What is an MC number?

• MC stands for Motor Carrier. It's a license number issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
• Required for brokers and for-hire carriers. If a company arranges or operates interstate freight transport for hire, they must have one.
• Format: the letters "MC" followed by 4–7 digits. Examples: MC-279140, MC-1675078.
• Public: every MC number is searchable in the FMCSA public record. Anyone can look up any company.

They're both FMCSA identifiers, but they mean different things.

• DOT number identifies the company entity. Any commercial vehicle operator — for-hire or private — needs one. A landscaping company with one truck has a DOT number.
• MC number identifies the operating authority. Only for-hire carriers and brokers need one — companies that take money to move freight or arrange shipments for someone else.

A legitimate broker has both: one DOT number (the company) and one MC number (the broker license). They're displayed together: e.g. MC-1675078 / DOT-4301133.

If a company has only a DOT number and no MC number, they're not licensed to broker your shipment. They might be a private fleet, a moving company, or just a small operator who never registered for broker authority. Either way, don't hire them as a broker.

Pull up any MC number in the FMCSA SAFER database (or our tool) and you can see:

• Legal name and DBA on file with FMCSA
• Physical address — required to be accurate by federal law
• Operating authority status — Active, Inactive, Pending, Revoked, Suspended
• Authority type — Broker, Motor Carrier, or both
• Bond and insurance on file (the BMC-84 bond for brokers; cargo insurance for carriers)
• Date the authority was granted

That's a lot of accountability built into one number. It's also why fake or borrowed MC numbers are the most common scam in the industry — see identity-spoofing scams.

Three patterns to watch for:

1. The MC doesn't exist in the FMCSA database. Look it up — if there's no record at all, the number is made up.
2. The MC exists but the company name on FMCSA doesn't match the company quoting you. Someone's using a real broker's license number to look legitimate. Independently call the legitimate broker (using the phone number on FMCSA, not the salesperson's number) and confirm they have your quote.
3. The MC exists but the authority is Inactive, Revoked, or Suspended. They had a license but lost it. Doesn't matter why — they're not currently allowed to broker shipments.

Three ways:

1. Look at any quote, contract, invoice, or website footer they've sent you. Brokers are required by federal law (49 CFR 371.2) to display their MC number on advertising.
2. Search by company name on the FMCSA SAFER public site.
3. Search by company name in our verify tool — same data, faster interface.

If a company is reluctant to share their MC number, that's a serious red flag. They're required to disclose it, and any legitimate operator does so proudly.