If you have the appropriate permits and licences, your trucking business can begin operations. That’s not quite right. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates participation in the biannual update for anyone who has been working as an owner operator or business owner in the trucking industry for more than five years and who has a USDOT number.

Just what is meant by “Biannual Refresh?”

Be aware that while the FMCSA requires you to update your MCS-150 Form (also recognised as the Identification Report of Motor Carrier) every two years as part of mcs 150 biennial update, several states actually require you to do so annually as part of the process of renewing your truck or fleet registration. It is still your responsibility to update the form even if none of the company information has changed.

What Happens If You Don’t Keep Your MCS-150 Current?

Your USDOT number will be revoked and you might face a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to a daily fine of $1,000 if you fail to keep your MCS-150 form current. Keep in mind that you’ll still owe this much money if absolutely nothing has changed with your business in the past two years. If you fail to update your USDOT number, the FMCSA may deactivate it, taking you out of service and leaving your vehicles parked. The FMCSA does routinely deactivate USDOT numbers that do not perform the update, although fines of this kind are unusual.

After what date must the MCS-150 be submitted?

The date by which you must resubmit your MCS-150 for renewal is indicated by the last two digits of your USDOT Number. Before the last digit of your USDOT number is the year in which you must submit an updated form.

• Your biannual report is due in the odd-numbered years if the number is odd.
• You should submit a revised version of your biennial report in years that conclude in an even number.

According to the last digit of your USDOT number, you’ll know which month you have to file for your MCS-150.

Is there a specific procedure for updating an MCS-150?

Prevent fines and truck impoundment by keeping your MCS-150 form current at all times. Don’t stress out about making sure everything is up to date; let Motor Carrier HQ take care of it for you. This is the quickest method to implement the change.

You can get a copy of the MCS-150 and accompanying instructions from this page. To file your MCS-150, you may either print it off and mail it in or fill it out online. The computerised online application method is highly recommended by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) due to its built-in edit checks and basic questions that may be answered with a yes or no.

Clare Louise