DOT lookup and MC number lookup: check any carrier or broker record

How the lookup works

This DOT lookup sends the number you enter to FMCSA's public carrier data service, through our server so your browser never talks to it directly, and shows the fields it sends back. We don't add, guess or rate anything. If FMCSA doesn't return a field, the tool doesn't show it. Results are cached for up to an hour to keep the service fast, and every result carries the time it was retrieved.

You can run a USDOT number lookup or an MC number lookup. MC numbers are docket numbers tied to operating authority; FMCSA links them to the company's USDOT record, so both routes lead to the same profile. Lookups are limited to a reasonable number per minute so the tool stays available for everyone. We never store the records you look up.

USDOT numbers identify a company to FMCSA and appear on its trucks and paperwork. MC numbers identify interstate operating authority, and many brokers still put them first on their rate cons and email signatures. Either one works as a starting point. If you only have a company name, ask the broker for the number; a legitimate broker gives it without hesitation, and a reluctant one has told you something useful.

A worked example

Say a broker emails you a load and signs off as Broker A Logistics, MC 123456. Here's what an EXAMPLE record could look like, and how to read it:

That's a clean start. Brokers must hold broker authority and file $75,000 in financial security, by surety bond or trust fund 349261, and this record shows both. But notice what's missing: the email address and phone number of the person who contacted you. The record proves the company exists. It doesn't prove the person emailing you works there.

When to run a lookup

Run it before you send a carrier packet to a broker you haven't worked with, before you confirm a load from a new contact at a broker you know, and again whenever something changes: a new email address, a different phone number, a rate con from a company name you don't recognize. It takes seconds, and it's the cheapest protection a small carrier has. Brokers run the same kind of check on you, so it's also worth looking up your own number now and then to make sure your record shows what you expect.

Common mismatches and what they mean

• The name on the rate con differs from the legal name. Ask why. A DBA is normal; a completely different company is not.
• Broker authority shows inactive or none. The company can't legally broker your load. Don't haul it.
• The MC returns a carrier, not a broker. A carrier offering you a load may be re-brokering it. Ask directly and check the shipper paperwork.
• The record is clean but the email domain is new or free. Someone may be using a real company's name. Call the number in the public record.
• No record comes back. Check the digits, try the other number type, then treat the load as unverified until you can confirm it.

Reading the result

Name and authority

Compare the legal name and DBA with the rate con, the email signature and the company's website. A broker should show active broker authority; a carrier should show active common or contract authority. Inactive or missing authority on a company offering you a load is a stop sign.

Insurance and bond

For carriers, liability insurance on file should meet the required amount. For brokers, look for the bond or trust on file. A recent change, such as a bond that just appeared or authority granted last month, isn't automatically bad, but it's a reason to ask more questions.

The checks a record can't do

Fraudsters often use the name and MC number of a real, clean broker with a lookalike email domain. That's why the lookup is only the first step. Call the broker back on the phone number in the public record or on its own website, compare the email domain with the company's real one, and read the rate con before you're dispatched. If you're a carrier worried about your own identity being used, see carrier identity theft and MC hijacking prevention.

Our full method for checking brokers is in how to vet a freight broker. Once a broker checks out, use the rate confirmation checker on the rate con, and keep your own documents ready with the carrier packet builder. Data in this tool comes from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It's run by a dispatch service; see our home page for what we do and apply if you'd like us to run these checks for you.