You cannot designate as your PPOB any location where your entity is not actively engaged in business operations. FMCSA will not accept a P.O. Box, a private mailbox, post office box centers that hold mail or packages for pickup, or other location with no legal or functional relationship to the applicant’s business including process agents. 

For questions regarding transportation of hazardous materials, cylinders, scuba tanks, etc., please contact the The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). 

• Website: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
• Toll-free Number: 1-800-HMR-4922 (1-800-467-4922)
• Alternative Phone Number: 202-366-4488.

For the PHMSA regional offices, the site is: Offices | PHMSA (dot.gov)

For Hazmat Regulations and Interpretations, the site is: Regulations and Compliance | PHMSA (dot.gov)

To access HAZMAT regulations and interpretations, please see 49 CFR 171-185. (Note: This link is to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-cfr).

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.

Your SDLA will notify you that you are no longer medically certified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in non-excepted interstate commerce. The SDLA will then downgrade all your CDL privileges. Click here for more information.

A new entrant that operates a CMV in violation of an out-of-service order is subject to the penalty provisions in U.S.C. 521(b)(2)(A) for each offense as adjusted for inflation by 49 CFR 386, Appendix B.

Depending on State laws, your company may also be subject to suspension and/or revocation of state vehicle registration privileges.

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

After a new entrant satisfies all applicable preoperational requirements, it will be subject to the new entrant safety monitoring procedures for a period of 18 months. During this 18-month period:

• The new entrant’s roadside safety performance will be closely monitored to ensure the new entrant has basic safety management controls that are operating effectively
• A safety audit will be conducted on the new entrant, once it has been in operation for enough time to have sufficient records to allow the agency to evaluate the adequacy of its basic safety management controls
• Failure to demonstrate basic safety management controls may result in the carrier having its new entrant registration revoked

Starting on January 30, 2012, when you:

• Apply for a CDL
• Renew a CDL
• Apply for a higher class of CDL
• Apply for a new endorsement on a CDL
• Transfer a CDL from another State

You will be required to self-certify to a single type of commercial operation on your driver license application form. Based on that self-certification, you may need to provide your SDLA with a current medical examiner’s certificate and show any variance you may have to obtain or keep your CDL. Source: 76 FR 70661

If FMCSA determines the safety audit discloses the new entrant has adequate basic safety management controls, the Agency will provide the new entrant written notice as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days after completion of the safety audit, that it has adequate basic safety management controls. The new entrant’s safety performance will continue to be closely monitored for the remainder of the 18-month period of new entrant registration.

Your best option is to renew them prior to the expiration date. If your certificate does expire, you must have a new medical examination and obtain a new medical certificate. You must then provide the State Driver Licensing Agency (SDLA) the new medical examiner’s certificate. You are also responsible for applying to FMCSA for a renewal of your variance per CFR§391.51(b)(8)

For a copy of the medical examiner’s certificate, see Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875 located in CFR§391.43(f)

You can find contact information for your state’s driver licensing agency on the USA.gov website.

To search for a medical examiner, click here.

Please send your CAP to the appropriate FMCSA Office:

Western: AK, American Samoa, AZ, CA, CO, Guam, HI, ID, , MT, ND, NM, NV, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, Northern Mariana Is.

E-mail: WSCCAP@dot.gov      
Phone: 303-407-2347
Fax: 877-547-0383

Midwestern: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, OH, WI
E-mail: MSCCAP@dot.gov  
Phone: 708-283-3564
Fax: 877-547-0381

Southern: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN
E-mail: SSCCAP@dot.gov 
Phone: 404-327-7351
Fax: 877-547-0380

Eastern: CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, PR, RI, VA, VI, VT, WV
E-mail: ESCCAP@dot.gov 
Phone: 443-703-2269
Fax: 877-547-0379

You are no longer licensed to drive a commercial motor vehicle. Your SDLA will notify you that you are no longer medically certified to operate a CMV in non-excepted interstate commerce.

You can find contact information for your state’s driver licensing agency on the USA.gov website.

For more information, click here. 

