Reference
Trucking company sale glossary
26 terms in plain English, from MC number to UCR. FMCSA facts are quoted and linked to their source.
A
- Amazon Relay
- Amazon’s load board for trucking companies, described on its site as a “Load board & trucking contracts for carriers.” Its carrier page lists a DOT number with interstate authority “active for a minimum of 180 days” and a valid MC number.
- Source: Amazon Relay carrier home page (relay.amazon.com), accessed October 31, 2026.
B
- BASICs
- Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories. FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) groups a carrier’s safety data into these categories and compares carriers with their peers in percentiles, to “identify and prioritize motor carriers for inspections.” FMCSA’s November 20, 2024 notice on an enhanced SMS groups the data into what it now calls “compliance categories.”
- Source: Federal Register 2024-27087, “Enhanced Carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS)” (November 20, 2024), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Bill of sale
- A signed document that records what is sold, to whom, for what price, and when it changes hands. In a Veritor Group closing, the bill of sale sets the order of payment.
- BOC-3
- The form a motor carrier uses to name a process agent for each state where it is authorized to operate. Under 49 CFR part 366, a designation “may be canceled or changed only by a new designation,” so a new process agent means a new BOC-3.
- Source: 49 CFR part 366, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
C
- Cargo insurance
- Insurance that covers the freight a carrier is hauling. FMCSA’s cargo security rule in 49 CFR 387.301T(b) applies to household goods carriers. For other freight, shippers and freight programs often set their own requirement.
- Source: 49 CFR part 387, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Chameleon carrier
- A trucking company that closes and reopens under a new name or registration to escape its safety record or enforcement. FMCSA’s 2014 rule on patterns of safety violations sets out factors “designed to root out chameleon carriers.”
- Source: Federal Register 2014-01174, “Patterns of Safety Violations by Motor Carrier Management” (January 22, 2014), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Commercial motor vehicle
- In FMCSA’s rules, “any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property” that meets one of several tests, such as a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more.
- Source: 49 CFR part 390, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
F
- FMCSA
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It registers interstate motor carriers, issues USDOT numbers and operating authority, and enforces federal motor carrier safety rules.
- Source: Federal Register 2026-08334, “Availability of Motus, FMCSA’s New Registration System” (April 29, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
I
- IFTA
- An agreement among US states and Canadian provinces that lets an interstate carrier report its fuel use through one home jurisdiction instead of to every state it drives in.
- In-person or bank-to-bank closing
- The step where the seller and the new owner sign the purchase agreement and the bill of sale face to face. Veritor Group closes in person or bank to bank: the seller is paid at closing, and the bill of sale sets the order of payment.
- Insurance filing (BMC-91 and BMC-91X)
- The certificate of insurance filed with FMCSA as proof of a carrier’s liability coverage, on Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X (49 CFR 387.313T). Coverage on file “shall not be cancelled or withdrawn until 30 days after written notice has been submitted to the FMCSA.”
- Source: 49 CFR part 387, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
- IRP
- International Registration Plan: the agreement under which a truck that runs in several US states and Canadian provinces is registered through its home jurisdiction, with one apportioned plate, instead of in each one.
M
- MC number
- The docket number FMCSA assigns with interstate operating authority. MC stands for Motor Carrier. FMCSA’s April 29, 2026 notice on Motus says its Phase II release “will not include … the elimination of MC/FF numbers.”
- Source: Federal Register 2026-08334, “Availability of Motus, FMCSA’s New Registration System” (April 29, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
- MCS-150
- FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Identification Report. Under 49 CFR 390.19T, an interstate motor carrier files it before it begins operations and again every 24 months, on a schedule set by its USDOT number.
- Source: 49 CFR part 390, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Membership-interest sale vs. asset sale
- In a membership-interest sale, the owner sells their ownership of the LLC, and the company carries on with its registrations. FMCSA’s bulletin gives the example of a corporation, where “John can sell the company and the USDOT Number goes with the company.” In an asset sale, the company sells things it owns, such as trucks, and keeps its USDOT number, which FMCSA says “belongs to the same legal person forever.”
- Source: FMCSA bulletin of March 13, 2026, “DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT Number or Operating Authority (MC Number),” as reproduced by CDLLife, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Motus
- FMCSA’s new online registration system. FMCSA’s April 29, 2026 notice says Phase I “was released on December 8, 2025,” that Phase II was planned for the second quarter of 2026, and that “Motus will replace URS as well as the FMCSA Portal.” It adds that “all new applicants will be required to pass identity proofing and verification.”
- Source: Federal Register 2026-08334, “Availability of Motus, FMCSA’s New Registration System” (April 29, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
N
- New entrant period
- The 18-month safety monitoring period for a carrier that is new to interstate operations (49 CFR part 385). For property carriers, the safety audit comes “within 12 months after receipt of its US DOT number.”
- Source: 49 CFR part 385, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
O
- Out-of-service order
- FMCSA defines it as “a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a Federal, State, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a driver, a commercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier operation is out of service.”
- Source: 49 CFR part 390, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
P
- Process agent
- A person or company named to accept court papers for a motor carrier in a state. Carriers name one for each state where they are authorized to operate, on Form BOC-3, or use a company that has filed a list of process agents for every state (49 CFR part 366).
- Source: 49 CFR part 366, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Purchase agreement
- The contract between the seller and the new owner that sets the price, what is included, the conditions and the closing steps. With Veritor Group, the purchase agreement is prepared for the seller, who can review it with their own lawyer.
S
- Safety rating
- FMCSA’s finding on whether a carrier meets the federal safety fitness standard. Under 49 CFR 385.3, Satisfactory means the carrier “has in place and functioning adequate safety management controls”; Conditional and Unsatisfactory both mean the controls are not adequate, and Unsatisfactory means problems listed in the rule have already occurred. A carrier with no rating is unrated.
- Source: 49 CFR part 385, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
U
- UCR
- Unified Carrier Registration: a registration interstate motor carriers renew for each registration year under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement. The fee depends on the number of commercial motor vehicles the company owns or operates (49 CFR part 367).
- Source: 49 CFR part 367, annual edition revised as of October 1, 2025 (govinfo.gov), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Unified Registration System (URS)
- FMCSA’s online registration system for USDOT numbers and operating authority. Its first phase took effect on December 12, 2015, for first-time applicants. FMCSA’s April 29, 2026 notice says “Motus will replace URS as well as the FMCSA Portal.”
- Source: Federal Register 2026-08334, “Availability of Motus, FMCSA’s New Registration System” (April 29, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
- USDOT number
- The identification number FMCSA issues after it receives and processes a carrier’s Form MCS-150 (49 CFR 390.19T). FMCSA’s March 13, 2026 bulletin states that the USDOT number “belongs to the same legal person forever and may not be sold, transferred, rented, or leased.”
- Source: FMCSA bulletin of March 13, 2026, “DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT Number or Operating Authority (MC Number),” as reproduced by CDLLife, accessed October 31, 2026.
How to read this glossary
FMCSA facts are quoted from the source under each term, accessed October 31, 2026. CFR text is from the official annual edition on govinfo.gov, revised as of October 1, 2025. The FMCSA bulletin of March 13, 2026 is quoted as reproduced by CDLLife; see also FMCSA’s original bulletin page. Terms without a source line are general definitions. This glossary is general information, not legal advice.
To see the terms in use, read how it works and what qualifies, compare the four ways to sell a trucking company, or try the can my MC be sold checker.