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How to Get MC Authority: Steps, $300 Fee, and Timeline
Create a Login.gov account, apply in Motus, have a process agent file the BOC-3 and your insurer file BMC-91 or BMC-91X, then wait out the 10-day protest period after the FMCSA Register notice. FMCSA states there is no charge for a USDOT number; each operating authority is a non-refundable $300 fee. FMCSA does not publish a guaranteed number of weeks.
Fast Filing Group LLC is a private company and is not affiliated with FMCSA, USDOT, IRS, the UCR Plan, or any government agency.
Most of these steps can be completed directly with the agency for the government fee only; a BOC-3 must be filed by a process agent (brokers/freight forwarders without trucks may self-file), and FMCSA charges no fee for it.
Reviewed by Korey Sharp-Paar · Updated
New USDOT/MC applications through FastTruckAuthority are paused right now. You can file directly with FMCSA in Motus (motus.dot.gov). The full company sequence, including the steps before and after authority, is the how to start a trucking company guide.
1. Create a Login.gov account
FMCSA requires a Login.gov account before you can use Motus. The same account is used by the company official who will sign the application.
2. Apply in Motus
Starting May 14, 2026, FMCSA moved new USDOT numbers and operating authority from the legacy systems to Motus at motus.dot.gov. There is no charge for a USDOT number. Each operating authority is $300, and the fee is not refundable. Ask only for the authority types you will use.
3. File the BOC-3
Only a process agent may file Form BOC-3 for a carrier. A broker or freight forwarder applicant without commercial motor vehicles may file it on their own behalf. FMCSA charges no fee for the designation. The 90-day dismissal rule for this form and for the insurance filing is stated once below.
4. Have the insurer file BMC-91 or BMC-91X
Applicants do not file insurance forms themselves. The insurer files BMC-91 or BMC-91X on the same 90-day clock as the BOC-3, stated once below. For-hire nonhazardous property in a vehicle of 10,001 pounds GVWR or more requires at least $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9). Oil and the other hazardous materials in row 3 of that table require $1,000,000. The highest-risk hazardous materials in that table require $5,000,000. A property broker files a $75,000 BMC-84 surety bond or BMC-85 trust fund instead (49 CFR 387.307). Household-goods carriers and household-goods freight forwarders also need Form BMC-34 or a BMC-83 bond. Cargo security for household goods is $5,000 on any one vehicle and $10,000 for loss at any one time and place (49 CFR 387.303).
5. Wait out the 10-day protest period
A protest must be filed within 10 days after the application appears in the FMCSA Register (49 CFR 365.203). Section 365.115(a) states the same 10 days and points to that subpart. FMCSA grants the authority after that window and after the insurance and BOC-3 are on file.
The 90-day dismissal deadline
The insurer’s financial-responsibility filing and Form BOC-3 are both due within 90 days after notice of the application is published in the FMCSA Register (49 CFR 365.109). FMCSA’s September 2025 OP-1 instructions say the application is dismissed, and the fee is not refunded, if either filing misses that window (OP-1 instructions). Those instructions say FMCSA sends a warning letter if the documents are not in within 20 days. The warning is not a separate deadline. Household-goods cargo, Form BMC-34 or a BMC-83 bond, is part of that same filing (49 CFR 387.303).
What pending and active mean
Submitting the application does not make the authority active. FMCSA publishes the application in the FMCSA Register. A protest must be filed within 10 days after that notice (49 CFR 365.203). Section 365.115(a) states the same 10 days and points to that subpart. The BOC-3 and the insurance filing still have to be on file before the agency grants operating authority. Until that grant, the application is not permission to haul for hire.
Census counts of newly registered carriers, which are not the same thing as granted authorities, are on the new trucking companies page. The fee schedule is on FMCSA’s operating-authority page.
Broker authority versus carrier authority
A property broker does not operate the truck. FMCSA still charges $300 for broker authority (fee FAQ). Instead of BMC-91 liability insurance, a broker must have a $75,000 surety bond on Form BMC-84 or a $75,000 trust fund on Form BMC-85 (49 CFR 387.307). A broker or freight forwarder without commercial motor vehicles may file the BOC-3 on their own behalf. A carrier cannot. A carrier’s minimum public liability for nonhazardous property at 10,001 pounds GVWR or more is $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9).
Holding both authorities means two $300 fees and both the insurance filing and the broker bond.
What delays a grant
- The wrong authority type. The $300 fee is not refundable (FMCSA).
- No BOC-3 on file. Carriers need a process agent to file it (FMCSA BOC-3 page).
- Insurance not filed by the insurer. Applicants may not file those forms themselves.
- The legal name on the application does not match the company name on the state filing.
- A protest filed in the 10 days after Register publication (49 CFR 365.203).
Questions
How much does MC authority cost?
FMCSA charges $300 for each operating authority, and the fee is not refundable. Two different authority types cost $600. FMCSA states there is no charge for a USDOT number by itself.
What is the difference between pending and active?
A submitted application is not authority to operate. FMCSA publishes it in the FMCSA Register, and the 10-day protest period runs from that publication. FMCSA grants the authority only after that period and after the BOC-3 and the insurance filing are on file. Until that grant, do not haul for hire under the application.
Can I file the application myself?
Yes. Apply in Motus with a Login.gov account and pay FMCSA directly. New applications through our authority filing service are paused. A carrier still needs a process agent to file the BOC-3, and the insurer files the insurance proof.
BOC-3 filing
FMCSA’s fee for the process-agent designation is $0 (49 CFR 360.3). Fast BOC-3 Filing’s service fee is $75. File a BOC-3 at fastboc3filing.com.
Footnote on the fee: 49 CFR 360.3 lists $300 for an application for USDOT Registration under 49 CFR part 390, subpart E. FMCSA’s public pages state what a new applicant pays: no charge for a USDOT number, and $300 per operating authority. Apply in Motus and pay the amount Pay.gov shows.
Fast Filing Group LLC is a private company and is not affiliated with FMCSA, USDOT, IRS, the UCR Plan, or any government agency. Most of these steps can be completed directly with the agency for the government fee only; a BOC-3 must be filed by a process agent (brokers/freight forwarders without trucks may self-file), and FMCSA charges no fee for it.