If the medical examiner’s certificate has expired, you must obtain a new one and provide it to your State Driver Licensing Agency (SDLA). If you require a variance and it has expired, you must renew it with FMCSA. Your State may require retesting and additional fees to get back your CDL privileges. If allowed by your SDLA, you may also change your self-certification to an operating category that does not require a medical certificate.

More information can be found on the FMCSA medical program web site.

Yes. Even though you have submitted a copy of your medical certificate to your state driver’s licensing agency, you still have to carry it with you for a minimum of 10 days to give the state time to add it to the system.

The New Entrant Program introduces new interstate motor carriers to federal safety standards and regulations. When a carrier registers and receives a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Number, they are considered a New Entrant for 18 months. A Safety Audit will be conducted within 12 months after the New Entrant begins operations.

New Entrants will receive a letter from FMCSA explaining what they need to do next.

A new entrant whose USDOT new entrant registration has been revoked, and whose operations have been placed out of service by FMCSA, may reapply for new entrant registration no sooner than 30 days after the date of revocation. If the USDOT new entrant registration was revoked because of a failed safety audit, the new entrant must do all of the following:

• Submit an updated MCS-150 and check the box “Reapplication (after revocation of new entrant)”
• Submit evidence that it has corrected the deficiencies that resulted in revocation of its registration and will otherwise ensure that it will have basic safety management controls in effect
• Begin the 18-month new entrant monitoring cycle again as of the date the re-filed application is approved

If the USDOT new entrant registration was revoked because FMCSA found that the new entrant had failed to submit to a safety audit, it must do all of the following:

• Submit an updated MCS-150 and check the box “Reapplication (after revocation of new entrant)”
• Begin the 18-month new entrant monitoring cycle again as of the date the re-filed application is approved
• Submit to a safety audit

If the new entrant is a for-hire carrier subject to the registration provisions under 49 U.S.C. 13901 and has also had its operating authority revoked, it must apply for new operating authority. 

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

A carrier that furnishes false or misleading information, or conceals material information in connection with the registration process, is subject to the following actions:

• Revocation of safety registration
• Assessment of the civil and/or criminal penalties prescribed in 49 U.S.C. 521 and 49 U.S.C. Chapter 149

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

The New Entrant Safety Assurance Program (New Entrant Program) under 49 CFR part 385, subpart D applies to all new U.S.- and Canada-domiciled motor carrier owners and operators seeking authority to conduct interstate operations within the United States.

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

For information on what you can expect from a moving company, see the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) web site "Protect Your Move."  This site gives summaries of your rights as a consumer, instructions on how to respond if there is a problem with your move, etc.

Customers can file a complaint against a motor carrier or broker online or call 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238). 

To check a moving company's FMCSA registration information and history, go to the Protect Your Move look-up page for household goods carriers.

You may also wish to check the company's status with the Better Business Bureau.

A new entrant that commits any of the following actions, identified through roadside inspections or by any other means, may be subjected to an expedited safety audit or a compliance review or may be required to submit a written response demonstrating corrective action:

• Using a driver not possessing a valid commercial driver’s license to operate a commercial vehicle as defined under§ 383.5.
• An invalid commercial driver’s license includes one that is falsified, revoked, expired, or missing a required endorsement
• Operating a vehicle placed out of service for violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations or compatible State laws and regulations without taking necessary corrective action
• Being involved in, through action or omission, a hazardous materials reportable incident, as described under 49 CFR 171.15 or 171.16, involving—
• • A highway route controlled quantity of certain radioactive materials (Class 7)
  • Any quantity of certain explosives (Class 1, Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3)
  • Any quantity of certain poison inhalation hazard materials (Zone A or B)
• Being involved in, through action or omission, two or more hazardous materials reportable incidents as described under 49 CFR 171.15 or 171.16, involving hazardous materials other than those listed above
• Using a driver who tests positive for controlled substances or alcohol or who refuses to submit to required controlled substances or alcohol tests
• Operating a commercial motor vehicle without the levels of financial responsibility required under part 387 of this subchapter
• Having a driver or vehicle out-of-service rate of 50 percent or more based upon at least three inspections occurring within a consecutive 90-day period

Source: 49 CFR 385.308

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

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.