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Home › Glossary › Operating authority

What Is Operating Authority (MC Number)?

Operating authority is the registration the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) grants a for-hire motor carrier, broker or freight forwarder to operate in interstate commerce. It is identified by a docket number (MC, or FF for a freight forwarder) alongside the company’s USDOT number.

It answers a different question from the USDOT number. The USDOT number identifies the company to FMCSA; operating authority says what it may do for hire: haul, broker, or both.

Who needs it

Federal law has FMCSA register three kinds of for-hire business: motor carriers under 49 U.S.C. 13902, freight forwarders under 49 U.S.C. 13903, and brokers under 49 U.S.C. 13904. The application rules in 49 CFR 365.101 list the matching applications for operating authority: a certificate of registration to operate as a motor carrier, a permit to operate as a freight forwarder, and a license to operate as a broker.

Authority is about hauling or arranging freight for compensation. SAFER, FMCSA’s public lookup, notes that its NOT AUTHORIZED status does not apply to private or intrastate operations.

MC number vs USDOT number

FMCSA identifies every company it regulates by a USDOT number. The docket number (MC, or FF for a freight forwarder) goes with operating authority, and a company’s public SAFER record lists it in an “MC/MX/FF Number(s)” field next to the USDOT number.

In its notice on Motus, its registration system, FMCSA said that Phase II of Motus will not eliminate MC and FF docket numbers, and that it will take a measured approach to that change in later releases. FMCSA continues to identify all regulated entities by USDOT number, and the SAFER record still shows the MC number.

Carrier vs broker authority

Carrier authority lets a company haul freight for compensation in its own or leased trucks. Broker authority lets it arrange freight for others: under 49 CFR 371.2, a broker is “a person who, for compensation, arranges, or offers to arrange, the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier.”

Each kind of authority carries its own security requirement. A motor carrier must file proof of financial responsibility (insurance, a surety bond or other security) before FMCSA registers it (49 U.S.C. 13906). Under 49 CFR 387.307, a broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect, and FMCSA will not register a broker until it is. One company can hold both kinds of authority, and SAFER lists each one it holds.

Dispatcher vs broker

A dispatcher who books loads for a carrier does not need broker authority if it acts as the carrier’s bona fide agent. 49 CFR 371.2 says employees or bona fide agents of carriers are not brokers when they arrange shipments the carrier is authorized to haul and has accepted. It defines bona fide agents as persons who are “part of the normal organization of a motor carrier” and work “under the carrier’s directions pursuant to a preexisting agreement which provides for a continuing relationship,” with no discretion in allocating traffic between the carrier and others.

FMCSA’s guidance on the broker definitions notes that “there is no statutory or regulatory definition of a dispatch service” and that “dispatch services may be classified as either brokers or bona fide agents, depending on the nature and scope of their activities.” Its factors pointing to an agent include a written contract with a specific carrier, pay from that carrier, and not passing loads on to another carrier; negotiating freight directly with a shipper points to needing broker authority. Third-party dispatch service vs broker sets out the questions to ask a dispatch service before signing.

How to check it

Check that the name on the snapshot matches the company you are dealing with, that the authority shown fits the work (carrier authority to haul, broker authority to arrange), and that an insurance filing is active. How to vet a fuel carrier before the load covers the rest of a carrier check.

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