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Guide · Who you are dealing with

How to Check a Mover’s USDOT Number and Authority

A USDOT number shows registration. Household-goods authority is a separate field in the FMCSA record.

By James Huh · Founder, The Move Report

Registered

A USDOT registration exists.

is not the same as

Authorized for HHG

The FMCSA record shows household-goods operating authority.

A company can have the first without the second. FMCSA

Have these in front of you, from the estimate

  • The company’s legal name, and any trade name printed beside it

  • The USDOT number

  • The MC number, if one is printed

  • The address given for the company

Where to look it up

Fastest consumer check

The Move Report’s free checker

Federal mover identity, authority, and filing information shown together.

Verify with the federal source

FMCSA: Search for a Registered Mover
Registered movers and brokers, with complaint information.
SAFER Company Snapshot
Identity, USDOT status, operating authority status, and safety information, one company at a time.
Motus
FMCSA’s current registration and licensing system, where current filings are made.

Use the USDOT number when you can; company names can repeat.

Why you may see older L&I recordsHide the note on L&I records

As of May 14, 2026, FMCSA says the legacy Licensing and Insurance system is available for historical motor carrier records and does not reflect Motus filings. For current filing information, use Motus or another current FMCSA source. FMCSA

The record, and the fields worth reading

What to spot in the record

  1. Mark 1: Legal Name: [Company legal name]

  2. DBA Name: [Trade name, if any]

  3. Mark 2: USDOT Number: ______

  4. Mark 3: MC/MX/FF Number(s): ______

  5. Mark 4: Entity Type: CARRIER / BROKER / CARRIER & BROKER

  6. Mark 5: USDOT Status: ______

  7. Mark 6: Operating Authority Status: ______

  8. Physical Address: [Street, city, state]

What each mark tells you

  1. Mark 1: Legal name, and DBA

    The name that has to match your estimate, not the brand on the truck.

  2. Mark 2: USDOT number

    Shows a registration exists. It does not show what the company may do. FMCSA

  3. Mark 3: MC, MX or FF number

    Identifies operating authority, and not whether it is active today. FMCSA

  4. Mark 4: Entity type

    Carrier, broker, or both. Both is ordinary, and says nothing about the role on your move. Broker vs. carrier.

  5. Mark 5: USDOT status

    Whether the registration itself is active. Separate from any authority.

  6. Mark 6: Operating authority status

    The field that answers the question: household-goods authority appears here. SAFER

Illustrative reconstruction of fields FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot reports, with blanks in place of a company’s details. Not a screen capture, not a real company’s record, and not a federal document.

What it means

What I would do

Authorized for HHG
Household-goods operating authority appears for this entity.
This is what I want to see for the carrier performing an interstate household-goods move.
Not authorized
No interstate for-hire operating authority appears. FMCSA notes the status does not apply to private or intrastate operations.
If the company is presenting itself as the interstate household-goods carrier for my move, stop and clarify before paying or loading.
Out of service
The entity is under an out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate.
Ask what it means for my move before anything is scheduled.
Statuses as FMCSA describes them. A status describes the federal record, not a verdict on a company. FMCSA

What has to match your estimate

In the FMCSA record

On your estimate

Legal name
Legal Name, plus any DBA
The company named as your mover
USDOT number
USDOT Number
The number printed on the paperwork
Role
Entity Type: carrier, broker, or both
Which role the company says it is taking
Address
Physical Address
The address given for the company
Anything that does not line up is worth asking about before you pay or load.

What the record cannot tell you

  • Whether a company is good at moving. A federal record is not a recommendation or a safety verdict.
  • That coverage is in force on your moving day. A filing on record is a statement about a filing, on the day the record was compiled.
  • That a gap means wrongdoing. Records lag, particularly while filings move between federal systems, and an absence in a public record is not always an absence in fact.

If the record says broker

A broker arranges the move; a carrier performs it. Ask which carrier is assigned to your shipment, then run this same check on that carrier. A broker must give anyone who contacts it the list of carriers it uses, with their USDOT and MC numbers. Why the distinction changes who owes you what: Moving Broker vs. Carrier.

Ask in these words

  • What is the legal name and USDOT number of the company contracting with me?

  • Are you the motor carrier for this shipment, or a household-goods broker?

  • Do you hold current authority for interstate household goods, and where can I see it?

  • If you are a broker, which carrier will perform my move, and what is its legal name and USDOT number?

What federal rules require

The conclusion first. The exact language is one tap below it.

Anyone who contacts a broker must be given its list of carriers, with USDOT and MC numbers, and a statement that the broker is not authorized to transport household goods itself.

49 CFR § 371.109

View the exact federal languageHide the exact federal language

“… a list of all authorized household goods motor carriers you use, including their U.S. DOT registration number(s) and MC license numbers …”

(a) You must provide to each potential individual shipper who contacts you a list of all authorized household goods motor carriers you use, including their U.S. DOT registration number(s) and MC license numbers.

(b) You must provide to each potential individual shipper who contacts you a statement indicating that you are not a motor carrier authorized by the Federal Government to transport the individual shipper’s household goods, and you are only arranging for an authorized household goods motor carrier to perform the transportation services and, if applicable, additional services.

49 CFR § 371.109eCFR, read 2026-08-19. Addressed to the broker as “you”.

Two facts behind the check itself, in FMCSA’s own words on its own pages rather than quoted here: registration and authorization are not the same thing, and operating authority is issued separately from the USDOT number that identifies the entity. FMCSA FMCSA

Primary sources used in this guide · 11

FMCSA’s own consumer and registration pages, the SAFER Company Snapshot, and 49 CFR part 371 read on eCFR.

Show all 11 sourcesHide the source list

  1. FMCSA

    Protect Your Move, the consumer household goods hub

  2. FMCSA

    Search for a Registered Mover

  3. FMCSA

    Are FMCSA registered moving companies the same as FMCSA authorized moving companies?

  4. FMCSA

    Do I Need a USDOT Number?

  5. FMCSA

    Types of Operating Authority

  6. FMCSA

    Get Operating Authority (Docket Number)

  7. SAFER

    SAFER Company Snapshot

  8. FMCSA

    Why is my operating authority status shown as NOT AUTHORIZED on SAFER?

  9. Motus

    Motus, FMCSA’s registration system

  10. FMCSA

    Registration Modernization FAQs

  11. 49 CFR § 371.109

    Informing shippers which motor carriers a broker uses

The Move Report is independent and is not affiliated with FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This guide is informational and is not legal advice.

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