FMCSA Carrier Lookup for Dispatchers
FMCSA's Company Snapshot is a free lookup of one carrier by USDOT number, MC/MX number, or company name.
For interstate operating authority, insurance, or a process agent, FMCSA points you to its Licensing and Insurance carrier search, or to 1-800-832-5660.
Steps
- Open the SAFER Company Snapshot.
- Search one USDOT number, one MC/MX number, or the company name.
- Read the operating authority line: AUTHORIZED FOR, NOT AUTHORIZED, or OUT-OF-SERVICE.
- Open Licensing and Insurance carrier search, or call 1-800-832-5660, for insurance and the process agent.
- Read the safety rating if one is shown, the roadside out-of-service inspection summary, and the crash information on that snapshot.
FAQ
Is the Company Snapshot free?
Yes. FMCSA says the Company Snapshot is available via an ad-hoc query, one carrier at a time, free of charge.
What can I search by?
USDOT number, MC/MX number, or company name.
What do the authority statuses mean?
AUTHORIZED FOR lists the Passenger, Property, or Household Goods authority the carrier or broker may operate. NOT AUTHORIZED means no operating authority and no interstate for-hire operations. OUT-OF-SERVICE means the carrier is under an out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate.
Does NOT AUTHORIZED cover every carrier?
SAFER's help page says NOT AUTHORIZED does not apply to private or intrastate operations.
Where is insurance?
FMCSA's FAQ says interstate operating authority, insurance, and process agent information are in the Licensing and Insurance system under Carrier search. The phone number published on that FAQ is 1-800-832-5660.
Does a lookup make me the carrier's dispatcher?
No. A lookup reads a public record. An appointment to dispatch is a written agreement with that carrier, described in FMCSA's June 16, 2023 guidance.
Company Snapshot search
Open SAFER Company Snapshot. FMCSA describes it as a concise electronic record of a company's identification, size, commodity information, and safety record, including the safety rating if any, a roadside out-of-service inspection summary, and crash information.
The search criteria on that page are USDOT number, MC/MX number, or company name. Run one carrier at a time. If you only have a name, confirm the USDOT number on the result before you store it. Names collide.
How this fits a search for carriers to work with is in how to find carriers to dispatch.
Operating authority statuses
FMCSA's FAQ Why is my operating authority status shown as NOT AUTHORIZED on SAFER? defines the line you will see:
- AUTHORIZED FOR (Passenger, Property, Household Goods): the specific operating authorities the carrier or broker is allowed to operate.
- NOT AUTHORIZED: the entity does not have any operating authority and is not authorized to engage in interstate, for-hire operations.
- OUT-OF-SERVICE: the carrier is under any type of out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate.
SAFER help says NOT AUTHORIZED does not apply to private or intrastate operations. It also describes an inactive USDOT number as inactive under 49 CFR 390.19(b)(4) when the biennial MCS-150 update was not completed. Read the status on the snapshot in front of you. Do not guess it from the company name.
Create your free SellDispatch account to save the USDOT, the MC number, and the notes from the call.
Insurance, process agents, and safety data
FMCSA's FAQ Where do I go to look up interstate operating authority, insurance, or a process agent? says to use the Licensing and Insurance system and select Carrier search. The same FAQ gives the phone number 1-800-832-5660 if you do not have internet access.
The safety pieces FMCSA names on the Company Snapshot are the safety rating if any, the roadside out-of-service inspection summary, and crash information. This article does not copy a sample carrier, because those numbers belong to the record you look up.
What a lookup does not prove
A public record is not an appointment and it is not a decision about broker authority. FMCSA's June 16, 2023 guidance is the document for whether your dispatch work needs broker authority. Start with how to become a truck dispatcher. If you are writing the appointment, use the dispatcher-carrier contract template and have a lawyer review it.
TODO: this guide does not document click-paths inside the Licensing and Insurance application beyond what the FAQ says (open it, choose Carrier search). If that screen has been renamed, follow the current label on fmcsa.dot.gov.
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