Authority Guide
Buying a Trucking Company With an Aged MC Number: What Transfers
Say an owner is retiring and offers you his trucking company, name and numbers included. Buying a trucking company with an aged MC number sounds like a way to skip being the new carrier. FMCSA's answer is short. A USDOT number can't be sold, and an MC number isn't a product.
There is a legal way to buy a real trucking company. Here is what transfers, and what an underwriter asks next.
What FMCSA says can be sold, and what can't
On March 19, 2026, FMCSA published a bulletin on selling USDOT and MC numbers. The title starts with DO NOT. Agencies rarely shout, so take the hint. The bulletin says a USDOT number "belongs to the same legal person forever and may not be sold, transferred, rented, or leased." Operating authority, the MC number, "is not a distinct commodity."
Everything turns on who the legal person is. A sole proprietor is the person. A corporation is its own legal person, so the number goes with the company.
| The deal | USDOT number | MC number | Filing FMCSA expects |
|---|---|---|---|
| You buy a sole proprietor's business | Stays with the seller. The buyer needs their own. | FMCSA may record a transfer or require separate authority. | The seller files an out-of-business notification. |
| You buy a corporation and it keeps operating | Goes with the company. | Often no transfer. The company reports its new owners or officers. | Update FMCSA records right away. An updated Form MCS-150 is due within 30 days of the change. |
| The old corporation is dissolved and the work continues under another company | The continuing company needs its own. It may not use the old one. | A transfer may be recorded, or new authority may be required. | The old USDOT number is deactivated on Form MCS-150 as out-of-business. |
| You buy or lease the numbers outside a legitimate corporate transaction | FMCSA says it will start proceedings to inactivate it. | The same proceedings revoke all related registrations. | The bulletin calls it a prohibited sale. |
The table follows FMCSA's March 2026 bulletin. The 30-day deadline is from FMCSA's FAQ on USDOT numbers and business changes.
Read the second row twice. It is the only one where buying a trucking company with an aged MC number leaves both numbers in place, and it means buying the whole company. A number offered with no company behind it is the fourth row.
Rows one and three can leave the buyer applying for a new USDOT number. Under 49 CFR 385.3, a carrier that applies for one to start interstate operations is a new entrant.
How a transfer of operating authority gets recorded
FMCSA no longer runs an approval process for transfers. A 2013 Federal Register notice says that, effective October 22, 2013, the agency no longer processes transfer applications or issues approvals. It records the transfer instead.
49 CFR Part 365, Subpart D still prints an application process with a Form OP-FC-1, beside a reporting-only version marked suspended indefinitely. The steps below come from FMCSA's FAQ on recording a transfer. It was last updated May 22, 2023, before FMCSA moved registration into Motus, so confirm the route with FMCSA before closing.
1.Confirm it is a transfer at all
New entities must apply for their own operating authority. A transfer is the exception, for a corporate purchase involving an entire operation. FMCSA's March 2026 bulletin adds a condition: in a corporate transaction it records a transfer only if operations will continue with the same safety management oversight and controls.
2.Both sides send FMCSA the same facts
Seller and buyer each give the company name, form of business, USDOT and MC numbers, address, owners' names, a signature and the transfer date. FMCSA may also ask for evidence, such as the agreement showing the transfer of ownership.
3.Submit it as an Ask FMCSA ticket
FMCSA's FAQ calls a ticket through its Ask FMCSA page the fastest option.
4.The buyer files insurance and a process agent
Once the transfer is recorded, the buyer gets a letter asking for proof of financial responsibility, which is the insurance filing, and a BOC-3. Until both are in, the authority shows as Inactive.
The letter in step four goes to the buyer, so line up the policy before closing. A name on the policy that differs from the registration is one reason an FMCSA insurance filing gets rejected.
What comes with the company, and what an underwriter asks the new owner
Here's the catch. The number is the least interesting thing you're buying. FMCSA ties a carrier's safety record to its USDOT number, and the number stays with the company.
FMCSA's Safety Measurement System help pages say carriers are evaluated on the inspections and crashes associated with their own USDOT number, using 24 months of data. A driver's results count for 24 months from the date they happened, even after the carrier lets him go. Buy the corporation and you start with two years of roadside history, including the work of drivers you'll never meet.
| Comes with the company | Where it shows up | What the underwriter asks |
|---|---|---|
| Authority age | The grant date on the FMCSA record. | The names and dates of birth of the owners. |
| Inspections and crashes | FMCSA safety data for the USDOT number, last 24 months. | What happened in each serious event, and what changed afterward. |
| Claims history | Loss runs from each insurer that covered the company. | Currently valued loss runs for the last three to five years. |
| Drivers and trucks | The old policy's driver list and vehicle schedule. | A current driver list with license details, the current trucks, and where each is parked. |
| Related companies | Owners, officers, an address or trucks shared with another USDOT number. | Every related company and why it closed. |
The grant date is one line on the application. The rest is about today's operation. Our trucking insurance quote checklist lists the documents, and the glossary explains loss runs.
