FMCSA: do not buy or sell a USDOT or MC

published 2026-03-19 · updated 2026-09-19

summary

FMCSA’s March 19, 2026 notice says: do not sell, purchase, or lease a USDOT number or MC operating authority online or from an unknown person, outside a legitimate corporate transaction. If they find that transfer, they will start proceedings to inactivate the USDOT and revoke related registrations under 49 U.S.C. 31134 and 49 U.S.C. 13901–13905.

The notice is about the registration itself, not equipment leases under 49 CFR Part 376. This is not a Verifreta Q1 fraud dashboard. Match legal name, USDOT, and MC on Licensing & Insurance, then call the census telephone before you cover.

key filings and names

FMCSA bulletin: Newsroom notice dated March 19, 2026: “DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT or MC Number.” The related FAQ was last updated March 13, 2026.
USDOT number: Census identity assigned to one legal person. Not a commodity. Improper use can be inactivated.
MC number: Operating authority (MC / MX / FF docket). May not be sold, leased, or rented for someone else to run as if they were the registered entity.
49 U.S.C. 31134 / 13901–13905: Statutes FMCSA cites for safety registration and operating-authority revocation after an improper transfer.
49 CFR Part 376: Equipment-lease rules for trucks and owner-operators. Still lawful. Distinct from selling the USDOT or MC.
SAFER + L&I: SAFER Company Snapshot holds the census telephone. Licensing & Insurance holds legal name, USDOT, and MC. Both must match the rate con.

What the March 2026 FMCSA bulletin says

On March 19, 2026 FMCSA posted a public notice: do not sell, purchase, or lease a USDOT number or operating authority (MC) online or from an unknown person, outside a legitimate corporate transaction. If they find that kind of transfer, they will start proceedings to inactivate the USDOT and revoke related registrations — safety registration under 49 U.S.C. 31134 and operating authority under 49 U.S.C. 13901–13905.

That is a government action on paper authorities. It is not a Verifreta fraud score, not a quarterly count of “identity reuse,” and not a reason to skip the census callback. This desk does not have a Q1 2026 case database to publish. The useful fact is the bulletin plus the same identity checks as last year.

USDOT and MC vs an equipment lease (Part 376)

FMCSA drew a line. The notice is about selling or leasing the registration itself. It is not a ban on leasing trucks or drivers under the equipment-lease rules in 49 CFR Part 376 and 49 CFR Part 390 Subpart G. “We have a leased truck” can be legitimate. “We bought this MC last week off a website” is the fact the bulletin is about.

A real merger or sale of the whole company is a corporate transaction. New entities still need their own authority unless a documented transfer of the entire operation is what FMCSA will record. The person on the phone does not get to narrate that. You match legal name on L&I to the rate con.

How to check identity on a clean-looking MC

Identity theft and double-brokering did not wait for the bulletin. FMCSA’s own fraud page still says: confirm the phone on SAFER; if the cell in the email is not that number, call the posted line; the carrier on the truck may also be a victim.

Match legal name, USDOT, and MC on the rate confirmation to Licensing & Insurance. Call the census telephone. Ask them to state the legal name and DOT. If they want the rate con in a dispatcher’s LLC, stop. If they swap MC at the dock because “the other truck is closer,” that is a new lookup, bulletin or no bulletin.

What to do when they say they bought the authority

Treat that sentence as a prompt to open L&I and the snapshot, not as proof the cover is clean. Ask which legal entity is on the docket today. If the W-9, the rate con, and the census legal name do not match, you do not have a carrier.

Do not publish a list of “sold MCs” from a Facebook thread as if it were the March bulletin. Convert a rumor into a filing or an identity mismatch, or refuse on your own credit rule without inventing an Unsatisfactory rating.

desk checklist

Legal name, DOT, and MC on the rate con match L&I — including Inc versus LLC.
Census telephone called; the office stated that same name and DOT.
“We bought this MC” is treated as a new identity check, not a pass.
MC swap at pickup is a new lookup.
Peer screenshots are prompts, not FMCSA findings.

fail closed

Rate con names a different legal person than the docket.
Census phone reaches a different company or nobody who will state the DOT.
Covering on a story that the MC was purchased, without opening L&I.
Forwarding a rumor list to a shipper as if it were the FMCSA bulletin.

questions

Can I buy or sell a USDOT number or MC number?

Not outside a legitimate corporate transaction. FMCSA’s March 19, 2026 notice and the related FAQ say: do not sell, purchase, or lease a USDOT number or operating authority (MC) online or from an unknown person. Operating authority is not a distinct commodity.

Will FMCSA revoke a purchased MC or USDOT?

If FMCSA finds a USDOT or MC sold, purchased, or leased outside a legitimate corporate transaction, it will initiate proceedings to inactivate the USDOT and revoke related registrations, including safety registration under 49 U.S.C. 31134 and operating authority under 49 U.S.C. 13901–13905.

Does the bulletin ban leasing trucks under Part 376?

No. FMCSA says the notice applies to the registration itself, not to leasing equipment (trucks or drivers) under 49 CFR Part 376 and 49 CFR Part 390 Subpart G. “We have a leased truck” can be a real equipment lease. “We bought this MC off a website” is the fact the bulletin targets.

What is a legitimate corporate transaction for an MC or USDOT?

A documented sale or merger of the entire operation, not a paper authority handed to a new person. New entities still need their own authority unless FMCSA records a transfer of the whole company. The dispatcher on the phone does not get to narrate that. Match legal name on Licensing & Insurance to the rate con.

What should a broker check if a carrier says they bought the authority?

Open Licensing & Insurance and the SAFER snapshot. Confirm legal name, USDOT, and MC on the rate con match the docket, including Inc versus LLC. Call the census telephone and ask them to state that same name and DOT. If W-9, rate con, and census name diverge, you do not have a carrier.

Is this a Verifreta Q1 2026 fraud-trends report?

No. Verifreta does not publish a quarterly identity-reuse count or a sold-MC list. The March bulletin is an FMCSA notice. The desk work is still name match, L&I, and the census callback — the same checks used for chameleon carriers and double-brokering.

sources

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