WASHINGTON, May 13, 2026, 12:01 EDT
- FMCSA’s old registration services will sunset at 8 p.m. ET on May 14.
- Motus: USDOT Registration System is slated to roll out for everyone in May, following a brief transition period.
- Carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders who don’t meet the update deadline could be subject to manual checks of both identity and business details.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans to pull the plug on its old registration system Thursday night, clearing the way for Motus, a USDOT registration overhaul that’s set to bring motor carriers, brokers, and other regulated players onto a new digital platform. This is among the agency’s most significant registration shifts for trucking in years.
Registration changes will be shut off for close to four days as FMCSA handles its data migration and testing, the agency’s FAQ shows. Once the switch is made, the Unified Registration System—the previous platform for new USDOT number applicants—won’t return. It’s gone for good after the cutover.
Firms holding a USDOT Number or operating authority—federal clearance for specific for-hire transport—face a deadline to confirm their FMCSA Portal accounts are up-to-date, with accurate company details and a listed official. Only the designated Portal Company Official, logging in with the matching Login.gov email, will have access to claim the Motus account initially, FMCSA said.
Motus is set to take over from a jumble of older systems: the Unified Registration System, sections of the Motor Carrier Management Information System, plus the now nearly three-decade-old Licensing and Insurance system from 1994. According to the April 29 Federal Register notice, Phase II—which is slated for the second quarter—will open Motus to every regulated entity.
This rollout shoves for-hire motor carriers into the same modernization pipeline as property brokers, surface freight forwarders, select Mexico-domiciled carriers, and cargo tank operators. Supporting outfits—BOC-3 process-agent filers, plus insurance and surety filers—got their first taste of Motus back in December, allowing them to set up profiles and company accounts ahead of the full-scale launch.
FMCSA is rolling out a system that leans on Login.gov, identity verification, business validation, and real-time data checks, all accessible via mobile, aiming to reduce fraud and make routine filings faster. The USDOT Number stays put as the core federal ID for carriers and related businesses. MC, FF, and MX docket numbers? Those stick around too—at least for this first version.
Ken Riddle, who heads the FMCSA’s Office of Registration, told Land Line the agency mailed roughly 2.2 million letters alerting carriers and other registrants to the looming May 14 deadline. If registrants miss the window, they could find themselves blocked from filing a biennial update or adding operating authority until the agency verifies their company details.
Riddle flagged the risk: latecomers might find themselves stuck in a manual queue. “I don’t want anyone to wait in that line,” he said. Motus, he emphasized, aims to handle the “full lifecycle” for registered businesses—everything from initial registration all the way through business changes and adding new authority. Land Line Media
Julie Otto from FMCSA’s Office of Registration said the project team clocked a test run—from logging in, linking accounts, right through to reaching the new customer page—at roughly 5 minutes, 15 seconds. The following phase is set for launch on May 19, just days after legacy registration functions end May 14, according to Trucking Dive.
Fraud’s at the core here. FMCSA says Motus brings identity and business checks up front, while the Federal Register notice puts it plainly: close to 800,000 existing registrants will have to verify themselves as soon as they log into the new system.
Still, small fleets and independent operators with outdated Portal accounts—think forgotten email logins or misnamed company officers—face potential hurdles. FMCSA warns that after 90 days of no activity, accounts could be shut off, and they’ll go into archive mode after a year. Paper requests aren’t going away just yet, but the agency signals they’ll drag on longer than digital filings, with future rules to set their fate.
FMCSA is holding off on some of the heftier policy shifts for now. The agency, after encountering resistance from stakeholders, has decided safety registration, scrapping MC and FF numbers, and tweaks to BOC-3 filing won’t show up in the first Motus rollout. Those items are still on the table but will head to public comment first.
