“My authority got shut off” covers three regulatory situations with three different price tags: a deactivated USDOT number (free fix), a revoked operating authority ($80 federal reinstatement), and the in-between operating prohibitions carriers usually call a suspension. Diagnosing which one you have takes about 60 seconds on free government systems — and getting it wrong is how carriers pay an $80 non-refundable fee for a problem a free MCS-150 update would have cured.
The 60-Second Status Check
Look up your USDOT number or company name in FMCSA's Motus public search and check four things: USDOT Status, Operating Status, any out-of-service date, and the MCS-150 date. The first two answer different questions — the USDOT Status describes the registration record itself, while the Operating Status describes the for-hire operating authority. A carrier can hold an ACTIVE USDOT number and still be NOT AUTHORIZED, and vice versa. If you would rather not decode the raw record, the free authority checker on FastBOC3Filing runs the same lookup and labels the result in plain English.
What Each Status Means — In FMCSA's Own Words
| Status shown | FMCSA's definition | Plain English | The cure |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDOT Status: INACTIVE | “Inactive per 49 CFR 390.19(b)(4); biennial update of MCS-150 data not completed” | Deactivated | Free MCS-150 update |
| Operating Status: NOT AUTHORIZED | “The entity does not have any operating authority and/or is not authorized to engage in interstate, for-hire operations” | Revoked (or never granted) | $80 reinstatement after curing the cause |
| Operating Status: OUT-OF-SERVICE | “Carrier is under any type of out-of-service order and is not authorized to operate” | Active OOS order | Cause-specific — see the OOS guide |
| AUTHORIZED FOR Property / Passenger / HHG | “Lists the specific operating authorities the carrier (or broker) is allowed to operate” | You are fine | Nothing to cure |
Deactivated: USDOT Status INACTIVE
Deactivation is the administrative status. Under 49 CFR §390.19T, every carrier must file the MCS-150 every 24 months — the last digit of the USDOT number sets the filing month, the next-to-last digit sets odd or even year — and the update is required even if nothing has changed. Miss it and FMCSA deactivates the USDOT number. The cure is filing the overdue update: free, about 15 minutes, no $80 fee, full walkthrough in our MCS-150 overdue guide. One trap: an inactive USDOT also blocks any reinstatement request — FMCSA's systems will not accept one while the USDOT number is Inactive or Out of Service — so a carrier with both problems must fix the MCS-150 first.
Revoked: Operating Status NOT AUTHORIZED
Revocation is final agency action against the MC/FF/MX docket itself — typically for an insurance lapse, a lost BOC-3 designation, or an unpaid civil penalty. To see why, check FMCSA's Motus public search (by USDOT number or company name) for each authority type's status and whether the insurance and BOC-3 filings are on record, and read the revocation notice FMCSA sent, which names the action and its date. The cure is the full reinstatement path: fix every open cause, then file the $80 reinstatement (online or via Form MCSA-5889).
“Suspended”: The In-Between States
FMCSA's status fields have no “SUSPENDED” label. What carriers experience as a suspension is one of two verified regulatory mechanisms:
- The penalty sanction (49 CFR §386.83). A carrier that fails to pay an FMCSA civil penalty in full within 90 days of the due date is prohibited from operating in interstate commerce starting on the 91st day. The registration is not yet revoked — paying in full lifts the prohibition.
- The pending-revocation window (49 CFR §387.313T). An insurer cannot cancel a BMC-91/BMC-91X filing until 30 days after FMCSA receives written notice on Form BMC-35/BMC-36. During that window the authority is still active but on a countdown — replacement coverage filed before the clock runs out avoids revocation entirely. Details in the insurance-lapse guide.
The practical takeaway: a suspension is the cheap moment to act. Cure the cause before the revocation finalizes and you skip the $80 fee, the filing, and the downtime.
The OUT-OF-SERVICE Flag
If the Operating Status reads OUT-OF-SERVICE, an enforcement order is active and the recovery path depends entirely on which kind — unpaid penalty, insurance, failed new-entrant audit, Unsatisfactory rating, or imminent hazard. Some of those can use the standard $80 reinstatement and some are excluded from it. The out-of-service order reinstatement guide maps every cause to its cure and realistic duration.
Whatever the Status: Do Not Keep Driving
Under 49 CFR §392.9a, a vehicle providing for-hire transportation without the required operating authority shall be ordered out of service at roadside, and the current penalty schedule sets a minimum of $13,676 per violation for operating without registration. The status check is free and takes a minute; the roadside discovery is neither.
Diagnosis: Revoked? Submitted the Same Business Day.
DOT $200 or MC $300 ($80 FMCSA fee included in MC). Covers every open cause — insurance, BOC-3, penalty — in one coordinated filing.
Start Reinstatement — from $200