MCS-150 Biennial Update

Every two years, FMCSA requires every carrier to update its registration information by filing the MCS-150. It takes minutes and costs nothing, and carriers lose their authority over it every year because nobody told them the deadline existed. Here is how the deadline works, what happens if you miss it, and the one temporary exception in effect right now.

What the biennial update is

The MCS-150 is the form behind your USDOT record: legal name, address, fleet size, vehicle mileage, cargo types, and operation type. FMCSA requires you to refresh that record every 24 months. You must file even if nothing has changed. You must also file even if you stopped running interstate, and even if you went out of business without telling FMCSA.

Separately, file an update whenever your information does change, such as a new address, a different fleet size, or a name change. Do not wait for the biennial deadline for those.

Your due date is inside your USDOT number

There is no single national deadline. Your filing month and year come from the last two digits of your USDOT number:

• Last digit = your filing month. File by the last day of that month: 1 is January, 2 is February, 3 is March, 4 is April, 5 is May, 6 is June, 7 is July, 8 is August, 9 is September, and 0 is October.
• Second-to-last digit = your filing year. Odd digit, you file in odd-numbered years. Even digit, you file in even-numbered years.

Example: a USDOT number ending in 56 files by June 30 in odd-numbered years (6 for June, 5 for odd).

This is the part that catches new carriers. Your first biennial update is set by your number, not by your start date, so it can come due well before your second anniversary in business.

What happens if you miss it

In FMCSA's words, failure to complete a biennial update will result in deactivation of your USDOT number, and may result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day, not to exceed $10,000.

A deactivated USDOT number means you cannot legally operate, and your record shows as inactive to anyone who looks: brokers checking your authority before tendering a load, insurers, and officers at roadside. Most carriers who lose their number this way find out from a broker, not from FMCSA.

The temporary exception in 2026

FMCSA launched a new registration system called Motus in May 2026, and the transition has been rough. In September 2026, FMCSA suspended enforcement of the biennial update requirement, including USDOT number inactivations, for carriers whose updates were due on or after June 1, 2026. The suspension stays in effect until further notice, and FMCSA says it will give advance warning before enforcement resumes.

Read that carefully. The requirement is not gone, and no replacement deadline has been set. The suspension covers updates due on or after June 1, 2026; it does not help a carrier who missed an earlier deadline. The safe move is still to file on your normal schedule if the system lets you, and keep proof that you did. When enforcement restarts, carriers who never attempted to file should not expect much leniency.

How to file

• Look up your current record first in the SAFER Company Snapshot, so you can see what FMCSA has on file
• File online through FMCSA's registration system, or submit the MCS-150 form by mail (mail is slower, and a paper form is required if your number is already inactive)
• Filing with FMCSA is free
• Save your confirmation with your other compliance records

One warning: because this filing is free and mandatory, it attracts solicitations. Companies mail official-looking "final notices" offering to file your update for $100 or more. That is a sales pitch, not FMCSA. You can pay a service if you want the convenience, but the government fee is zero.

Keeping your MCS-150 current also matters at your new entrant safety audit, where FMCSA compares your operation against your registration record. See the full picture in our new entrant safety audit checklist.