Your biennial update is still due every two years, even though FMCSA has paused enforcement of it while the new Motus system settles in. That is the honest answer in one sentence: the filing duty has not gone away, only the punishment for missing it has been paused for now. If your update is due, file it anyway, because it is free, brokers and insurers still read the date of your last update, and a current record is what keeps your USDOT number clean when enforcement resumes.
This guide explains the MCS-150 biennial update as it works in November 2026, in the Motus era. You will learn how to work out your own due month and year from the last two digits of your USDOT number, what information to gather before you sign in, how to file step by step through Motus with a Login.gov account, and what the current enforcement pause does and does not protect you from. It also covers the mistakes that get carriers in trouble, including the old guides that still point you at a retired system.
By the end of this page you will know your due date, what to have ready, and exactly where to file. The filing itself takes most carriers under half an hour once the numbers are gathered, and it costs nothing.
Key Points
- Every FMCSA-regulated entity files a biennial update every 24 months under 49 CFR 390.19T, even if nothing has changed.
- Your due month comes from the last digit of your USDOT number (1 is January through 9 is September, 0 is October); the next-to-last digit sets the year (odd digit, odd year; even digit, even year).
- FMCSA temporarily suspended enforcement and USDOT inactivation for missed biennial updates during the Motus transition (notice last updated 10 September 2026); updates due on or after 1 June 2026 get additional time, but no end date has been announced.
- File in Motus at motus.dot.gov with the Login.gov account of the company official on your registration. The old FMCSA Portal no longer files registrations, and there is no USDOT PIN anymore.
- Filing the update is free. Anyone charging you a fee for the filing itself is selling you a service, not a government charge.
What the Biennial Update Is, and Who Has to File It
The biennial update is the MCS-150 series filing that keeps the public record behind your USDOT number accurate. It confirms or corrects your legal name, addresses, operation type, cargo carried, fleet size, driver count, and miles run. FMCSA describes it plainly: you file before you begin operating, and then you update it every 24 months.
It applies to motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and intermodal equipment providers under FMCSA jurisdiction, and to intrastate carriers that hold a hazardous-materials safety permit. It applies even when nothing has changed. FMCSA's own updating page says the update is required even if the company stopped interstate operations, and even if the company is out of business and never told FMCSA. A quiet year is not an excuse, and neither is a year with no changes.
Think of it this way: your USDOT number is your public identity in the freight world. Brokers check it before they offer you a load, insurers check it before they quote you, and shippers check it before they trust you with freight. The biennial update is how that identity stays current. A record that has not been updated in four years tells everyone reading it that nobody is minding the business, even if the trucks are running fine.
When Is Your MCS-150 Due? Work It Out From Your USDOT Number
Your due date is built into your USDOT number. You do not need to wait for a letter, and you do not need to guess. The rule, in 49 CFR 390.19T, works like this:
- Take the last digit of your USDOT number. That is your filing month: 1 means January, 2 February, 3 March, 4 April, 5 May, 6 June, 7 July, 8 August, 9 September, and 0 means October.
- Take the next-to-last digit. That sets your filing year: an odd digit means you file in odd-numbered years, an even digit means even-numbered years.
- You have until the last day of that month to file.
| Last digit of USDOT number | Filing month | Next-to-last digit | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) | Odd years (2025, 2027) |
| 2 | February | Even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) | Even years (2026, 2028) |
| 3 | March | Odd | Odd years |
| 4 | April | Even | Even years |
| 5 | May | Odd | Odd years |
| 6 | June | Even | Even years |
| 7 | July | Odd | Odd years |
| 8 | August | Even | Even years |
| 9 | September | Odd | Odd years |
| 0 | October | Even | Even years |
Worked Example: Three Carriers, Three Due Dates
Take a carrier with USDOT number 3847291. The last digit is 1, so the filing month is January. The next-to-last digit is 9, an odd number, so the filing year is an odd year. That carrier files every January of an odd year, so its next due date after November 2026 is 31 January 2027. It should file during January 2027, not wait until the last day if it can help it.
Now take USDOT 1234567. The last digit is 7, so July. The next-to-last digit is 6, even, so an even year. That carrier was due 31 July 2026. Because that date falls on or after 1 June 2026, it falls inside the current enforcement pause described below, but the carrier should still file now rather than treat the pause as a holiday.
Finally, USDOT 1234578. Last digit 8 means August, next-to-last digit 7 means an odd year, so the carrier files every August of an odd year, next due 31 August 2027. Write your own pair down the same way: last digit for the month, next-to-last digit for odd or even year. If you are unsure, check your record in Motus or on SAFER before you file, because filing against the wrong entity is a common and avoidable error.
