Two clocks run at once
One clock is the biennial schedule set by your USDOT number. The other starts whenever your information changes: FMCSA says it requires you to update your registration information within 30 days of any change. Source: When am I required to file a biennial update?. FMCSA's updating page also says that any time you change your legal business name, address or other details, you should update your records in a timely manner. Source: Updating Your Registration or Authority.
What this usually involves 6 steps
- Note the date the change took effect
- Update your record within 30 days
- Sign in to Motus with Login.gov and finish identity verification with a government-issued photo ID
- Update business information, including name and address, in Motus
- Check that authority, insurance and BOC-3 details still match
- Confirm on SAFER
Recurring deadline: Changes: within 30 days. A change reported in the 12 months before your due date also satisfies the biennial update.
From FMCSA: When am I required to file?, FMCSA: Move into Motus.
Rather not deal with this? Hand it to a Personal Compliance Specialist.
Consult with a Compliance SpecialistWhat counts as a change
FMCSA's examples include your address, telephone number, email and number of power units. A legal name change, or a change in the legal entity that owns the number, has its own rules; see our name or address change guide rather than treating it as a routine update.
The 12-month window can satisfy your next biennial update
If you report changes within the 12 months before your biennial due date, FMCSA considers the biennial update met and will not send a reminder until the next due date. That is a side benefit, not a reason to wait. If something changes tomorrow, update within 30 days. Check your date on the due date page.
File in Motus when you can
FMCSA lists updating business information, including company name and address, among the actions you can take in Motus. Updating your information is free. Source: Move into Motus. If a paper form is required for your change, use only a current form from FMCSA; see the MCS-150 form.
What it costs at FMCSA: updating your USDOT record, including the biennial update, is free when you file it yourself. Reinstating revoked operating authority is a separate request, and FMCSA lists an $80 fee for it.
Changing the legal person is not just an update
FMCSA says a USDOT number belongs to the same legal person forever. If a sole proprietor sells the business, the buyer needs their own number; if a corporation is dissolved and operations continue under a different company, that company needs its own number. Source: FMCSA, DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT or MC Number. For help sorting out a second number, see duplicatedot.com.
Common mistakes that cause delays
- Using an existing number for a new legal entity. A USDOT number stays with the same legal person. (FMCSA: Do not sell, buy or lease a USDOT or MC number)
Do it yourself
- Free to file in Motus
- You set up Login.gov and verify your identity
- You work out which form or request fits your record
- You match names, addresses and filings exactly
- You follow up until the change shows on SAFER
Have a specialist handle it
- A Personal Compliance Specialist reads your public record first
- You get a plain list of what is outstanding
- We prepare the filings with you and check they post
- You still complete Login.gov identity verification yourself
- Paid service. Any government fee is separate
Prefer to hand it off? A Personal Compliance Specialist can take it from here.
Talk to a Personal Compliance SpecialistCommon questions
I moved last week. Do I wait for my biennial due date?
No. FMCSA says it requires you to update your registration information within 30 days of any change.
If I update now, do I still file the biennial update later this year?
If the change was reported within 12 months before your biennial due date, FMCSA considers the biennial update met and will not send a reminder until the next due date.
Is this the same as a name change?
Address and contact changes are routine record updates. Legal name and entity changes have extra rules and may affect operating authority, insurance and BOC-3 filings, so treat them separately.
Is there a fee for a mid-cycle update?
No. FMCSA says updating your information is free.
Where do I file the change?
In Motus, which FMCSA describes as the system for updating business information, including company name and address. Older FMCSA pages still describe the FMCSA Portal and contact-center tickets.
Still unsure after the questions above? Ask a Personal Compliance Specialist.
Consult with a Compliance SpecialistFMCSA sources
- FMCSA: When am I required to file a biennial update?
- FMCSA: Updating Your Registration or Authority
- FMCSA: Move into Motus
- FMCSA: DO NOT Sell, Purchase, or Lease a USDOT or MC Number
Checked November 15, 2026. FMCSA pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail. DOT Number Help is an independent service, not FMCSA, and you can file any of this directly with FMCSA.