DOT Carrier Data

Data Sources Behind DOT Carrier Data

Last reviewed: October 21, 2026

DOT Carrier Data does not create carrier information. Every fact on a carrier page comes from a public source run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This page lists each source the site queries or links to, what we take from it and where its limits are. The rules that turn these records into risk signals are explained on the methodology page.

1. Sources we query for carrier pages

  • FMCSA Company Census File (data.transportation.gov). FMCSA publishes this dataset on the DOT open data portal and describes it as containing "records for active, inactive, and pending entities registered with FMCSA." We query it by USDOT number for the legal and DBA name, physical address, power units, drivers, carrier operation type, hazmat flag, the date the carrier was added, the latest MCS-150 filing date and the safety rating with its date. MC, MX and FF docket searches and company name searches also run against this file, and a name search returns up to 25 matches.
  • FMCSA QCMobile API (API documentation). FMCSA's developer site says the API "allows for real time queries on carrier information, including safety data," and access requires a free API key. For each carrier we request four records: the carrier record, operating authority, BASIC data and out-of-service orders. Together they tell us whether the carrier is allowed to operate, which of common, contract and broker authority is active, which BASIC alerts are listed and whether an out-of-service order is on file, with its date. When the live record includes a name, address, fleet size or carrier operation, that value is used in place of the census value. If the live check is unavailable, the carrier page says so and shows census data only.

Each carrier page lists the sources used for that record with the time they were retrieved. Carrier data is cached for 24 hours and name search results for 1 hour, so a change FMCSA makes today can take up to a day to show here.

2. Official records we link to for verification

  • FMCSA SAFER (safer.fmcsa.dot.gov). SAFER is FMCSA's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records system, which FMCSA says "offers company safety data and related services to industry and the public over the Internet." We do not copy data from SAFER. Every carrier page links to that carrier's Company Snapshot so you can confirm status, authority and out-of-service orders on the official record before you book a load.
  • FMCSA Licensing and Insurance (L&I) (li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov). This site does not show insurance filings. L&I is FMCSA's public system for insurance and BOC-3 process agent filings and for authority records. FMCSA notes there that mailed filings are not entered on the day they arrive, so a recent filing may take several working days to appear.

3. Rules we cite

The MCS-150 freshness signal uses a 2-year window because FMCSA requires registered entities to file a biennial update. FMCSA's safety planner section on biennial updates states that "FMCSA requires all entities under its jurisdiction to update their information every two years," with the due year and month set by the last two digits of the carrier's USDOT number.

4. References on comparison pages

Our SAFER alternatives and CarrierOK alternatives pages describe other lookup tools from their own public pages, each with the date it was checked. Those pages cite CarrierCheck, CarrierOK's pricing page and FMCSA's page on registration changes in Motus. They are references for the comparisons only. No carrier data on this site comes from CarrierCheck, CarrierOK or any other private lookup service.

5. What we do not use

  • We do not buy data, scrape private sites or merge records from other lookup services.
  • We do not show inspection reports, crash records, insurance filings or the BASIC measures behind an alert. SAFER's Company Snapshot gives a roadside out-of-service inspection summary and crash information, L&I shows insurance filings, and FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS) shows inspection and crash data and the measures for the public BASICs.
  • We do not display email addresses, cell phone numbers or company officer names from the census file, and the API omits the phone field.

6. Found a broken or outdated source?

Official links move. If a link here stops working, or a carrier page differs from SAFER after the cache has refreshed, email partners@corneliacove.com with the USDOT number and what you saw. Our editorial policy explains how we handle corrections.