The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has temporarily suspended enforcement of its biennial update requirement and stopped inactivating USDOT numbers when registrants miss those filings. The relief covers deadlines falling on or after June 1, 2026, and remains in place until further notice.
FMCSA introduced the pause while registrants move to MOTUS, the agency's new registration platform, which launched May 19. A notice issued in September set out what carriers should expect during the transition. Businesses covered by the relief have additional time to submit overdue biennial updates, and their USDOT numbers stay active despite missed deadlines.
The agency has not announced when enforcement will resume. It said advance warning will come before those actions restart. Federal regulations normally require covered entities to refresh registration information every two years, even when company details are unchanged. The filing keeps fleet, mileage, driver and business records current.
The notice also addresses companies that operate only within one state. MOTUS no longer offers a federal biennial filing option for intrastate carriers, which fall outside the federal requirement. Individual states may still impose recurring record updates. The platform continues to let intrastate operators revise mileage, power units and driver totals.
FMCSA plans to display each carrier's most recent submission date so state agencies can evaluate compliance. Requirements vary depending on where a company operates.
A missed biennial update normally risks USDOT number inactivation and an interruption to operations. The pause gives affected carriers more time while the agency completes the MOTUS migration.
Source: FreightWaves - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-suspends-usdot-deactivations-for-missed-biennial-updates-during-motus-rollout