Operating authority
Operating authority is FMCSA's grant to transport or to broker regulated freight for hire across state lines. The words that matter are the status on the day of pickup: active, inactive, or not authorized. A website badge is not the grant.
Key facts
The sources are listed on this page.
Operating authority is the docket, often an MC number, that lets a company haul other people's freight for pay, or arrange that haul, in interstate commerce. A USDOT number is the census ID. Authority is the permission. FMCSA says private carriers hauling their own cargo, and some exempt or commercial-zone operations, do not need this grant. A company that advertises car shipping across state lines generally does.
The status words
On the Licensing and Insurance record, active means that authority type is currently in business. Inactive means the authority has been revoked. None means the company is not registered for that type. An application can still be pending. On SAFER, ACTIVE means the USDOT number is active. AUTHORIZED FOR property, passenger, or household goods lists what the company may do. NOT AUTHORIZED means it lacks interstate for-hire authority. OUT-OF-SERVICE means it is ordered not to operate. Those sentences are not interchangeable.
What to do
Check the legal name on pickup day. A grant that was active when you booked can be revoked before the truck arrives. RideShipper does not issue authority and does not treat a stale copy as today's record.