The new system

Motus and the Identity Check

Updated September 2026

In May 2026 FMCSA switched every registration - new USDOT numbers, authority applications, updates - onto a new system called Motus. The old Unified Registration System is permanently offline. If you are starting a trucking company now, this is the door you walk through.

Signing in

Motus uses Login.gov with two-factor authentication. FMCSA's quick-start guide tells you not to use your public business email for the Motus profile - use a private address you control. If you ever had an FMCSA Portal login, use the same email so your history links up.

The identity check

Every new applicant proves identity through FMCSA's partner IDEMIA: scan a QR code with a smartphone or tablet, photograph a valid government ID, take a selfie. Accepted documents are from the United States, Mexico and Canada only; for Mexico, only a passport. There is no limit on attempts, walk-in enrollment centers exist if the phone route fails, and FMCSA's identity hotline is 1-833-832-5530.

Approximately 800,000 existing registrants go through the same check the first time they log in.

What a third party can and cannot do

Motus has a formal role for companies that help with registrations, but you must designate them first, anyone who applies on your behalf must pass the identity check too, and the company official - you - still reviews the entries and submits the final oaths and certifications. FMCSA also warns that it never telemarkets, never asks for card numbers by phone, and never charges for forms.

Reading your status

• Pending - FMCSA Review: the agency is looking at it, or it was flagged for vetting (2-8 extra weeks).
• Pending - Process Agent (Form BOC-3) Filings: your process agent has not filed yet.
• Pending - Financial Responsibility Filings: your insurer has not filed the BMC-91/91X yet.
• Not Authorized: no active authority - you cannot haul for hire yet.

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