USDOT Number vs. MC Number: What's the Difference?

The USDOT number

FMCSA issues a USDOT number to companies that operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce — generally vehicles over 10,001 pounds, vehicles carrying passengers for hire, or any vehicle hauling placarded hazardous materials. Many states also require a USDOT number for intrastate carriers.

The USDOT number is the key FMCSA uses to track inspections, crashes, compliance reviews and the census data each company files on its MCS-150 every two years.

The MC number

An MC number is a docket number for operating authority. Carriers that haul regulated goods for compensation across state lines, and freight brokers who arrange that transportation, must hold authority. Freight forwarders receive FF dockets and Mexican carriers MX dockets.

Private carriers hauling their own goods, and carriers that only move exempt commodities, need a USDOT number but no MC number.

Which one should you verify?

• Verify both. The USDOT number tells you who the company is and how it performs at roadside inspections.
• The MC number tells you whether the company is legally allowed to haul your load, or broker it, right now.
• Make sure the two numbers belong to the same company. Fraudsters sometimes pair a real MC number with a different USDOT number.

Changes to MC numbers

FMCSA has proposed retiring MC numbers and identifying operating authority by the USDOT number alone as part of its registration system modernization. Until that change takes effect, carrier packets and load boards show both.

Frequently asked questions