FMCSA stopped updating its carrier authority and insurance files on May 14, 2026
If a carrier's authority or insurance status in a data feed looks fine, it may describe May 14. Here is what changed, how many carriers are affected, and what to do about it.
What FMCSA stopped updating
FMCSA's own notes on its public datasets say that the Carrier, InsHist, ActPendInsur, Rejected, Revocation, AuthHist, BOC-3 and Insur files were "last refreshed on 05/14/2026 and will no longer be updated". Together they carry operating-authority status, insurance filings and their history, revocations and cancellations. FMCSA's licensing system moved to a new platform, called MOTUS, starting in May 2026.
What still updates
- The carrier census, which holds registration details and USDOT status.
- Crash records and the roadside inspection files.
- Everything on the new MOTUS platform.
MOTUS covers only the dockets FMCSA has moved onto it so far. In mid-October 2026 that was about 150,000 carriers, growing by roughly 10,000 dockets a month.
Who is affected
In our data, about 72% of carriers with Active operating authority, roughly 1.57 million, are not yet on MOTUS. For them, authority status and insurance-on-file fields describe May 14, 2026, whatever date the feed or website shows. A carrier whose authority was revoked, or whose insurance was cancelled, after May 14 can still look fine in the frozen files.
What to do before you tender a load
- Look at the as-of date, per carrier. A single "last updated" date on a vendor's site does not tell you which fields are frozen for which carriers.
- Confirm current authority and insurance directly with FMCSA's licensing and insurance site or with the insurer, especially for a carrier you have not used before.
- Treat the certificate of insurance as a snapshot. Ask for a current one when the load is near.
- Keep a dated record of what you checked, including which source you used. See what a carrier-selection file should show.
- Ask your data vendor how it handles the freeze. A feed that silently shows May 14 data as current is a risk you would be carrying without knowing it.
How this service handles it
Every response carries the date its records are current as of. For carriers whose authority or insurance status still comes from the frozen archive, the record is flagged authority_status_is_legacy_li_not_motus and states in plain words that the status describes May 14, 2026. We do not describe authority or insurance as current for those carriers. Try the free lookup: the result tells you which source its status came from.
Common questions
Did FMCSA really stop updating carrier authority and insurance data?
FMCSA's dataset notes say its Carrier, InsHist, ActPendInsur, Rejected, Revocation, AuthHist, BOC-3 and Insur files were last refreshed on 05/14/2026 and will no longer be updated. The census, crash and inspection files and the new MOTUS platform continue to update.
How many carriers are affected?
In our data about 72% of carriers with Active operating authority, roughly 1.57 million, are not yet on FMCSA's new MOTUS platform, so their authority and insurance-on-file fields describe May 14, 2026.
How do I check a carrier's current authority and insurance?
Use FMCSA's licensing and insurance site directly or ask the insurer, and ask the carrier for a current certificate of insurance. Keep a dated record of what you checked and where.
Is the data on this site live?
No. Each response states the date its records are current as of, and records still based on the frozen archive are flagged and say so.