Are MC Numbers Going Away?

Short answer: not as of October 31, 2026. Several trucking sites have said FMCSA was retiring MC numbers, and some wrote it as if it had already happened. FMCSA's own Federal Register notice of April 29, 2026 says its new registration system will not include that change for now, and the Federal Register shows no proposed rule to eliminate MC numbers since then. If your company holds authority and you are thinking about selling your MC authority, the MC number on your FMCSA record has not been retired.

Where the rumor came from

Three dated examples, quoted word for word:

• FreightWaves, March 24, 2025: “By Oct. 1, 2025, the agency plans to phase out Motor Carrier (MC) numbers and transition entirely to USDOT numbers.”
• ucrplans.us, a registration filing site, September 4, 2025: “Effective October 1, 2025, the FMCSA will eliminate the use of Motor Carrier (MC) numbers”
• fleetcollect.net, a trucking software blog, February 25, 2026: “As of October 1, 2025, the FMCSA officially retired MC numbers under the Unified Registration System.”

All three pages were still online when we read them on October 31, 2026. The October 1, 2025 date did not hold: FMCSA's own notice of April 29, 2026 still treats the elimination of MC numbers as a change it has not made.

What FMCSA's notice says

The notice is Federal Register document 2026-08334, “Availability of Motus, FMCSA's New Registration System,” published April 29, 2026 (91 FR 23144). It reports what stakeholders told FMCSA:

Stakeholders expressed concerns in three core areas: the introduction of safety registration, the elimination of the Motor Carrier (MC) and Freight Forwarder (FF) Docket Numbers, and changes to the process for the Form BOC-3 to be filed with the Agency.

And FMCSA's answer:

In response to stakeholder feedback, the Phase II release of Motus will not include the implementation of safety registration, the elimination of MC/FF numbers, or changes to the Form BOC-3 filing process.

The notice does not drop the idea for good. FMCSA says it “will take a measured approach to implement these changes in later releases.” It also says: “With Motus, FMCSA will continue to identify all regulated entities by a USDOT Number as the unique identifier that the Agency issues as part of the registration process.”

Read on October 31, 2026 at federalregister.gov.

What we found in the Federal Register

On October 31, 2026 we searched federalregister.gov for FMCSA documents published since April 1, 2026. It lists four FMCSA proposed rules in that time: two on Unified Carrier Registration fees (April 7 and May 1), one on fees for the Commercial Driver's License Information System (May 18) and one on English language proficiency (August 10). None of them proposes to eliminate MC numbers. A search for “Motus” returns only the April 29 notice and a May 6 correction of its docket number.

The April notice also said FMCSA “anticipates issuing a rulemaking in the Spring of 2026 proposing, among other things, to require the usage of Motus for all registrants, and to eliminate the listed forms.” The listed forms include the MCS-150 and the BOC-3. As of October 31, 2026, that proposal had not appeared in the Federal Register either.

Where the idea started

The plan is older than Motus. A 2015 Federal Register document on FMCSA's Unified Registration System rule lists “USDOT Number as sole identifier (discontinuing issuance of docket numbers)” among the rule's major provisions. In an August 10, 2026 proposed rule on another topic, FMCSA recounts what happened next: “On January 17, 2017, FMCSA suspended certain regulations relating to the electronic Unified Registration System and delayed their effective date indefinitely (82 FR 5292).”

The rules in effect today still use docket numbers. The insurer filing rule, 49 CFR 387.323T, describes the docket field as “FMCSA Assigned MC or FF Number.” And FMCSA's page on changes to registrations in Motus says its fact sheet covers “how operating authority docket numbers will be issued.”

What Motus has changed so far

• FMCSA says Motus, its USDOT Registration System, launched on May 19, 2026.
• FMCSA's notice says new USDOT Number suffixes show each type of registration a company holds, and that they “are only visible in the system for ease of use at this time.”
• FMCSA has “temporarily suspended the inactivation of USDOT numbers for entities that have not completed the required biennial update since June 1,” according to its registration page last updated June 22, 2026. Trucksafe, a compliance publisher, reported on September 10, 2026 that the relief will remain in place until further notice.

What it means for a company that holds authority

The MC number is the label FMCSA gives a company's operating authority. What a trucking company is worth comes from the company: how long its authority has been active, its insurance history, its safety record, its equipment and its customers. Those sit on the company's FMCSA record and in its own books, whatever FMCSA calls the authority. That is also why the sale is of the company. MC numbers are never sold on their own; every transaction is the sale of the LLC that holds the authority. FMCSA's 2026 notice on selling MC numbers explains the rule behind that.

Veritor Group coordinates the sale of your trucking company, from the free valuation to the in-person or bank-to-bank closing. No fees, no commission. Start with an MC/DOT lookup for a free valuation.

How to check for yourself

• Search the Federal Register for FMCSA proposed rules. FMCSA said in April 2026 that it anticipates a rulemaking, and proposals are published there.
• Read FMCSA's registration pages and sign up for its registration alerts.
• Look up your own company's record in Motus.