Can a carrier hold multiple MC numbers?

FMCSA assigns one MC number per operating-authority application per legal entity. A single LLC operating as both a motor carrier and a broker holds two distinct MC numbers (one MC for property carriage, one MC-B for brokerage) under the same USDOT - the USDOT is the entity ID, the MC numbers are activity-specific.

Carriers operating multiple business lines through different legal entities get separate MC numbers per entity. A corporate parent with three operating subsidiaries (each a different LLC) typically has three USDOTs and three MCs.

A common compliance pattern is the "broker-and-carrier" hybrid: an LLC holds an MC (motor carrier) and an MC-B (broker) under one USDOT. Each authority type needs its own financial-responsibility filing (BMC-91/91X for the carrier, BMC-84/85 for the broker under §387.307), and the broker side must keep §371.3 transaction records for 3 years. Most successful hybrids use a separate-LLC structure rather than dual-authority on the same entity to avoid the disclosure complexity.

Reactivating a previously-revoked MC: typically a new MC number is issued at reactivation, not the old one. The old MC stays in the FMCSA history record but becomes inactive permanently.