FMCSA new authority list: where new MC numbers are published since Motus
Updated · Rotomal
FMCSA's legacy authority-history dataset (AuthHist) carries a note that it was last refreshed on 05/14/2026 and will no longer be updated, because registration moved to FMCSA's new Motus system. New grants are now published in the Motus AuthHist datasets on data.transportation.gov: in our check on 29 October 2026, 1,319 operating authorities were granted from 19 to 25 October 2026. For fleet size and contact fields, join on USDOT number to the Company Census File, which added 2,395 USDOT records in the same week.
Why the old AuthHist list stopped in May 2026
In a Federal Register notice published on 29 April 2026, FMCSA said Motus would replace the Unified Registration System used for new USDOT numbers and operating authority, the registration parts of MCMIS, and the former ICC Licensing and Insurance (L&I) system. Eight legacy operating-authority datasets on the DOT open-data portal now say they were last refreshed on 05/14/2026 and will no longer be updated. The Motus AuthHist and Motus Carrier datasets were created on the same portal on 3 June 2026.
Anything built on the old AuthHist file stops in mid-May 2026: in our check, its latest original-action date was 20 May 2026. Use the Motus datasets for anything newer.
Our count: authorities granted 19 to 25 October 2026
We queried Motus AuthHist - All With History on 29 October 2026 for rows with reason "Granted" and a status change date from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October 2026.
| Authority type | Granted |
|---|---|
| Motor Carrier of Property (Except Household Goods) | 1,217 |
| Broker of Property (Except Household Goods) | 61 |
| Motor Carrier of Passengers | 12 |
| Motor Carrier of Household Goods | 8 |
| Enterprise Motor Carrier of Property (Except Household Goods) | 7 |
| Mexico Domiciled Motor Carrier of Property (Except Household Goods) | 6 |
| Freight Forwarder of Property (Except Household Goods) | 5 |
| Mexico Domiciled Private Motor Carrier of Property (Except Household Goods) | 2 |
| Broker of Household Goods | 1 |
| Total | 1,319 |
Daily grants ranged from 68 on Sunday 25 October to 300 on Monday 19 October. In the same week, 1,770 authorities entered Pending status with the reason "Initial Status". A grant is not always a new company: one carrier granted authority on 27 October 2026 had been in the census file since 2013. Counts can change as FMCSA corrects records, so rerun the query for current numbers.
API access
Every dataset on data.transportation.gov also answers as a Socrata API, free to query without an account. Dates in the Motus files and in the census add_date field are stored as text in YYYYMMDD form. Requests without an app token share a throttled pool by IP address; Socrata says it does not currently throttle requests that use an app token.
Motus AuthHist on data.transportation.gov gave us the weekly table above and the list of every grant since 26 October with docket (MC) and USDOT numbers. The Company Census File on the same portal counted 10,468 USDOT records added from 1 to 28 October 2026, and it holds each carrier's census details (legal name, city, state, power units, drivers), matched by USDOT number.
Company Census File: new USDOT numbers, fleet size and contacts
The Company Census File has one row per USDOT number, for active, inactive and pending entities, and it was updated on 29 October 2026 in our check. Its add_date field shows when the record was added. It is the file with fleet and contact fields: legal and DBA name, physical and mailing address, phone, email, company officers, power units, drivers, operation type and cargo classes.
| Census check, records added 19 to 25 October 2026 | Count |
|---|---|
| New USDOT records | 2,395 |
| Status active (A) | 2,353 |
| One power unit | 1,255 |
| Classified authorized for hire only | 1,278 |
| Physical address in Texas / California / Florida | 283 / 245 / 197 |
| With a docket (MC) number in the census row | 0 |
Not every USDOT number is a for-hire carrier: private fleets register too, so filter on classdef or carrier_operation. Because the census rows for new registrants carried no docket number in our check, take MC numbers from Motus AuthHist or Motus Carrier and join on USDOT number.