The 2026 Enforcement Pause: What It Really Means
In 2026 FMCSA moved registration to Motus, its new registration system, announced on 29 April 2026. The move was rough, and FMCSA responded by temporarily suspending enforcement of the biennial update requirement and the inactivation of USDOT numbers for entities that have not completed a required update. The suspension notice was last updated on 10 September 2026.
Here is what the pause does, in plain terms. Registrants whose update was due on or after 1 June 2026 get additional time and will not have their USDOT number inactivated for failing to submit that update while the suspension lasts. FMCSA has given no end date for the suspension and says it will share more guidance as Motus recovery and stabilization continue.
Here is what the pause does not do. It does not cancel the filing duty in 49 CFR 390.19T. It does not excuse inaccurate information on your record. It does not pause your other obligations: insurance filings, operating authority, process-agent designation, and safety compliance all still apply in full. And it does not stop brokers, insurers, or shippers from reading your record and judging you on it. A carrier whose last update is three years old looks stale to a broker even if FMCSA is not currently inactivating anyone for it.
The duty itself never paused — only the enforcement did — so file when your update falls due, and if it is already overdue, file it today; it is free, and brokers and insurers still check the last-update date on SAFER before trusting a carrier. It costs nothing, it puts current power-unit, driver, and mileage figures on your record, and it removes one reason for a broker to pass over your truck.
How to File the Biennial Update in Motus, Step by Step
Since May 2026, the update is filed in Motus, FMCSA's replacement for the legacy registration systems. The old Unified Registration System is permanently offline, and the FMCSA Portal no longer files registrations. If a guide, a video, or a service still sends you to the old portal or asks for a USDOT PIN, that guide is out of date. Stop and use Motus instead.
- Work out your due month and year. Use the digit rule above, and confirm it against your current record before you start.
- Gather your numbers first. You will be asked for your legal business name and any trade name, business and mailing addresses, operation classification, and cargo categories. Have your fleet numbers ready: power units split by how you hold them (owned, term-leased, trip-leased), drivers split interstate and intrastate and how many hold CDLs, and vehicle miles traveled for the previous calendar year. Your ELD records or your IFTA mileage totals are the right source for miles, not a guess.
- Sign in at motus.dot.gov. Motus authenticates through Login.gov. The company official who is on the registration signs in with the same Login.gov email that official used in the FMCSA Portal, then claims and reviews the imported record. New Motus users complete identity verification first. One user profile belongs to one person, so do not share a Login.gov account across staff.
- Find the Biennial Update section in your company account. FMCSA's May 2026 company-account job aid describes a Biennial Update Information section for interstate motor carriers, intrastate carriers with a hazardous-materials safety permit, and intermodal equipment providers. Start there.
- Review every field, do not just click through. Check the imported record against four sources before you certify: secretary-of-state and tax records for identity, insurance records for the insured entity, equipment and driver rosters for fleet data, and accounting or mileage reports for annual miles. The imported record is a starting point, not a guarantee.
- Certify and submit. The company official certifies the update. Save or print the confirmation, and note the date. Then check that the public record reflects the new update date within a few days.
The step that fails most often is not the form, it is the login. Because the filing is biennial, most carriers only sign in once every two years, and by then the password, the email, or the person has changed. Sort out Login.gov access a week before your due month, not on the last day. If the company official has left the business, sort out the account transfer early, because only the right official can certify the record.
What You Need Before You Start: A Checklist
- Your USDOT number and the exact legal name on the registration.
- Business address, mailing address, and current phone and email.
- Operation type (for example, authorized for-hire, private, or exempt for-hire) and cargo categories you actually haul.
- Power units: how many owned, term-leased, and trip-leased.
- Drivers: interstate and intrastate counts, and how many hold a CDL.
- Vehicle miles traveled for the previous calendar year, from ELD or IFTA records.
- Login.gov access for the company official, with identity verification completed.
If any of those numbers have changed since your last filing, that is exactly what the update is for. A fleet that grew from one truck to three, or a carrier that stopped hauling a cargo type, needs the record to say so. Brokers notice the gap between a one-truck record and a three-truck operation, and not in a good way.
Common Mistakes and Watch-Outs
Treating the pause as a cancellation. The suspension is temporary and has no announced end date. Carriers that stop filing will face a backlog, and possibly enforcement, when it ends. File on schedule and the question never arises.
Following a pre-Motus guide. Any guide that mentions the FMCSA Portal as the filing route, a USDOT PIN, or the Unified Registration System as a live system is stale. Motus replaced those systems in May 2026. The same warning applies to the site's own older authority content: check the date on any guide before you follow its clicks.
