{"id":268,"date":"2026-04-27T03:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T09:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/?p=268"},"modified":"2026-04-27T03:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T09:41:23","slug":"mcs-150-deadlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/2026\/04\/27\/mcs-150-deadlines\/","title":{"rendered":"MCS-150: when your filing month is, and what happens if you miss it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have an active USDOT number, you&#8217;re required to update your registration with FMCSA at least every 24 months under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecfr.gov\/current\/title-49\/subtitle-B\/chapter-III\/subchapter-B\/part-390\/subpart-A\/section-390.19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">49 CFR \u00a7 390.19<\/a>. The form is the MCS-150 (or MCS-150B if you carry hazmat). Most owner-operators don&#8217;t realise the deadline isn&#8217;t tied to when they got their authority \u2014 it&#8217;s tied to the last two digits of their USDOT number.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to find your filing month<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>last digit<\/strong> of your USDOT number determines the month: 1 = January, 2 = February, \u2026 9 = September, 0 = October.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>second-to-last digit<\/strong> determines whether you file in odd or even years: odd \u2192 odd year, even \u2192 even year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Example: USDOT 3,456,712 ends in 2 (February) and the second-to-last digit is 1 (odd year). So your update is due February of every odd year \u2014 2025, 2027, 2029, etc.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens if you miss it<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FMCSA deactivates your USDOT and operating authority. While inactive, you cannot legally operate. Reactivation requires filing the overdue MCS-150 and a separate reinstatement request. Roadside inspections during the inactive period frequently lead to out-of-service orders and fines.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you actually file<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MCS-150 captures power-unit count, driver count, mileage from the prior calendar year, principal address, hazmat status, and operation classifications. Even if nothing has changed since your last filing, you still have to file \u2014 that&#8217;s the rule.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 5-minute version: log in to the FMCSA Portal, pull up your DOT record, refresh the data, submit. The careful version: confirm your numbers tie to your IFTA returns and your insurance certificates so a future safety audit doesn&#8217;t catch a discrepancy.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;d rather not think about this every two years, our <a href=\"\/services\/mcs-150\/\">MCS-150 service<\/a> tracks your filing month and submits before the deadline. Or call us at <a href=\"tel:+13107372842\">+1 (310) 737-2842<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every motor carrier has to update FMCSA every 24 months. Here&#8217;s how to find your deadline and what happens if it lapses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":246028361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[121847],"tags":[],"glossary":[],"class_list":["post-268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compliance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgYjMi-4k","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":272,"url":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/2026\/04\/03\/cumplimiento-dot-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":268,"position":0},"title":"Cumplimiento DOT en 2026: lo que todo transportista debe saber","author":"brianrajadel","date":"3 de April de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Una gu\u00eda r\u00e1pida de los requisitos federales m\u00e1s importantes \u2014 autoridad, seguros, drogas y alcohol, auditor\u00edas \u2014 para operadores hispanohablantes.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bilingual guides&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bilingual guides","link":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/category\/bilingual-guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":269,"url":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/2026\/04\/21\/mcs-90-vs-bmc-91x\/","url_meta":{"origin":268,"position":1},"title":"MCS-90 vs BMC-91X: two federal insurance filings, two different jobs","author":"brianrajadel","date":"21 de April de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Both relate to your liability coverage. Both are filed with FMCSA. They are not the same form and they don't do the same thing.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Insurance&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Insurance","link":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/category\/insurance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":270,"url":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/2026\/04\/15\/new-entrant-audit-checklist\/","url_meta":{"origin":268,"position":2},"title":"5 things FMCSA looks for in a new-entrant safety audit","author":"brianrajadel","date":"15 de April de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Within your first 12 months of new authority, FMCSA performs a mandatory safety audit. Here's what auditors check first.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audits&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audits","link":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/category\/audits\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":271,"url":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/2026\/04\/09\/fmcsa-clearinghouse-phase-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":268,"position":3},"title":"FMCSA Clearinghouse Phase II: what changed and what employers must do now","author":"brianrajadel","date":"9 de April de 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Clearinghouse-II rule changed the way employers verify drug-and-alcohol history. Here's what stayed and what shifted.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/246028361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268"},{"taxonomy":"glossary","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alllegal.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary?post=268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}