How to Check a Mover's USDOT Number Before You Hire
A USDOT number is the identifier FMCSA assigns to a for-hire household goods carrier. Federal rules require it in the mover's advertising and name it on the bill of lading. Match the number and the company name to FMCSA's Registered Mover Database before you pay anyone.
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What the number is
A USDOT number is the identifier the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration assigns to a motor carrier. The rules for interstate household goods movers describe it in section 375.207(b)(2) as the number assigned by FMCSA "authorizing you to operate as a for-hire motor carrier transporting household goods." It is tied to a registered company name, and the name that goes with the number is the thing to verify. A number alone proves little; a number that belongs to the company whose name is on your estimate proves a lot more. The rules covered here apply to interstate moves by household goods carriers. For a move within a single state, your state's consumer protection office can tell you whether any state registration applies.
Where the rules say it must appear
In advertising. Section 375.207 says a mover and its agents must publish only truthful, straightforward and honest advertisements. Every advertisement for any of its services must include two things: the company name or trade name as it appears on the document that assigned the USDOT number, or the name of the carrier under whose operating authority the service will originate, and the USDOT number itself. The number must appear only in one form: U.S. DOT No. followed by the assigned number. "Advertisement" is defined broadly in 375.103: any communication to the public about an offer or sale of interstate household goods transportation, including database listings and website listings, and including Yellow Pages advertising, but not an ordinary telephone directory listing.
In the bill of lading. Section 375.505(b) requires the legal or trade name, as registered with FMCSA, along with the physical address, and the names, phone numbers, addresses and USDOT numbers of any other carriers who will take part in the transportation, when known. So the number on the contract should match the number in the ads, and any second carrier should be named with its own.
How to search
FMCSA's Protect Your Move page offers a link to check the Registered Mover Database. The booklet, which FMCSA publishes and your mover must give you, also points you to protectyourmove.gov to learn whether the company you are dealing with is a household goods mover or a broker and whether it is registered with FMCSA. The steps below stay general rather than describing the search screens, which can change. The process, in plain terms, is this:
- Get the company name and USDOT number from the estimate, the bill of lading and the advertisement, and compare them.
- Open FMCSA's Protect Your Move page and follow its Registered Mover Database link.
- Look the company up using the name and USDOT number you were given.
- Check that the record you find belongs to the same company, not just a similar name, and note whether it shows a mover or a broker.
- If the numbers or names do not match, ask the company to explain in writing before paying a deposit.
The booklet's steps for finding a mover's process agent, the person on whom legal papers are served, use FMCSA's carrier search and ask you to type in the USDOT or MC number. That tells you the same lookup is keyed on either number.
What the result can and cannot tell you
A match means the company you are speaking to is the registered entity on the paperwork. It does not tell you that the company is good at moving. FMCSA says on its page that it has no authority to resolve claims against a mover, and no list can promise how a move will go. What a mismatch tells you is more useful: the booklet advises avoiding brokers and movers that are not registered with FMCSA, or that refuse to perform a physical survey of your household goods.
Worked example: a name that does not quite match
You get an estimate from a company that lists a trade name in its advertising. The estimate carries a slightly different name and a USDOT number. You search the number and the record is a company with a third name. Do not conclude anything dramatic; carriers use trade names, and the advertising rule allows a trade name as it appears on the assignment document, or the name of the carrier whose operating authority covers the service. Instead, ask the company in writing: which registered carrier will move my goods, and what is its USDOT number? A sound answer names the carrier and appears on the bill of lading under 375.505(b)(1). An answer that dodges the question, or a number that cannot be found at all, is the reason to stop and use another company. You can also ask whether you are dealing with a mover or a broker, as FMCSA treats them as different businesses; movers vs. brokers explains what each must do.
When you are choosing between companies
Run the check for every company on your short list before you compare prices, since the check is free and quick. Pair it with the vet-a-mover checklist, and the questions to ask movers, which includes asking for the USDOT number and the registered name. If you have been asked to sign something you do not understand, the red flags checklist shows what the federal rules require. This guide explains rules and is not legal advice. If a company is holding your goods or demanding more than the rules allow, the booklet gives FMCSA's number for that, and a lawyer can advise you on next steps.