Reviewed by Anil Rajput, CPA · Last reviewed August 2026
Quick answer: You change your address by filing an updated MCS-150 through the FMCSA Portal, and you must do it within 30 days of the change. It is free. Separately, every carrier owes a biennial MCS-150 update on a schedule set by the last two digits of the USDOT number, whether anything changed or not.
This guide is general information for owner-operators and small trucking businesses, not legal or compliance advice. FMCSA systems, forms, and penalty amounts change. Verify current requirements on fmcsa.dot.gov before filing and consult a qualified professional where your authority is at stake.
Which filing changes your address?
The MCS-150, formally the Motor Carrier Identification Report. It is the form that maintains your USDOT record, and it covers business address, phone, fleet size, cargo classifications, and mileage.
The rule people miss is the deadline. If your address changes, you are required to file an updated MCS-150 within 30 days. That applies to a move, a change of mailing address, a new phone number, added or removed vehicles, or a shift in what you haul. It is not something to fold into your next biennial update.
One clarification, because it causes confusion for new carriers. Since 2015, first-time applicants register through the Unified Registration System rather than the MCS-150. The MCS-150 now functions as an update mechanism: biennial filings, address and ownership changes, out-of-business notifications, and reactivations. If you already hold a USDOT number, you do not use it to get another one.
How do you actually file the update?
Everything runs through the FMCSA Portal, and access is the part that takes longest. Sort it out before you are against a deadline.
- Get your USDOT PIN. Request it through SAFER. It is sent to the contact details already on file, which is its own problem if those details are out of date.
- Create a Login.gov account. This is the government single sign-on credential you will use from then on.
- Set up the FMCSA Portal account. Link it with your PIN, then sign in through Login.gov going forward.
- File the update. From the Registration menu, submit the MCS-150 with your corrected information.
Two practical warnings. Filing your own update is free through FMCSA, and any fee you are quoted is a third-party service charge, not a government one. And your Portal account gets disabled if you do not sign in at least once every 90 days, then archived after twelve months. Carriers who set the account up once and forget it discover the lockout at exactly the wrong moment.
When is your biennial update due?
Separately from any change, every active USDOT number needs an update every two years. FMCSA staggers the deadlines across the year using the last two digits of your number, so your date is fixed and personal to you.
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 next-to-last digit sets the year; Odd: File in odd-numbered years such as 2027 and 2029; Even: File in even-numbered years such as 2026 and 2028
Note there is no November or December in the cycle. Worked through with an example: a USDOT number ending in 23 has a last digit of 3, giving March, and a next-to-last digit of 2, which is even, giving even years. That carrier files in March 2026, March 2028, and so on.
You can also look your company up on SAFER, which displays the MCS-150 filing date directly. That is the fastest way to check whether you are current.
What happens if you let it lapse?
This is where an administrative task turns into an operational one. FMCSA can deactivate your USDOT number for a missed biennial update, and any MC authority attached to it goes with it. A deactivated number means you are not authorised to haul, brokers checking your status will not load you, and running anyway risks being placed out of service at a roadside inspection.
Civil penalties for failing to file run up to $1,000 per day, capped at $10,000. In practice the deactivation hurts more than the fine, because it stops revenue rather than just costing money.
One detail worth getting right while you are in there: update your vehicle miles travelled. Leaving it stale flags your record as having outdated mileage, and because that figure feeds safety calculations, it can distort your Safety Measurement System scores and follow you into insurance pricing.
What else does a move affect?
An address change rarely stops at FMCSA, and this is where small carriers leave loose ends. Depending on your setup, the same move may require updating your IRP base jurisdiction record, your IFTA licence details, your state business registration, and your registered agent or process agent filings. Your insurer and your factoring company will want it too.
If the change is bigger than an address, for example a new entity or a change of ownership, that is a different and more involved process. See what happens to your FMCSA authority when you change entity for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
File an updated MCS-150 through the FMCSA Portal, signing in with Login.gov. You need your USDOT PIN, which you request through SAFER, to set the Portal account up first. The filing itself is free and must be submitted within 30 days of the change.
Thirty days. The same window applies to other changes to your registration information, including phone number, fleet size, and cargo classifications. Waiting until your next biennial update does not satisfy the requirement.
The last digit of your USDOT number sets the month, running 1 for January through 9 for September, with 0 for October. The next-to-last digit sets the year: odd digits file in odd years, even digits in even years. You can confirm your current filing date by looking your company up on SAFER.
No. Filing your own update through the FMCSA Portal is free. Any charge you encounter is a third-party service fee rather than a government one. Plenty of sites are set up to look official while charging for something you can do yourself in about fifteen minutes.
FMCSA can deactivate your USDOT number and the MC authority tied to it, which means you cannot legally haul freight. Operating on a deactivated number risks an out-of-service order at inspection. Civil penalties reach $1,000 per day up to a $10,000 maximum.
Yes. The biennial update is required every two years regardless of whether anything changed. Treating it as a fixed regulatory date rather than a when-something-changes task is what keeps carriers out of trouble. Brokers and freight forwarders are exempt from the biennial requirement but still report changes.
Keep the filings that keep you running
The MCS-150 is not a tax filing, so it sits outside whatever system tracks your tax dates, which is exactly why it lapses. Ace Global gives owner-operators and small fleets a dedicated bookkeeper backed by CPAs who keeps federal, state, and jurisdiction deadlines on one calendar so an administrative miss never costs you your authority. Flat pricing, no long-term contracts, answers on WhatsApp or iMessage. Get started with Ace Global today.
Related reading
- What happens to your FMCSA authority when you change entity?
- What is IRP, what is UCR, and what else does new authority require?
- What annual filings keep a trucking LLC in good standing?
- Do you need a registered agent for a trucking company?
Sources
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or compliance advice. FMCSA systems, forms, and penalty amounts change without notice. Verify current requirements on fmcsa.dot.gov before filing.