US DOT · FMCSA census
FMCSA Carrier Lookup
Every trucking company and freight broker registers before it can move a load — and updates the record when it grows, lapses, or shuts off. This is where you read that moment.
Try
The signal
What a fmcsa carrier tells you
A carrier lookup answers a simple question fast: is this trucking company or freight broker real, active, and who exactly are they on paper? Type a company name and you get the USDOT number, the physical city and state, and the current operating status — the same identity fields brokers, factors, and insurers check before they do business.
The USDOT number is the spine of the whole freight record. Once you have it, everything else about a carrier — authority, insurance, inspections, crash history, fleet size — hangs off that one identifier. A name search is how most people find it when all they have is a company on an invoice or a load board.
The signal here is a change, not just a snapshot. A brand-new registration means a company that just entered the market. A status flipping to inactive means authority lapsed or was revoked. A dormant number going active again means a carrier came back. Each of those is a moment someone wants to act on the day it happens.
Why it matters
New authority is a buying window: a carrier that just registered needs insurance, factoring, fuel, and a load in the same few weeks. A lapse is a risk flag before you tender freight or extend credit.
Field guide
How to read the results
Every field below is returned free, in full — no email, no gate. Build a Parse when you want the whole list for a specialty or state, exports, or a live alert the moment a prescriber goes new-to-class.
- USDOT
- The carrier's unique ID. It never changes and is the key you use to pull authority, insurance, and safety records.
- Legal name
- The registered company name. A separate DBA ("doing business as") name may differ from what's on the truck door.
- City / State
- The physical address of record — the operating base, not necessarily a mailing or agent address.
- Status
- Active means the registration is current. Inactive/Out-of-service means authority lapsed, was revoked, or the carrier deactivated.
- Entity type
- Whether the record is a carrier, a broker, or a freight forwarder — the difference between who hauls and who arranges.
- Fleet size (power units) & drivers
- A rough size read: power units count trucks; drivers count seats. Small fleets and owner-operators behave very differently from large ones.
Who uses it
Common use cases
Freight brokers & 3PLs
Verify a carrier is active and vet identity before tendering a load — and catch new entrants to onboard first.
Factoring & fuel-card sales
New USDOT registrations are your freshest prospect list: a carrier that just launched needs working capital and fuel now.
Insurance & underwriting
Confirm operating status and read fleet size before quoting; a lapsed authority is a fast disqualifier.
Credit & AP teams
Check a counterparty is a real, active carrier before you release payment or extend terms.
Terms
Related terms & acronyms
Plain-language definitions for the language on this record — part of the ParseData glossary.
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Full census: authority, insurance, inspections, crashes
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a USDOT number?
A USDOT number is the unique identifier the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration assigns to a commercial motor carrier. It's how every other record about that carrier — authority, insurance, safety — is keyed. This lookup returns it from a company-name search.
Is this FMCSA carrier lookup free?
Yes — fully. Search by carrier or broker name with no login or email and see every field: USDOT number, city, state, operating status, and the richer details. A Parse adds the whole list, exports, and live alerts on new matches.
What does operating status mean?
Active means the carrier's registration is current and it can legally operate. Inactive or out-of-service means the authority has lapsed, been revoked, or the carrier deactivated it. It's the single fastest read on whether a carrier is live.
How do I find a broker vs. a carrier?
Both register with FMCSA and appear here by name. The entity type field distinguishes a carrier (which hauls freight) from a broker or freight forwarder (which arranges it). That field is part of the full record.
How current is the data?
It reads the same FMCSA census ParseData refreshes daily, so a new registration or a status change shows up shortly after it posts to the official record.
How it's sourced
Reads the FMCSA company census (SAFER / Licensing & Insurance) — the official registry every interstate motor carrier and broker must file to operate. Identity fields only; no scores, no predictions.
Turn this lookup into a live feed.
The free tool gives you every field, in full, off the same US DOT · FMCSA census data behind ParseData. Build a Parse to monitor a whole specialty or state — and get every new-to-class prescriber the moment they hit the record.