# Search DOT records: every FMCSA carrier, broker and freight forwarder

As of 6 November 2026, dotsearch.us holds the FMCSA record of 4,526,894 motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders, 2,244,725 with an active USDOT registration and 415,969 with operating authority. Look any up by name, USDOT, MC, phone or email and open the full record free, no signup; the census refreshes within minutes of each FMCSA release, authority daily and safety counts weekly from FMCSA files.

- 4,526,894 FMCSA-registered entities
- 2,244,725 active USDOT registrations
- 415,969 with active operating authority
- 11,649 new USDOT numbers in 30 days

Updated 6 November 2026. Figures from the FMCSA census pass of that date.

- 2025-11: 11,211
- 2025-12: 11,593
- 2026-01: 14,782
- 2026-02: 14,590
- 2026-03: 17,494
- 2026-04: 16,836
- 2026-05: 16,952
- 2026-06: 17,233
- 2026-07: 16,266
- 2026-08: 15,474
- 2026-09: 15,104
- 2026-10: 12,524

New USDOT registrations nationwide by month.

## What can you check on every carrier?

Each carrier page is a one-page vetting record built from FMCSA data. It shows:

- whether the operating authority is Authorized or Not Authorized, independent of the USDOT registration status;
- a vetting snapshot with the biennial MCS-150 window and, when FMCSA's file carries a real registration date, how long the company has been registered;
- the 24-month safety record: inspection counts, vehicle and driver out-of-service rates against the SAFER national averages, and crashes;
- the insurance on file: insurer, coverage type, amount when stated and any cancellation on file;
- the fleet size, cross-checked for filing errors, with cargo carried and safety rating;
- the listed company officers.

The same page links to the carrier's own SAFER snapshot so you can verify anything before acting on it.

## What does one search return?

![The dotsearch.us home search on 29 October 2026 with 86876 in the USDOT field, marked 1, and its one match, FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, USDOT 86876, MC-66562, Memphis, TN, Active, marked 2: open the full record, free.](https://dotsearch.us/media/home-search-86876.webp)

USDOT 86876's [carrier page](/carrier/86876/federal-express-corporation) on 28 October 2026:

- Authorized MC-66562
- [Insurance on file](/carrier/86876/federal-express-corporation#insurance)
- USDOT 86876 Active
- Vehicle out-of-service 18.8% (US 22.26%)
- 138,481 power units

Out-of-service rates and crashes, 24 months.

- USDOT 86876 vehicle 18.8%
- US 22.26%
- USDOT 86876 driver 2.7%
- US 6.67%
- USDOT 86876 crashes 3,110: 80 fatal, 1,066 injury, 1,964 tow-away

[Walkthrough of the USDOT 86876 carrier record (video)](https://dotsearch.us/media/carrier-walkthrough.webm)

Scrolling [USDOT 86876's record](/carrier/86876/federal-express-corporation), 29 October 2026.

## How does dotsearch.us differ from the SAFER lookup?

FMCSA publishes everything here, but spreads it across three systems: the SAFER company snapshot for identity and fleet, the Licensing and Insurance system for authority and insurance filings, and the Safety Measurement System for inspections and crashes. dotsearch.us brings those onto a single page per carrier, cross-checks the fleet figures (filing errors are withheld rather than repeated), lets you search by phone, email or officer name as well as by number, and ingests each census release within minutes of publication. It also tracks [newly registered carriers](/new-trucking-companies) daily. dotsearch.us is independent and not affiliated with the FMCSA; the FMCSA record always governs.

## New trucking companies, updated daily

In the 30 days to 6 November 2026, 11,649 new USDOT numbers were issued, listed nationally and by state from the FMCSA registration feed. A new USDOT number usually arrives weeks before operating authority and insurance, which makes these the right moment for factoring, insurance, compliance and fuel-card providers to reach a new company, and the wrong moment to tender it freight. See the [new trucking companies list](/new-trucking-companies). Contacts, dockets and a daily CSV of every new registration are in the [New Applicants report](/pricing) (Enterprise).