Paying for a free filing. FMCSA states that updating registration information is free. Third-party services may charge for assistance, and that charge is separate from the agency filing. Nobody at FMCSA charges you to submit an MCS-150 update, and no paid service can file it faster than you can.
Updating the wrong entity. Companies with more than one USDOT number, a trade name, or a recent change of ownership sometimes update the wrong record or certify a record that belongs to someone else. Confirm the legal name and USDOT number on screen before you certify anything.
Guessing your miles. Vehicle miles traveled feeds safety and registration data that others rely on. Use ELD or IFTA totals. A round-number guess that is off by tens of thousands of miles is worse than taking ten minutes to pull the real figure.
Leaving bad contact information in place. The pause covers biennial-update enforcement, not the general duty to keep FMCSA informed. If FMCSA cannot reach you, or a broker cannot verify you, the problem is yours even while the pause lasts. Update addresses and phone numbers as part of every filing.
One more scam pattern to know: a caller or email that claims your USDOT number is about to be deactivated unless you pay an urgent fee is almost always a scam. FMCSA does not collect filing fees by phone threat, and the current pause means inactivation for a missed biennial update is suspended in any case. Check your record in Motus yourself before you pay anyone anything.
What Happens If You Missed Your Update
Under the normal rule, a missed update can deactivate the USDOT number and can bring civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day, not to exceed $10,000, according to FMCSA's updating guidance. That is the normal consequence, and it is the reason the biennial update matters even for a one-truck carrier.
Right now, that consequence is paused for updates due on or after 1 June 2026, as described above. For updates that came due before 1 June 2026 and were never filed, the broad enforcement suspension also applies, but FMCSA attaches no stated extension of time to those older updates. Either way, the fix is the same: file the update now. Filing late is far better than staying unfiled, and filing now costs nothing.
After you file, verify the result. Check that your public record shows the new update date, and keep the confirmation with your authority paperwork. If the record does not update within a few days, use FMCSA's registration support rather than filing a second, duplicate update.
How the Biennial Update Fits With the Rest of Your Authority
The biennial update is one filing among several, and it does not substitute for any of them. Your operating authority, your insurance filing, and your process-agent designation are separate requirements, and each has its own clock. A current biennial update does not cure lapsed insurance, and current insurance does not cure a stale biennial update.
For a new carrier, the sequence matters. You get your USDOT number, you complete your authority application, you file insurance and designate a process agent, and then the biennial clock starts running from your registration. Put the next due month in your calendar the day you get your number, with a reminder a month early, because two years is exactly long enough to forget. Readers setting up authority for the first time should start with our guide to starting a trucking company and the explainer on MC numbers versus DOT numbers, then return here when the first update comes due. If your filing also touches process-agent rules, the BOC-3 guide covers that filing separately.
FAQ
Is the MCS-150 biennial update still required in 2026? Yes. The requirement in 49 CFR 390.19T has not changed. FMCSA has temporarily suspended enforcement and USDOT inactivation during the Motus transition, but the duty to file every 24 months stands, and filing is free.
How do I know when my update is due? Use the last two digits of your USDOT number: the last digit sets the month (1 is January through 9 is September, 0 is October) and the next-to-last digit sets odd or even years. You have until the last day of that month.
Where do I file now, Motus or the FMCSA Portal? Motus, at motus.dot.gov, using Login.gov. The old Unified Registration System is offline and the FMCSA Portal no longer files registrations. Any guide pointing you elsewhere is out of date.
Does the enforcement pause mean I can skip my 2026 update? No. Updates due on or after 1 June 2026 get additional time and will not cause inactivation while the suspension lasts, but FMCSA has announced no end date, brokers still read your update date, and filing is free. File on schedule.
How much does it cost to file? Nothing. FMCSA registration updates are free. A third party may charge for optional assistance, but that fee is not a government charge and it does not make the filing faster.
What if I cannot sign in to Motus? Sort out Login.gov access for the company official on the registration, including identity verification, well before your due month. If the official has changed, arrange the account transfer early, and use FMCSA registration support rather than creating a duplicate record.
The Bottom Line
File your biennial update when it is due, in Motus, for free, even while enforcement is paused. Work out your month and year from your USDOT number today, gather your fleet and mileage numbers from ELD or IFTA records, and sign in with the company official's Login.gov account. If your update is already overdue, file it now: the pause protects you from inactivation today, but a current record protects you with brokers, insurers, and FMCSA tomorrow. Put the next due date in your calendar before you close this page.