Free DOT Number Lookup
Enter any USDOT number to see the carrier's legal name, operating status, MC number, address, phone, fleet size and safety rating. The full public record from the official FMCSA motor carrier census, no signup required.
A DOT number lookup checks a trucking company against the FMCSA motor carrier census using its USDOT number. This free tool returns the carrier's legal name, whether its registration is active or inactive, its MC docket number, address, contact details, fleet size, driver count and safety rating, so you can confirm a carrier is real and authorised before you book a load.
Source: Motor Carrier Census (SAFER company snapshot), published by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
This tool reads the public FMCSA motor carrier census, a US Department of Transportation dataset in the public domain, and is provided for informational purposes only. 1Lookup is not affiliated with FMCSA or the US Department of Transportation. Fields sourced from a carrier's own MCS-150 filing, including fleet size and driver counts, may be out of date. Safety ratings are assigned by FMCSA only after a compliance review and most carriers do not have one. For authoritative operating authority and insurance status, check FMCSA's own SAFER and Licensing and Insurance systems before making a booking decision.
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Check Any Trucking Company by USDOT Number
Before you hand a load to a carrier, you need to know the company is real, currently authorised to operate, and the size it claims to be. This free DOT number lookup answers that in seconds. Enter a USDOT number and you get the carrier's full public record: legal name, any DBA name, entity type, whether its registration is active or inactive, its MC docket number and authority status, its registered address, phone and email, the officers on file, how many trucks and drivers it reported, its annual mileage, whether it has a prior revocation on record, and its safety rating if it has one.
The data comes from the FMCSA motor carrier census, the official register every interstate carrier must file with. It covers roughly 4.5 million carriers and is refreshed daily. About half of those records are inactive, which is exactly why checking matters: a DOT number existing is not the same as a carrier being allowed to run today.
One thing worth understanding before you read a result: only about 5% of carriers have a safety rating at all. FMCSA only assigns a rating after it completes a compliance review, and most carriers have never had one. A blank rating is the ordinary case and is not a black mark. What should stop you is an inactive registration, a fleet size of zero, or a filing that has not been updated in years.
How the DOT Number Lookup Works
Enter the USDOT number
Type or paste the carrier's USDOT number. You can include the 'USDOT' prefix or commas if you are copying from paperwork, and the tool will read the digits either way.
We query the FMCSA census
The number is checked against the official FMCSA motor carrier census, the same public register that backs the SAFER system, covering about 4.5 million carriers and updated daily.
Read the carrier's record
You get the legal name, operating status, MC number, registered address, contact details, officers, fleet size, driver count, annual mileage and safety rating, plus the date the carrier last updated its own filing so you know how current the numbers are.
Active or inactive at a glance
The single most important field on the page. About half of the 4.5 million carriers in the census are inactive, meaning they are not currently authorised to operate, and the status is shown first for that reason.
Legal name and DBA
See the name the carrier is registered under alongside any trading name, its entity type, and the officers on file. A mismatch between the name on a rate confirmation and the name on the DOT number is a classic sign of double brokering.
Fleet size and driver count
Compare the trucks, drivers and annual mileage the carrier reported to FMCSA against the capacity it is claiming to you. A one-truck filing against a promise of ten loads a week is worth a question.
Contact details and prior revocations
The registered address, phone, email and officers filed with FMCSA, plus a flag where the carrier has had its operating authority revoked in the past. Roughly 29,000 carriers carry that flag.
Safety rating, reported honestly
Satisfactory, Conditional or Unsatisfactory where FMCSA has assigned one. Where it has not, the tool says 'None assigned' and explains that this is normal rather than implying a problem.
Who uses this tool
Freight brokers vetting carriers
Confirm a carrier is real and active before you tender a load, and check that the fleet size on file is consistent with the capacity being offered to you.
Shippers checking a new hauler
Verify the operating authority of a carrier that approached you directly, before goods are ever loaded onto their trailer.
Insurance and compliance teams
Pull the registered name, status and safety rating for a carrier file, and see when the carrier last updated its own MCS-150 filing.
Factoring companies checking a debtor
Confirm the carrier behind an invoice is an active registrant with a matching legal name before advancing funds against the freight bill.
Frequently asked questions
What is a USDOT number?
A USDOT number is the unique identifier FMCSA assigns to a commercial motor carrier. It stays with the company for life and is used to track its safety record, inspections, crashes and compliance reviews. Any carrier operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce above certain weight or passenger thresholds must have one, and it must be displayed on the vehicle.
What is the difference between a DOT number and an MC number?
A USDOT number identifies the carrier for safety purposes and nearly every interstate carrier needs one. An MC docket number is separate operating authority, needed by for-hire carriers that transport regulated goods across state lines. A carrier hauling only its own freight may have a DOT number and no MC number, which is normal. This tool shows both where they exist.
Why does this carrier have no safety rating?
Because FMCSA only assigns a safety rating after completing a compliance review, and most carriers have never had one. Roughly 239,000 of the 4.5 million carriers in the census carry a rating, which is about 5%. An unrated carrier is the normal case, not a warning sign. Judge an unrated carrier on its operating status, fleet size and how recently it updated its filing.
What does an inactive DOT number mean?
An inactive registration means the carrier is not currently authorised to operate. The number may have been deactivated because the carrier stopped filing its biennial MCS-150 update, went out of business, or had its authority revoked. Do not book a load against an inactive carrier without confirming its current status with FMCSA directly.
How current is this data?
The FMCSA motor carrier census is refreshed daily and this tool reads it directly. Be aware that some fields, particularly fleet size and driver counts, come from the carrier's own MCS-150 filing rather than from an inspection, so they are only as current as the last time that carrier filed. The tool shows you that filing date so you can judge for yourself.
Can I check a list of carriers in bulk?
Not through this free tool, which is deliberately limited to a handful of lookups per visitor per day. Create a free 1Lookup account to verify the phone numbers and email addresses on a carrier list in bulk, or to confirm through the Business Verify API that a company is real, open and reachable.
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