After the application is complete, The FMCSA will review the request and make a recommendation to the Administrator. The final decision whether to grant or deny the application for waiver is made by the Administrator.

Last Updated : April 1, 2014

A lack of basic safety management controls or failure to comply with one or more of the regulations set forth in the chart below and will result in a notice to a new entrant that its USDOT new entrant registration will be revoked.

Automatic failure of the audit: a new entrant will automatically fail a safety audit if found in violation of any one of the following 16 regulations:

Table to § 385.321: Violations That Will Result in Automatic Failure of the New Entrant Safety Audit

For more information on the New Entrant Program, click here.

Get money-saving moving tips from a trusted source: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The compliance date for this requirement (49 CFR 390.19) occurred November 1, 2013.

Filing schedule: Each motor carrier or intermodal equipment provider must file the appropriate form at the following times:

• Before it begins operations
• Whenever there is a change in information (address, telephone number, email, # power units, etc.)
• Every 24 months, according to the following schedule:

If the next-to-last digit of its USDOT Number is odd, the motor carrier or intermodal equipment provider shall file its update in every odd-numbered calendar year. If the next-to-last digit of the USDOT Number is even, the motor carrier or intermodal equipment provider shall file its update in every even-numbered calendar year.

FMCSA also requires you to update your registration information within 30 days of any change.  FMCSA considers updates completed by a motor carrier, Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP), or Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP) holder if changes are reported within 12 months prior to the biennial update due date.  In which case the entity will not receive a Biennial Update Reminder until the next biennial update due date. 

To find out the current status of your USDOT number, click here to search by name or number at the SAFER Company Snapshot. 

All drivers that operate a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in 49 CFR §382.107, which requires a driver holding a commercial driver’s license, are subject to the Drug and Alcohol testing requirements in 49 CFR Parts 40 and 382. (See 49 CFR §383.3). This includes, but is not limited to: full time, regularly-employed drivers; casual, intermittent or occasional drivers; leased drivers and independent owner-operator contractors. See federal register notice on leased drivers.

Last Updated : July 9, 2019

For international shipments, the Level VI inspection must be performed on a highway route controlled quantity of radioactive materials before entering the United States. The Hazardous Materials Safety Permit program does not impose any new requirements in the area of performing Level VI inspections.

Last Updated : April 15, 2014

Intermodal equipment providers (IEPs) were required to submit the IEP Identification Report (Form MCS-150C) and establish systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance programs by December 17, 2009.

IEPs were required to mark their intermodal equipment (IME) by December 17, 2010.

Last Updated : April 7, 2014

Identity verification will be required at the end of the registration application and before the payment page. 

The final rule went into effect on September 23, 2019, and allows States three years to fully implement the final rule. This three-year period allows States sufficient time to seek legislation, update their regulations, and make the appropriate information technology changes to apply the lifetime ban. A State driver licensing agency (SDLA) must come into compliance with this regulation by September 23, 2022.

A person is physically qualified to drive a CMV if that person: First perceives a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than five feet with or without the use of a hearing aid or if tested by use of an audiometric device, does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500Hz, 1000HZ and 2,000 Hz with or without a hearing aid when the audiometric device is calibrated to the American National Standard Z24.5-1951.

Last Updated : April 1, 2014

You may request a waiver if one or more of the FMCSRs would prevent you from using or operating CMVs or make it unreasonably difficult to do so, during a unique, non-emergency event that will take no more that three months to complete. You may apply for an exemption if one or more FMCSRs prevents you from implementing more efficient or effective operations that would maintain a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level achieved without the exemption.

Last Updated : April 1, 2014

You can check to see if a name change or address change has been completed at http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov

• Once in the Safer website, go to “FMCSA Searches”
• Click “Licensing & Insurance”
• Enter MC Number or USDOT Number in the appropriate box and click “search”

It may take approximately 14 days to process the request.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an agency within the Department of Transportation, offers free moving check lists at https://www.ProtectYourMove.gov. There are three different check lists for planning a move, moving day and delivery day available.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, part 49, sections 300-399.

You can access the official version of current FMCSA regulations on our regulations web page. Look under "Related Links" for other regulations that may affect motor carrier operations, such as drug and alcohol regulations (section 40) and hazardous materials program procedures (section 107).

An up-to-date, unofficial version of the regulations can be found on the eCFR site.

To access previous versions of the Code of Federal Regulations (including 49 CFR 300-399) by year, back to 1996, go to the US Government Printing Office (GPO) FDsys site and select the year, then the part/section you want. If you need older versions, please contact your local library, which may have access to earlier versions of the CFR in print or online.

Proposed and final rules amending regulations (and other regulatory documents) are published daily in the Federal Register, also on the GPO website.

Recent regulatory documents published by FMCSA can be found on our "Rulemaking Documents" page.

Regulatory documents (including proposed and final rules and notices) for the FMCSA and other government agencies can be found on the Regulations.gov website. You can submit comments on proposed and final rules at this site.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued guidance to organizations and businesses that transport passengers in interstate commerce, clarifying existing FMCSA regulations and requirements. FMCSA constructed an online resource page to help advise organizations and businesses that may provide interstate passenger transportation services.

To find fact sheets and other information to help you interpret this guidance, click here.

To read the Federal Register Notice on this topic, click here.

While the state driver licensing agencies are responsible for issuing licenses to commercial drivers, the FMCSA sets the standards (found in 49 CFR 391.41) for drivers' minimum levels of physical fitness, and determines who can perform the physical exams.

• The FMCSA Medical Programs website is the main source of information on FMCSA physical standards and programs.
• The National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners lists medical professionals who have completed training and successfully passed a test on FMCSA's physical qualification standards, and are certified to perform FMCSA physical exams for commercial drivers.
• The Medical Examiner's Certificate is completed by the person who performed the exam, and certifies that the driver is physically qualified to drive a CMV. If they prefer a medical "card," Drivers can purchase a separate blank medical card from a supplier of motor carrier forms (e.g., State trucking association) before the exam and ask the examiner to complete and sign it, in addition to the Medical Examination Report form, or they can print the Certificate on cardstock.
• Drivers may apply for exemptions to some of the standards, such as loss of a limb, vision or diabetes standards. Information on how to apply for these exemptions is available on the FMCSA Medical Exemptions page.

For assistance with interpretation of FMCSA CDL medical standards, please contact the FMCSA Physical Qualifications Division directly:

• Email: FMCSAMedical@dot.gov
• Phone: 202-366-4001

You can find your reference number by logging into URS and checking the results of your identity verification attempt. 

If the verification was unsuccessful, a reference code will be provided for each failed attempt by clicking on "Click Here to Proceed". 

The disqualification will be item 10 in Table 1 of 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers

For more information on the exact wording of the final rule, please visit the FRN at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/rulemaking/2019-15611.

All of the FMCSRs are listed numerically on the FMCSA's Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguide.asp?section_type=A.

Last Updated : April 1, 2014