number as the single identifier and has proposed eventually phasing out MC and FF numbers, but as of mid-2026 MC, MX, and FF numbers are still issued and still valid. More in USDOT vs MC, and what Motus changes.

Because an MC number maps to one carrier's USDOT record, fleetfax resolves it and pulls the whole file: authority status and history, insurance filings, peer-relative safety, the inspection and crash record, the observed fleet, an operating map, and named risk flags. Enter a number above to run one.