415 Safety

08/19/2026

FMCSA says MOTUS was built to keep bad actors out.
Secretary Sean Duffy said FMCSA needed to protect its “front doors” through the registration system — so the government knows who is entering the industry.
Fair enough.
So I started looking at FMCSA’s own records.
In the officially published FMCSA Registers since June 24, 2026, I have identified 45 motor carriers with missing or incomplete company-officer identities, including entries such as:
Company Officer:
undefined undefined
NO NAME GIVEN K*****
NO GIVEN NAME S****
NO GIVEN NAME J***** S******
And so on...
Meanwhile, legitimate carriers are spending weeks and months dealing with identity verification problems, missing authorities, broken records, applications that suddenly become inactive, and cases sent to IT with no resolution date.
But apparently the new anti-fraud front door is working beautifully.
After all…
undefined undefined had a verifiable government ID.
Outstanding. 👏

07/04/2026

Happy Birthday, America! 🇺🇸
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. Whether you're celebrating with family, traveling, working, or simply taking a moment to relax, I hope your day is filled with good company, great food, and memorable moments.
Thank you to everyone whose work keeps our communities, businesses, and roads moving every day.
Have a wonderful Independence Day, and travel safely.

06/25/2026

MOTUS Registration Issue – June 25, 2026

Today I encountered two separate carriers from different states who were unable to complete MOTUS registration. After signing in with Login.gov, MOTUS displayed "Your account is locked or suspended."

Clearing browser cache and trying different browsers did not resolve the issue.

Login.gov confirmed the problem is not with the Login.gov accounts and referred us to the FMCSA MOTUS Technical Support team.

If you're seeing the same message while registering or claiming your USDOT number, it may be a MOTUS system issue rather than something wrong with your Login.gov account.

If you've experienced this error recently, I'd be interested to know when it occurred and whether FMCSA provided a resolution.

06/12/2026

After comparing FMCSA Register publications, MOTUS datasets, authority records, insurance filings, and BOC-3 records, one thing stands out:
Some recently filed operating authority applications are being approved and activated, while other carriers are still struggling with missing filings, delayed activations, unanswered emails, missed callbacks, and chat sessions that end without answers.
I've reviewed multiple cases where filings appeared, disappeared, or simply do not match what was actually submitted.
At this point, it is becoming difficult to determine whether a filing is truly missing, still pending review, or simply not visible in the system.
If your authority is pending, keep copies of: • Insurance filing confirmations • BOC-3 confirmations • FMCSA Register notices • MOTUS screenshots • Any correspondence related to your application
I'm currently tracking multiple cases and looking for patterns.
If you've experienced missing filings, delayed activation, disappearing records, or other MOTUS-related issues, send me a private message.
Please do not post your USDOT number, MC number, or any personal information publicly.

06/09/2026

Today's MOTUS Reality Check
Just today's highlights:
🔹 One company accidentally ended up with multiple USDOT numbers.
🔹 Another somehow ended up with two broker authorities and two motor carrier authorities.
🔹 A voluntary revocation request submitted three weeks ago is still "being processed."
🔹 Insurance filings that were previously on file have apparently decided to disappear from view.
🔹 Multiple attempts to contact FMCSA:
• No callback.
• Chat disconnected.
• Rejoined.
• Disconnected again.
• Rejoined.
• Disconnected again.
At this point, transportation compliance specialists are spending less time explaining regulations and more time explaining why the systems don't reflect what everyone knows should be there.
The trucking industry can handle regulations.
The trucking industry can handle audits.
The trucking industry can handle inspections.
What it cannot handle is uncertainty when nobody can tell carriers:
✔ What is correct
✔ What is pending
✔ What is missing
✔ When it will be fixed
If you're a carrier, save screenshots, keep copies of every filing, every email, every certificate, and every confirmation page.
Right now, your own records may be more reliable than the system you're trying to verify them in.
Current mood: waiting for a callback that may or may not exist.

06/06/2026

MOTUS Weekly Update – June 2026

After another week of assisting motor carriers with MOTUS, here are the most common issues we continue to encounter:

o   FMCSA support representatives often cannot verify whether filings have been fully processed or migrated into MOTUS.

o   Many motor carriers still cannot claim their USDOT numbers.

o   Carriers are being asked to submit supporting ownership documentation, including:

·        IRS EIN Letter

·        Articles of Incorporation/Organization

·        State registration documents

·        Other proof of ownership

o   Insurance filings missing from MOTUS

o   BOC-3 filings missing from MOTUS

o   Multiple cases reported to FMCSA appear to require manual review and correction before records are properly reflected in MOTUS.

o   Carriers who accidentally registered as Service Providers are being instructed to create a separate Motor Carrier registration and complete the registration process again.

My recommendations:

✓ Claim your USDOT number if you have not done so already.
✓ Verify your company information.
✓ Check that your authority, insurance filings, and BOC-3 are visible.
✓ Take screenshots of everything.
✓ Keep copies of your MC certificate, insurance filings, and BOC-3 confirmation.
✓ Make sure you still have access to DataQs and the FMCSA Clearinghouse.

The good news: information is slowly being corrected.

The bad news: many carriers are still dependent on FMCSA support and IT review to resolve account and data migration issues.

06/06/2026

06/02/2026

FMCSA has provided guidance for carriers that did not have an active and verified FMCSA Portal Company Official account prior to the MOTUS transition.
If you are unable to claim your USDOT Number in MOTUS, you may be required to complete a manual ownership verification process.
You may be asked to provide:
• USDOT Number
• Login.gov email address
• EIN Letter from the IRS
• Articles of Incorporation or Organization
• State registration documents
• Government issued ID
• Selfie with a government issued ID

Before contacting FMCSA:
✓ Complete your Login.gov registration
✓ Complete identity verification in MOTUS
✓ Gather your ownership documents
From what we are seeing, many carriers are currently being placed into manual review queues as FMCSA continues processing account verifications following the MOTUS transition.
If you are unable to claim your USDOT Number, do not panic. Follow FMCSA instructions and submit the requested documentation.
Share this information with other motor carriers who may be affected.

05/29/2026

Ok, hardworking people...
After spending nearly 6 hours today trying to get answers regarding one of my clients' MOTUS account, this is the summary:
Me: "Can you confirm the filings were submitted and accepted?"
FMCSA: "We can't view that yet."
Me: "Can you confirm the MC activation date?"
FMCSA: "We can't view that yet."
Me: "Can you see if the USDOT number was claimed in MOTUS?"
FMCSA: "We can't view that yet."
Me: "What does the motor carrier need to do?"
FMCSA: "Nothing. They will be contacted."
Me: "Can I get detailed instructions on how to file a biennial update in MOTUS?"
FMCSA: "You can log in and view the option."
Me: "Can I get instructions?"
FMCSA: "There are no instructions yet. That's normal."
At this point, all I can say is:
MOTUS = Migration Of Totally Unfinished Systems™
Keep calm, keep laughing, and keep trucking.

We've survived every FMCSA "improvement" so far. We'll survive this one too.