Do I need a DOT number?

You need a USDOT number if your vehicle, in interstate commerce:

• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating (or actual weight) of 10,001 pounds or more
• Is designed or used to carry 9 to 15 passengers, including the driver, for compensation
• Is designed or used to carry 16 or more passengers, including the driver, with or without compensation
• Hauls hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placards

What counts as interstate commerce

Interstate commerce is trade or transportation that crosses a state line, or that is part of a trip that starts or ends outside the state. Hauling a load within one state can still be interstate if the freight came from, or is headed to, another state.

If you stay entirely within one state, the federal rule may not apply, but most states have adopted their own USDOT number requirement for intrastate commercial vehicles. Check with your state before you haul.

Who is usually exempt

A pickup truck pulling a trailer for a business can cross 10,001 pounds once you add the trailer's rating. Use the combined rating, not just the truck.

• Personal use: moving your own household goods, an RV or a boat for recreation, with no business purpose
• Vehicles under 10,001 pounds that do not carry passengers for hire or placarded hazmat
• Purely intrastate operators in states that do not require a USDOT number
• Some farm vehicles and government vehicles, depending on federal and state rules

What it costs and what comes after

Registering for a USDOT number with FMCSA is free. After you have one, you must update the MCS-150 every 24 months, and for-hire interstate carriers also need MC operating authority, UCR registration, insurance on file and a BOC-3.