Reference
The MCS-150 update, and the date it leaves behind
Every federal record about a company carries one date that quietly rates all the others. This is what puts it there, when it is due, and what a stale one is actually telling you.
The field that answers this
The card shows the date of the last MCS-150 filing. Everything above it — fleet size, address, operating status — was self-reported on that date and has not been re-checked by anyone since. It is the field that says how much the rest of the record is worth.
The short answer
The MCS-150, the Motor Carrier Identification Report, is how a company tells FMCSA who it is and what it operates. Under the Unified Registration System the same information is filed on Form MCSA-1, and the update is still universally called the biennial or MCS-150 update. It must be filed before operations begin and every 24 months thereafter (49 CFR 390.201(d), read 2026-09-03).
It is required even when nothing has changed, and even when the company has stopped operating interstate. The rule is a heartbeat, not a change notification.
The USDOT number decides the deadline
There is no common due date. The number itself sets it, and the schedule is worth knowing because it means anyone can work out when a given company is next due:
- The last digit sets the month — 1 January, 2 February, 3 March, 4 April, 5 May, 6 June, 7 July, 8 August, 9 September, 0 October. The filing is due by the last day of that month.
- The next-to-last digit sets the year — odd means every odd-numbered year, even means every even-numbered year.
- Worked through: USDOT 3491211 ends in 1, so January; its next-to-last digit is 1, which is odd, so odd years — January of 2027, then January of 2029.
What happens when it is missed
Failure to complete the biennial update makes the company subject to the civil penalties at 49 U.S.C. 521(b)(2)(B) or 14901(a) and results in deactivation of the USDOT number (390.201; the parallel rule for Mexico-domiciled carriers is at 390.19(b)). A deactivated number is the most common reason a company that is plainly still working shows an inactive federal status.
That is worth holding onto in both directions. Inactive does not always mean gone — sometimes it means paperwork. And a record that has not been touched in three years is not evidence of anything except that nobody filed.
A change filing does not reset the clock
A change of legal name, form of business or address must be reported within 30 days of the change, on the same form (390.201(d)(4)). A transfer of operating authority must be reported by both sides within 30 days (390.201(d)(5)).
Neither of those relieves the company of the 24-month update — the regulation says so twice, in consecutive paragraphs, which is usually a sign of how often it is assumed otherwise. The practical consequence for a person reading a record: a recent filing date does not guarantee a full review of the record happened, only that something was filed.
What this site does and does not do here
This site does not file the form, does not sell a filing service, and does not charge to tell you when one is due. Filing is done through FMCSA, which does not charge for it either; the update page and the form live on fmcsa.dot.gov.
What this site does is read the date back to you, next to the record it dates. Enter a USDOT number above and the filing date sits alongside the fleet size and address it certified — which is the only way to tell a current record from a plausible-looking old one.
Questions
Is the biennial update free? +
FMCSA does not charge for the update itself. Third-party services charge to file it for you, and a good deal of paid search sits on this query, so it is worth knowing that the fee is theirs and not the government’s.
How do I know whether an update has been filed? +
The federal record carries the date of the last MCS-150 filing. Enter the USDOT number above: if that date is inside the last 24 months and falls in the month the number schedules, the update is current.
What happens if I miss the deadline? +
The regulation provides for civil penalties and for deactivation of the USDOT number, after which the company is prohibited from operating until the record is put right. Filing late is the remedy; FMCSA’s own registration pages set out how.
I filed an address change last month. Do I still owe the biennial update? +
Yes. 49 CFR 390.201(d)(4) states explicitly that notifying FMCSA of a change in legal name, form of business or address does not relieve the entity of the requirement to file every 24 months.
Does updating change the USDOT number? +
No. The number is permanent and stays with the company. The update refreshes the record filed under it — and, if it lapsed, reactivates it.