The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is rolling out Motus, a new registration system designed to replace the agency’s decades-old platform, offering what it calls “a more intuitive, user-friendly experience.” Supporting companies will get limited access in December 2025, with full rollout to all users planned for 2026.
The announcement promises streamlined processes, enhanced fraud prevention, and mobile-friendly functionality. What it doesn’t promise is that any of this will actually work better than what we have now.
Motus represents FMCSA’s attempt to drag motor carrier registration into the 21st century. The current system, which feels like it was designed during the Carter administration and hasn’t been updated since, forces users to navigate multiple disconnected platforms, fill out redundant forms, and wait weeks for paper processing.
The new system consolidates FMCSA forms into a single online platform. Carriers will manage everything from one company account page. Mobile devices can view and update registration information on the go. Real-time data validation, auto-population tools and smart logic aim to prevent errors before submission rather than rejecting forms weeks later.
All regulated entities will continue using USDOT numbers as primary identifiers. The new system adds suffixes to indicate registration type, like MC for motor carrier authority or FF for freight forwarder. These suffixes won’t be vehicle marking requirements, just backend organizational tools.
The MCS-150 biennial update process, currently a bureaucratic exercise in re-entering information that FMCSA already has, is supposedly being streamlined. Carriers will update their company account page directly rather than filling out separate forms. How much actual improvement this represents remains to be seen.
FMCSA is taking a measured approach, which, in government-speak, means “we’re not sure this will work, so we’re testing it on limited users first.”
Phase one starts in December 2025 with limited access for supporting companies. That includes blanket companies filing BOC-3 forms, financial responsibility filers such as insurance companies, and transportation service providers that assist with FMCSA registration.
These supporting companies can create user profiles, establish business accounts, and invite authorized users. What they can’t do during this limited period is file or assist with motor carrier registration. That functionality comes later.
The primary account holder creates and maintains the company profile, manages user access, and claims existing Licensing and Insurance filer accounts to link historical filings to the new system. Insurance filers must submit eligibility documents, such as state insurance licenses or banking certificates.
Sub-account holders, added by invitation only, get access to the company account but can’t manage other users. FMCSA explicitly warns that sub-account holders should not create user profiles without an invitation, suggesting that it expects people to do exactly that.
Phase two opens Motus to all users in 2026. Motor carriers, brokers, and other registrants will be able to create accounts, complete identity and business verification, and use the system to register and update.
Phase three is continuous improvement, which means the FMCSA will continue to release additional functionality and collect feedback. Translation: expect bugs, workarounds, and “enhancements” that break things that were working.
In response to stakeholder feedback, FMCSA backed off several controversial proposals. When Motus launches for all users, it will not include Safety Registration, the elimination of docket numbers such as MC/FF/MX, or changes to BOC-3 filing processes.
Those proposed changes are “still under consideration” and will go through notice and comment rulemaking. That’s bureaucratic language for “we got so much pushback we’re punting these to a future fight.”
Safety Registration would have created additional registration requirements tied to safety ratings. The industry pushed back hard, arguing it would create barriers to entry without improving safety.
Eliminating docket numbers would have required carriers to reference only USDOT numbers in all documentation. Given that MC numbers are embedded in contracts, insurance policies, and literally every piece of paperwork in the industry, this proposal was dead on arrival.
The BOC-3 changes would have altered how carriers designate process agents. Since this system works well and no one asked for changes, the FMCSA wisely decided to leave it alone.
FMCSA promises enhanced verification and fraud reduction through new identity verification software, user roles to control system access, and business verification with information edit checks.
These are the same promises made with virtually every government IT modernization project. Sometimes they work. Often they don’t.
The identity verification software will validate users before granting system access. Business verification will check key information, such as principal place of business addresses, against external databases. Edit checks will flag suspicious or inconsistent data.
All of this sounds great in theory. In practice, fraud operators have proven remarkably adaptable. When California implemented enhanced verification for non-domiciled CDLs, fraudsters just adapted their schemes. When FMCSA launched the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, workarounds emerged within months.
The fundamental problem isn’t technology. It’s enforcement resources. FMCSA can build the most sophisticated fraud detection system in the world, but if it doesn’t have staff to investigate flagged cases and take action, the system will just generate reports that no one acts on.
Currently, motor carriers must update their MCS-150 form biennially, re-entering basic company information, fleet data, and operational details that haven’t changed. The process is tedious and time-consuming, and it serves no obvious purpose beyond a compliance checkbox.
Motus supposedly streamlines this by maintaining persistent company account pages. When biennial update time arrives, carriers log in, review pre-populated information, make necessary changes, and submit. If information hasn’t changed, the update should take minutes rather than hours.
That’s the theory. Reality might involve system outages during peak update periods, data that doesn’t pre-populate correctly, and new requirements that weren’t in the old system. Anyone who’s dealt with government IT rollouts knows the first year is always rough.
FMCSA hasn’t released detailed information about how MCS-150 updates will work in Motus. The December launch for supporting companies won’t include this functionality. Full details are expected to come when the system opens to all users in 2026.
If you’re a motor carrier, here’s what you need to know about Motus.
Nothing changes immediately. Supporting companies get limited access in December 2025, but can’t make filings yet. You continue using current systems until Motus opens fully in 2026.
When full rollout happens, expect a learning curve. New systems always have growing pains. Budget extra time for registration tasks until everyone figures out the new interface and processes.
Mobile functionality could be helpful if it actually works. Being able to update registration information on a tablet instead of waiting to use an office computer would be a real improvement.
The consolidated platform should reduce redundancy if implemented well. Currently, making changes often requires updating multiple systems. Having everything in one place would save time and reduce errors.
But skepticism is warranted. FMCSA’s track record on IT projects is mixed. The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse works reasonably well. Other systems have been disasters. Motus is ambitious enough that problems are likely. to arise
The FMCSA is attempting to modernize the registration infrastructure, which desperately needs updating. The current system is clunky, inefficient, and vulnerable to fraud. Motus addresses real problems.
Whether it actually solves those problems depends on execution. Government IT projects have a disturbing tendency to promise transformation and deliver disappointment. Cost overrun. Timelines slip. Functionality that worked in the old system breaks in the new one.
The phased rollout suggests FMCSA learned from past failures. Starting with supporting companies limits initial exposure. Getting those stakeholders functional before opening to all users makes sense. The decision to walk back controversial proposals shows responsiveness to feedback.
The proof comes when carriers actually try to use the system for registration and updates. Does it genuinely streamline processes? Does fraud detection work without creating false positives that delay legitimate applications? Does the mobile interface actually function or is it just desktop crammed into a small screen?
We’ll find out in 2026 when full rollout happens. Until then, supporting companies serve as unwitting beta testers for a system that better work because there’s no alternative.
The current registration system is so bad that Motus almost can’t help but be an improvement. Almost. Government has a remarkable ability to make things worse while trying to make them better.
Here’s hoping FMCSA beats those odds. The industry needs modernized registration infrastructure. Whether Motus delivers remains to be seen.
Key Dates
December 2025: Supporting companies (BOC-3 filers, insurance companies, transportation service providers) get limited access to create profiles and accounts. No filing functionality yet.
2026: System opens to all users including motor carriers and brokers. Full registration and update functionality becomes available.
Ongoing: FMCSA continues releasing additional features and collecting feedback for continuous improvement.
Resources
More information on Motus is available at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/resources-hub. FMCSA is offering email updates on the rollout at the same site.
Supporting companies can access fact sheets and implementation guides at the resources hub. Motor carriers should monitor for updates as 2026 rollout approaches.
