How to check if a car carrier is licensed

To check whether a car carrier or broker is licensed for interstate work, type its USDOT or MC number into the federal safety snapshot and the federal authority search, then match the legal name to the name on the quote. Do that before you pay. This page is general information about public records, not a legal opinion on a particular company.

FMCSA's consumer advisory on automobile transporters was last updated Tuesday, February 10, 2015. It says interstate auto transporters and auto transport brokers must be registered with FMCSA, that both are issued a six-digit MC docket number, and that auto transporters are also issued a seven-digit USDOT number. It tells you to check the registration with a carrier search on the MC docket, and to avoid a company that does not show the MC number on its website. The steps below use the two public search pages that were open on November 10, 2026. The advisory's digit counts are from 2015. Follow the name match, not the count of digits.

Step 1. Write down the name and the number they gave you#

Ask for the legal name, any "doing business as" name, the USDOT number, and the MC number if they have one. Write them on the quote, not in a note you will lose. If the person will not give a number, stop. The 2015 advisory says to avoid a transporter or broker that does not put the MC docket number on its website.

Also write whether they say they are the carrier or the broker. A broker may not represent itself as a carrier, and its advertising has to show broker status (49 CFR 371.7). You will check that claim against the authority search, not against the logo.

Step 2. Open the SAFER Company Snapshot#

Go to the Company Snapshot. FMCSA's page says you can search by DOT number, MC/MX number, or company name. It describes the snapshot 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 is one company at a time and free.

Search the number first. Then search the legal name. You want one record, not two companies that share a word in the name.

Read these items on the result, in this order:

• The legal name and any DBA, against the quote and the contract.
• The USDOT number and the MC/MX number, against what you were given.
• Whether a safety rating is listed. If none is listed, say "no rating on file." Do not translate a blank into "safe" or "unsafe."
• The out-of-service inspection summary. It is a safety fact. It is not a review score.

The snapshot page does not, by itself, tell you that authority is active today. That is the next screen.

Step 3. Open Licensing and Insurance#

Go to the Licensing and Insurance carrier search. The form says that if you know the USDOT number or the docket number, that is all you need to enter. A docket can be marked MC, FF, or MX. If you do not know the number, you can search a legal name, a DBA name, or both, and the page asks you to add a state to narrow a name search. The search looks for a name that begins with what you type, unless you start with an asterisk.

The Licensing and Insurance home page says the carrier search shows information about interstate for-hire carriers that have been granted authority or that have an application pending. The search form says new applications will not be reflected for 24 hours after filing. If someone tells you they "just got approved this morning," the public screen can lag by a day. That is a reason to wait, not a reason to pay on a screenshot they text you.

On the result, read the authority status in the words FMCSA prints. A sample company result was not opened on November 10, 2026, so this page does not rename those words. If the result does not show authority in force for the role you are hiring, carrier or broker, do not send money.

Step 4. Read the insurance line as a filing, not as cover for your car#

The same Licensing and Insurance system is where insurance filings are queried. A filing can be public liability for the truck. Under 49 CFR 387.7, a motor carrier may not operate without the minimum financial responsibility in 49 CFR 387.9. For for-hire carriage of nonhazardous property in a vehicle rated 10,001 pounds or more, that minimum is 750,000 dollars. It responds to judgments for injury and for damage to other people's property from operation of the truck.

It does not tell you the cargo limit on your car. Write down the form name and the amount the screen shows, then ask the company for a certificate that states the cargo limit, the deductible, and the exclusions. The insurance-on-file explainer is that second reading. 49 CFR 387.7(e) says proof of the required financial responsibility is public information and must be produced on a reasonable request by a member of the public. You are allowed to ask.

Step 5. Match, then decide#

You have a license check only when all of these are true:

1. The legal name on SAFER matches the legal name on Licensing and Insurance.
2. That name matches the name that will be on your contract.
3. The authority for the role they claim (carrier or broker) is in force.
4. You have read the insurance filing type, and you have the cargo limit from the certificate, not from an ad.

If any line fails, do not send a deposit to "hold the date." The Better Business Bureau's July 21, 2023 alert includes a consumer who wrote that the company did not appear on the USDOT website. That is the failure this check is for.

RideShipper's company check runs the lookup from a name or a number and shows authority and insurance on file. It does not replace the name match you do with your own contract. RideShipper is not FMCSA, and a profile on this site is not a federal license. How those records are joined is explained on company data sources. The difference between the two numbers is on MC number versus USDOT.

If you want to complain about the record#

The 2015 advisory says you may file a complaint against an automobile transporter or an automobile transport broker by visiting the FMCSA site or by calling 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238), Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A complaint is not a refund. It is a report to the agency. Your contract and your card issuer are the paths for money. The glossary note on an FMCSA complaint points at that report, which is separate from a correction request on RideShipper.