Before closing, tell the current insurer about the ownership change and ask, in writing, whether the policy and the federal filing stay in place.
Chameleon carrier rules: why a name-and-number deal draws attention
Chameleon carriers are why FMCSA cares who is behind a number. A 2012 Government Accountability Office report describes them as carriers that registered under a new identity to disguise a former one. GAO found new applicant carriers with chameleon attributes rose from 759 in 2005 to 1,136 in 2010.
The regulations use a duller word: reincarnated. Under 49 CFR 386.73, FMCSA may issue an out-of-service order, or consolidate two companies' records, when a carrier operates under a new identity, or as an affiliated company, to avoid an FMCSA order, a statutory or regulatory requirement, a civil penalty, an enforcement action or a negative compliance history. 49 CFR 385.1005 bars two or more carriers from using common ownership, management, control or family ties to avoid compliance or hide a history of non-compliance. Under 49 CFR 385.1007, FMCSA may suspend or revoke registration.
Buying a company is not evasion, and the rule doesn't say it is. But look at what FMCSA may weigh under 386.73(c). Five of the 13 factors, in the rule's words, read like the closing checklist of a small trucking sale.
- Consideration exchanged for assets purchased or transferred.
- Commonality of ownership between the current and former company or between current companies.
- Identity of motor vehicle equipment.
- Continuity of liability insurance policies or commonality of coverage under such policies.
- Commonality of drivers and other employees.
The insurance line is factor nine. The first factor is the one an honest buyer should know: FMCSA may consider the stated business purpose for creating the new entity. So write the real purpose down. Keep the purchase agreement. Answer the related-company question on the insurance application in full.
Insurers run their own version of this check, one of the screens in our guide to why trucking insurers decline applications. Before you sign, run the seller's USDOT number through our free FMCSA carrier lookup.
Can you get a USDOT number and let it age?
This is the do-it-yourself version. Register now, park the number, come back when it looks seasoned. Two rules apply.
The number needs upkeep even when nothing moves
FMCSA requires a Form MCS-150 update every 24 months, even from a company that has ceased interstate operations. 49 CFR 390.19T lists deactivation of the USDOT number among the consequences of missing it. FMCSA has temporarily suspended enforcement of the update, and inactivations for missing it, while carriers move to its Motus registration system (notice last updated September 10, 2026). The rule itself has not changed.
An MC number can't sit without insurance behind it
Under 49 CFR 387.301T, a for-hire carrier's certificate or permit is not issued and does not remain in force until FMCSA has accepted a liability filing. Aging an MC number means keeping a policy and a filing active the whole time.
Read them at the source: 49 CFR 390.19T, 49 CFR 387.301T and FMCSA's notice pausing the biennial update. Our guide to the MCS-150 biennial update covers the filing.
Then there is the underwriter. A number that never operated can offer a registration date and nothing else.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy someone's trucking company just for the name and numbers because it's already aged?
Not the numbers by themselves. FMCSA's March 2026 bulletin says a USDOT number may not be sold, transferred, rented or leased. If the seller is a corporation, you can buy the company and its USDOT number goes with it. The company's safety record and claims history come with it, and an underwriter asks about the new owner. A sole proprietor's buyer needs their own.
How can I get a DOT number and let it age?
A parked number still needs a Form MCS-150 update every 24 months under 49 CFR 390.19T, though FMCSA has paused enforcement while carriers move to Motus. The rule itself has not changed. An insurance application asks about operations, drivers, trucks and prior coverage. A registration date answers none of those.
Should I get the DOT number only and let it age, or both the DOT and MC?
The USDOT number identifies the company. The MC number is operating authority for for-hire interstate work. Under 49 CFR 387.301T, it does not remain in force without a liability filing accepted by FMCSA. Holding an MC number means holding an active policy the whole time.
Does FMCSA have to approve a transfer of operating authority?
Not approval, but it is not automatic either. FMCSA discontinued its transfer review and approval process in 2013. It records a transfer that is part of a purchase involving an entire operation, once both sides send adequate notice, and its March 2026 bulletin says it does so only if operations continue with the same safety management oversight and controls. The buyer then files proof of insurance and a BOC-3.
Does a trucking company's safety record stay with the USDOT number after a sale?
Yes, when the company keeps its USDOT number. FMCSA's Safety Measurement System evaluates a carrier on the inspections and crashes associated with its own USDOT number, using 24 months of data.
Looking at a trucking company to buy?
Send us the USDOT number of the company you're considering, its loss runs and declarations page, and the drivers and trucks you plan to run. We'll tell you what an underwriter is going to ask and quote the operation as it will run after closing.