The US DOT number serves as a unique identifier for collecting and monitoring a company’s safety information acquired during audits, compliance evaluations, crash investigations, inspections and the like. All motor carriers, transporters, freight forwarders, and passenger utility vehicles are mandated by Federal Law to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and obtain their US DOT numbers.
As defined by law, the following descriptions define what a commercial vehicle is, even if its operations are limited within a certain state’s boundaries and regardless of its cargo. All vehicles that fit the descriptions below are to secure a US DOT number before they can commence their operations:
- • Vehicles with gross weight or gross combination weight of 10,000.1 lbs or over;
• Vehicles designed and used to transport 8 or more passengers (driver included) for compensation;
• Vehicles designed and used to transport hazardous materials and require placarding.
In certain states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Main, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) all registrants of commercial motor vehicles, even intrastate and non-motor carrier registrants, are required to obtain a USDOT Number as a necessary condition for commercial vehicle registration.
US DOT number registration can be completed easily and quickly using Your Authority Service as your trucking consultant. Just complete our interactive application and have your US DOT number filed and returned in a matter of hours.