FMCSA's 2026 Notice on Selling MC Numbers, Explained

In March 2026 FMCSA published a bulletin headed “DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT or MC Number.” The same bulletin says a company that holds authority can still be sold, and that its USDOT Number goes with it. That is how selling your MC authority works in practice, and how an LLC transfer works covers the paperwork. This post quotes the notice with its dates, shows where FMCSA draws the line, and lists the FMCSA filings that follow a company sale.

What the notice says

FMCSA posted the bulletin on March 13, 2026 and revised it on March 19, 2026. Its first line reads:

DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT Number or Operating Authority (MC Number) online or elsewhere from an unknown person or outside of a legitimate corporate transaction

On the USDOT Number:

The USDOT Number belongs to the same legal person forever and may not be sold, transferred, rented, or leased.

The March 19 revision added a sentence about the authority itself:

Operating authority is not a distinct commodity and may not be sold, leased, or rented to another party for use as if that party were the registered entity responsible for safety management and regulatory compliance, outside of a legitimate corporate transaction.

The revision also made clear that the notice is about the sale or lease of the registration or authority itself, not about leasing trucks or drivers under compliant arrangements. When FMCSA finds an attempt to sell, purchase or lease a number or authority outside a legitimate corporate transaction, the bulletin says it “will initiate proceedings to inactivate the USDOT Number and revoke all related registrations.”

FMCSA's April 29, 2026 Federal Register notice on its new registration system, Motus, makes the same point from the fraud side. It lists “selling of motor carrier numbers” among its examples of fraudulent activity.

Read on October 31, 2026: the FMCSA bulletin through its Internet Archive copy of September 3, 2026, the original March 13 version, and Federal Register document 2026-08334.

Where FMCSA draws the line

The bulletin does not define “legitimate corporate transaction” in one sentence. It explains it with two cases, and the difference between them is who holds the USDOT Number.

A sole proprietor

A sole proprietor's USDOT Number is personal. In FMCSA's example, “John Doe will always be the owner and only one who can ever use his USDOT Number.” When a sole proprietor sells the business, the bulletin says FMCSA may require separate operating authority or may record a transfer of the authority, depending on the details, and the owner must file an out-of-business notification.

A corporation or other business organization

This case is headed “Corporation (or any legal Business Organization),” a heading broad enough to cover an LLC. Here the company itself can be sold. In FMCSA's words, “John can sell the company and the USDOT Number goes with the company.” If the company keeps operating after the transaction, “the USDOT Number stays with John Doe, Inc.,” the company in the example. On the authority, the bulletin says:

In corporate transactions, FMCSA will record a transfer of operating authority only if motor carrier operations will continue with the same safety management oversight and controls after the corporate transaction. In many cases, following a corporate transaction, motor carriers are only required to report ownership or corporate officer changes

In those cases, it adds, “no transfer is required.” If a new entity is formed instead, a transfer may be recorded or new authority may be required.

So the sale FMCSA recognizes is the sale of the company that holds the authority. The case the notice warns against is a number sold by itself to someone who then operates as if they were the registered company. Veritor works only on the first kind: MC numbers are never sold on their own; every transaction is the sale of the LLC that holds the authority.

What changes after a company sale

These are the FMCSA filings that follow when a company with authority changes owners, each with its source. Ask the closing attorney how each one applies to your sale.

1. The FMCSA record. The bulletin says: “The new corporate owners should update FMCSA records immediately to note the change in ownership.” The carrier's identification report is Form MCS-150, filed before a carrier begins operations and every 24 months under 49 CFR 390.19T. FMCSA is moving registration into Motus, and its April 29, 2026 notice says it will keep accepting forms including the MCS-150 “until a regulatory change eliminates references to these forms.”
2. The process agent (BOC-3). Process agents are named on Form BOC-3, and “Only one completed current form may be on file” (49 CFR 366.2T). A designation “may be canceled or changed only by a new designation” (49 CFR 366.6T). If the new owners use a different process agent, a new BOC-3 is filed.
3. Insurance filings. Certificates of insurance “must be filed with the FMCSA” and are issued “in the full and correct name” of the company that holds the authority (49 CFR 387.313T). Insurers file these certificates, and 49 CFR 387.323T lets them do it electronically. If the company changes insurers after the sale, the new insurer files its own certificate in the company's name.

A short checklist

• Check the legal name on your FMCSA record. Is the authority registered to your LLC or corporation, or to you as a sole proprietor?
• If it is the company, the sale is of the company itself, with a purchase agreement for the company.
• If it is you personally, the bulletin's sole proprietor rules apply. Ask an attorney before you agree to anything.
• Keep the company's records current. FMCSA's April notice asks registrants to review their records for accuracy and make updates, including process agent and insurance filings.
• Plan the filings after closing with the closing attorney: the record update, a new BOC-3 if the process agent changes, and the new insurer's certificate if the insurer changes.
• Keep it in writing: a written offer, a purchase agreement and an in-person or bank-to-bank closing.

How Veritor handles it

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. We pull the FMCSA record, value the company, come back with a written offer, prepare the purchase agreement and close in person or bank to bank. Closing is typically 3 to 5 business days after an offer is accepted when everything is in order.

Start with an MC/DOT lookup for a free valuation. If you have heard that MC numbers are being eliminated, read are MC numbers going away?