Other official routes
| Route | What it does | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| SAFER Company Snapshot: https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx | Free, one carrier at a time; search by USDOT number, MC/MX number or company name | Checking a carrier you already have |
| QCMobile API: https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/QCDevsite/ | Free REST API; needs a Login.gov account and a WebKey; queries carriers by name, USDOT number or docket number | Automating checks of known carriers |
| Motus and the FMCSA Register | FMCSA's notice says the public can search an entity's registration record and visit the FMCSA Register in Motus | Reading individual records and register notices |
| DOT open data: https://data.transportation.gov | Bulk datasets with a Socrata API, no account needed | Lists of new authorities and new USDOT numbers |
We found no documented QCMobile query for authorities granted in a date range, so lists still come from the open-data files. FMCSA's own web pages refused our automated requests on 29 October 2026 (HTTP 403), so the SAFER and QCMobile rows describe FMCSA's published documentation, not a live test.
Paid new-authority feeds
Several Apify actors resell this public data as a scheduled feed. Two we checked on 29 October 2026: a daily feed of newly granted authorities built on Motus AuthHist with census contact details, priced from $20 per 1,000 leads, and a daily feed of new USDOT registrations from the Company Census File, priced from $5 per 1,000 leads. Both are pay-per-result and suit teams that will clean and route the data themselves.
New authorities are leads for some, vetting work for others
Insurance agents, factoring companies and ELD sellers use the weekly list to reach carriers in their first months. Brokers meet the same carriers from the other side: a carrier whose authority was granted last week has a short record to judge.
Carrier Lens is built for that second job. It checks each MC or USDOT number you look at against FMCSA authority, insurance and census data, flags authority under 90 days old, and alerts you when a carrier's insurance, authority status or contact details change. It is a vetting tool for brokers, dispatchers and shippers, not a lead list.
Questions
Why is the FMCSA AuthHist dataset not updating?
Its description says it was last refreshed on 05/14/2026 and will no longer be updated. FMCSA moved registration to Motus, and new authority actions are published in the Motus AuthHist datasets instead.
Do MC numbers still exist after Motus?
Yes. FMCSA's April 2026 notice said the Phase II release of Motus would not eliminate MC and FF docket numbers, and that FMCSA would take a measured approach to that change in later releases. The Motus Carrier dataset notes that Motus assigns a unique docket number to each operating authority.
How many new MC numbers does FMCSA grant each week?
In our check, 1,319 operating authorities were granted from 19 to 25 October 2026: 1,217 for property carriers and 61 for property brokers. That is one week; rerun the query for current figures.
Is there a free FMCSA new authority list?
Yes. Motus AuthHist on data.transportation.gov is free to download or query without an account. It has docket and USDOT numbers, authority type, status, reason and date, but no name or phone; join to Motus Carrier or the Company Census File for those.
Does the Company Census File include MC numbers?
It has docket fields, but they were empty for all 2,395 USDOT records added from 19 to 25 October 2026 in our check. Take the MC number from Motus AuthHist or Motus Carrier and join on USDOT number.
Can I cold call or text carriers from these lists?
The data is public, but contact rules still apply. The TCPA restricts autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to mobile numbers without prior express consent, and the FTC says CAN-SPAM has no exception for business-to-business email. This is not legal advice; check with counsel before a campaign.
Sources
- Federal Register (FMCSA): Availability of Motus, FMCSA's New Registration System, 29 April 2026 Source: federalregister.gov
- DOT open data: AuthHist - All With History (legacy, frozen notice) Source: data.transportation.gov
- DOT open data: Motus AuthHist - All With History Source: data.transportation.gov
- DOT open data: Motus AuthHist (daily difference) Source: data.transportation.gov
- DOT open data: Motus Carrier - All With History Source: data.transportation.gov
- DOT open data: Company Census File Source: data.transportation.gov
- FMCSA: SAFER Company Snapshot Source: safer.fmcsa.dot.gov
- FMCSA: QCMobile API developer site Source: mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov
- Socrata developer docs: queries with SoQL Source: dev.socrata.com
- Socrata developer docs: application tokens and throttling Source: dev.socrata.com
- Apify: FMCSA new authority feed (from $20 per 1,000 leads) Source: apify.com
- Apify: FMCSA new carrier leads (from $5 per 1,000 leads) Source: apify.com
- US Code: 47 U.S.C. 227 (TCPA) Source: law.cornell.edu
- FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business Source: ftc.gov