How to check a DOT and MC number.

• USDOT numberThe federal ID for a company that operates trucks. A carrier, the company that owns the truck, has one. It is usually seven digits and is also painted on the side of the truck.
• MC numberThe docket number for operating authority, the permission to haul for hire across state lines or to act as a broker. Carriers and brokers both have one. FMCSA has proposed dropping MC numbers in the future and using the USDOT number alone, but as of 2026 that change has not taken effect and existing numbers have not changed.

A broker will usually have an MC number and may have a USDOT number too. A carrier will have both. Either one is enough to find the record.

1. 01

   Open SAFER

   Go to safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and choose Company Snapshot. Use the government address directly. Do not click a lookup link someone sent you.

2. 02

   Search the number

   Pick USDOT number or MC/MX number, type it in, and search. If nothing comes back, stop. That number is not real or was typed wrong.

3. 03

   Read the top of the record

   Entity type tells you carrier, broker or both. Operating status and operating authority status should say authorized. “Not authorized” or an out-of-service date means they cannot legally take your car across state lines.

4. 04

   Match the name and phone

   The legal name and any “doing business as” name should match the company on your quote. The phone number on the record should be the one you can reach them on.

5. 05

   Call the number on the record

   This is the step that catches cloned identities. Call the phone number listed on SAFER, not the one in the ad or the email, and ask them to confirm your booking.

FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance site, linked from each company's record, shows whether the company has liability insurance on file and, for a broker, its $75,000 bond or trust. A carrier's cargo insurance, the policy that covers your car, does not show up there. Ask for a certificate of insurance, and then call the insurance agent named on it to confirm the policy is active. FMCSA itself warns that even insurance certificates can be faked, so find the agent's number yourself instead of using the one printed on the certificate.

FMCSA warns that criminals use other companies' USDOT numbers without permission. Everything on SAFER looks perfect, because it is a real company's record. What does not match is the contact details. The person you are dealing with has a different phone number, a lookalike email address or a website that is not on the record. That is why step five matters. A real company will confirm your booking when you call the number the government has on file. A scammer cannot.