49 USC §13902

Definition

49 USC §13902 is the federal statute that requires for-hire motor carriers operating in interstate commerce to register with FMCSA and obtain operating authority. It is the legal basis for the MC number and for the OP-1 application process, now completed in FMCSA’s Motus registration system. Companion provisions cover property brokers (§13904) and the $75,000 broker financial-security requirement (§13906). A carrier that hauls only its own goods, or operates only within one state, generally falls outside the operating-authority requirement, though it may still need a USDOT number.