Compliance FAQ
How long does MC authority take to activate?
FMCSA controls the timing. Authority is granted once the BOC-3 and insurance are on file and the 10-day protest period after the application's FMCSA Register notice has passed (49 CFR 365.203T). The accepted application publishes in the FMCSA Register as a preliminary grant of authority; protests are due within 10 days of that notice and the BOC-3 + insurance within 20 days (49 CFR §365.109T).
Reviewed by Korey Sharp-Paar · Updated
Why does it matter?
The FMCSA queues the application once the $300 fee posts. The administrative review covers the application data check (entity matches state SOS records, principals are not under federal suspension, etc.). FMCSA controls how long that review takes.
Once accepted, the application publishes in the FMCSA Register as a preliminary grant of authority, inviting public protest. The protest deadline is 10 days from the notice (49 CFR §365.203T).
In practice, the BOC-3 and insurance stop being the bottleneck when they are filed in parallel with the FMCSA review. File the BOC-3 soon after submitting the application (the BOC-3 is a separate filing) and get insurance bound early - comfortably inside the 20-day deadline that runs from the FMCSA Register notice.
The longest path is an applicant who submits without BOC-3 and without insurance, then files those after FMCSA finishes its review - the authority sits PENDING, waiting for BOC-3/insurance, then activates once all items are on file. Applications pulled for further FMCSA review take longer.
Start your USDOT and MC authority application
We prepare your USDOT number and MC operating-authority application; it is submitted to FMCSA in Motus by you or a filer you authorize. FMCSA charges a $300 application fee for each operating authority type (49 CFR 360.3T); a USDOT number is free. Our $199 service fee and the $300 FMCSA fee are itemized as two separate amounts before you pay ($499 total).
Submitted to FMCSA in Motus by you or a filer you authorize.
Independent filing service operated by Fast Filing Group LLC. Not affiliated with FMCSA, USDOT or any government agency.