## Popular lookups

- [Company Snapshot](/company-snapshot)
- [DOT Number Lookup](/dot-number-lookup)
- [MC Number Lookup](/mc-number-lookup)
- [Broker Snapshot](/broker-snapshot)
- [DOT Status Check](/dot-status-check)
- [Carrier vetting checklist](/carrier-vetting-checklist)
- [Check if an MC number is active](/is-mc-number-active)
- [Check a carrier's insurance on file](/carrier-insurance-check)

## Browse carriers by state

Registration counts, the largest consistent fleets, the cities with the most carriers and the newest registrations in each state. [All states](/carriers).

## Understanding the data

Active vs. Authorized. A USDOT status of Active means the carrier is registered; it says nothing about whether it may haul freight for hire. That requires Authorized operating authority, and a carrier can be Active but Not Authorized (private, exempt, newly registered or revoked). USDOT vs. MC number. The USDOT number identifies a carrier for safety and registration; the MC, MX or FF docket is the number of its for-hire operating authority. Every carrier-page field is defined on the [methodology page](/methodology#fields), and the [vetting checklist](/carrier-vetting-checklist#worked-example) works through one carrier record step by step. Biennial update. Carriers must update the MCS-150 every 24 months in a month set by the USDOT number (49 CFR 390.19T); a missed update can lead FMCSA to deactivate the number, so the window is shown on every page. Safety ratings. Most carriers have never been rated; unrated is not the same as rated poorly, which is why the inspection and out-of-service history matters more. The [methodology](/methodology) page documents every source and derivation, and the [motor carrier statistics](/motor-carrier-statistics) page publishes the national and state figures computed from the full dataset.

## Who is dotsearch.us for?

Freight brokers and shippers vetting a carrier before tendering a load, insurance agents verifying authority and coverage, compliance and safety teams reviewing inspection history, and factoring companies, ELD and compliance vendors and fuel-card providers prospecting newly registered carriers. Searching and opening individual records is free. Browsing the full database with filters, bulk CSV and Excel export, and the daily New Applicants report with contact details are available on [paid plans](/pricing).

## Questions about dotsearch.us

### Is dotsearch.us free to use?

Yes. Searching the 4.5 million FMCSA records and opening any single carrier, broker or freight forwarder record is free and needs no account; bulk browsing with filters, CSV and Excel export and the daily New Applicants report are the paid plans.

### Where does the data come from?

From four public FMCSA sources: the Company Census File (identity, status, fleet), the Carrier All With History dataset (operating authority), the insurance filings dataset, and the inspection and crash files; the census is ingested within minutes of each release and the figures above were computed on 2026-11-06.

### Is dotsearch.us affiliated with the FMCSA?

No. dotsearch.us is an independent service that republishes public FMCSA data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation; every carrier page links to the carrier’s own SAFER snapshot so you can verify anything at the source.

### What is the difference between Active and Authorized?

Active is the USDOT registration status on the census; Authorized means the carrier holds active for-hire operating authority in the FMCSA registry. 2,244,725 entities are Active but only 415,969 are Authorized, so an Active USDOT number alone never means a carrier may haul freight for hire.

## Sources

Every figure on this site is computed from these FMCSA sources; the methodology page explains each derivation.

- [FMCSA Company Census File (data.transportation.gov)](https://data.transportation.gov/Trucking-and-Motorcoaches/Company-Census-File/az4n-8mr2).
- [FMCSA Carrier All With History dataset: operating authority by docket](https://data.transportation.gov/Trucking-and-Motorcoaches/Carrier-All-With-History/6eyk-hxee).
- [FMCSA insurance filings dataset (data.transportation.gov)](https://data.transportation.gov/Trucking-and-Motorcoaches/Motus-Insur-All-With-History/c5y8-a4uz).
- [FMCSA Licensing and Insurance: operating authority and insurance filings](https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_carrquery.prc_carrlist).
- [FMCSA Safety Measurement System: inspections and crashes](https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/).
- [FMCSA SAFER company snapshot: verify any carrier at the source](https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx).
- [49 CFR 390.19T: USDOT registration and the biennial update](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-390.19T).

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