DOT Compliance Resource

MCS-150 Biennial Update: What Motor Carriers Need to Know

Every FMCSA-registered motor carrier is required to keep their MCS-150 on file and update it every two years. Missing this deadline can cost you your operating authority. Here is everything you need to understand about the requirement, your due date, and your options for filing.

What Is the MCS-150 Form?

The MCS-150 — formally called the Motor Carrier Identification Report — is the form that establishes your carrier profile with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). When you first registered your USDOT number, you completed an MCS-150. That filing is what the FMCSA, state agencies, shippers, and brokers use to verify your operating status and safety record.

The form collects basic but important information: your legal business name, physical address, contact details, type of operation, the number of commercial motor vehicles you operate, how many drivers you employ, and what types of cargo you carry. Keeping this information current is not optional — it is a federal regulatory requirement.

Who Is Required to File the MCS-150 Biennial Update?

Any entity that holds an active USDOT number is required to file the MCS-150 biennial update, including:

• For-hire motor carriers (interstate and intrastate)
• Private carriers operating commercial motor vehicles
• Owner-operators with their own authority
• Carriers that currently show as inactive but have not formally cancelled their registration

If you are leased exclusively to another carrier and operate under their USDOT number, you may not be required to file separately — but if you have your own USDOT number, you are responsible for keeping it current regardless of your operating arrangement.

How Often Is the Biennial Update Required?

As the name implies, the biennial update is required every two years. The FMCSA assigns each carrier a specific filing window based on their USDOT number, spreading out the workload across all months and alternating years. Missing your window — even by a small margin — can result in your authority being flagged as non-compliant.

It is important to note that the biennial update is separate from any changes you may need to report throughout the year. If your company name, address, or operation type changes, you are expected to update the FMCSA promptly — not wait for your biennial window.

How to Calculate Your Biennial Update Due Date

The FMCSA uses your USDOT number to determine your filing schedule. Here is how it works:

• Filing year: Look at the second-to-last digit of your USDOT number. If it is odd, you file in odd-numbered years. If it is even, you file in even-numbered years.
• Filing month: Look at the last digit of your USDOT number. That digit corresponds to a month: 1 = January, 2 = February, 3 = March, 4 = April, 5 = May, 6 = June, 7 = July, 8 = August, 9 = September, 0 = October.

For example, if your USDOT number ends in ...73, you file in odd-numbered years and your month is March. Your deadline falls on the last day of that month.

The easiest way to confirm your exact deadline is to use our free biennial update checker, which pulls your current FMCSA data and calculates your compliance status automatically.

What Information Is Updated on the MCS-150?

The biennial update asks you to review and confirm the following:

• Legal company name and any DBA name
• Physical and mailing address
• Primary phone number and email address
• Company officer name
• Type of operation (interstate, intrastate hazmat, intrastate non-hazmat)
• Carrier classification (for-hire, private, exempt)
• Number of power units (trucks and tractors) and trailers
• Number of total drivers and CDL drivers
• Cargo types carried
• Driver mileage in various operating radius categories

If any of this information has changed since your last filing, the biennial update is the time to correct it. Inaccurate data in your FMCSA profile can affect your safety rating, insurance verification, and broker relationships.

What Happens If You Miss the Biennial Update Deadline?

The consequences of missing the MCS-150 biennial update deadline range from inconvenient to business-ending:

• Inactive status: The FMCSA can move your registration to inactive status, which means you no longer appear as an active carrier in SAFER — the public-facing safety and fitness database. Brokers and shippers use SAFER to verify carriers before tendering freight. An inactive status can cause loads to be pulled immediately.
• Revoked operating authority: For carriers with MC authority, continued non-compliance can lead to revocation of your authority to operate commercially.
• Civil penalties: The FMCSA has the authority to assess civil penalties for failure to maintain accurate registration records.
• Reinstatement delay: Even after you file, it takes time for the FMCSA to process the update and restore your status. Every day you delay costs you operating time.

If your update is already overdue, the right move is to file immediately. The sooner the FMCSA receives an accurate MCS-150, the sooner your status is restored.

How to File the MCS-150: DIY vs. Using a Professional Service

Filing directly with the FMCSA. You can file the MCS-150 online through the FMCSA's SAFER system at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. The process requires a PIN linked to your USDOT number. If you have never set up online access or have lost your PIN, obtaining a new one adds time to the process. The form itself is straightforward if your information is current and accurate, but errors — wrong operation type, outdated address, incorrect unit counts — can create compliance problems that take time to sort out.

Using a professional filing service. A professional filing service like Don Norman Associates handles the submission on your behalf. The advantages are accuracy, speed, and someone to follow up with the FMCSA if there are any issues. For carriers who are overdue or who have had recent changes to their operation, professional filing reduces the risk of an incomplete or incorrect submission.

Don Norman Associates has been handling DOT compliance filings since 1966. Our flat-rate service includes reviewing your FMCSA data, confirming updates with you, submitting the MCS-150, and following up until your filing is confirmed.

Why Don Norman Associates?

• 60 years of experience. Filing DOT compliance documents since 1966 — before the FMCSA even existed.
• 128,000+ carriers served in the last 20 years across all 50 states.
• Accuracy and follow-up. We don't just submit — we verify your data and follow up with the FMCSA until your filing is confirmed.
• Flat-rate pricing. $150, no hourly billing, no hidden fees, no surprises.

Ready to get compliant?

Check your biennial update status in seconds using your USDOT or MC number. If you're due or overdue, we'll handle the filing for you. Call us at 202-293-0563.

This guide is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Don Norman Associates is an independent third-party compliance firm and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or any government agency.