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The MCS-150 Biennial Update: When Yours Is Due, Read From Your USDOT Number

Updated September 2026

The MCS-150 is the form behind your USDOT number: who you are, where you are, how many trucks and drivers, what you haul. You filed it to get the number. The part people miss is that it has to be updated every 24 months, whether or not anything has changed (49 CFR 390.19T(b)).

When yours is due

The schedule is built into your USDOT number. Look at the last digit for the month:

  • 1 — January · 2 — February · 3 — March
  • 4 — April · 5 — May · 6 — June
  • 7 — July · 8 — August · 9 — September
  • 0 — October

Then the next-to-last digit for the year: if it is odd, you file in odd-numbered years; if it is even, in even-numbered years. The update is due by the last day of your month.

So USDOT 1234567: last digit 7 is July; next-to-last digit 6 is even — July of every even-numbered year.

Update sooner when things change

The two-year schedule is the minimum. It is good practice to update when your details change materially — a new address, a different legal name, a jump in the number of trucks — because the name and address on the registration are what your truck lettering has to match (49 CFR 390.21) and where official mail is sent.

What happens if you don't

The section says a carrier that fails to complete its biennial update is subject to civil penalties under 49 U.S.C. 521(b)(2)(B) and to deactivation of its USDOT number (390.19T). A deactivated number means you are not authorised to operate until it is fixed — which tends to be discovered at a roadside stop or when a customer checks your number online.

How to file

The update is filed online through FMCSA's own registration system. Be wary of official-looking letters and websites offering to file it for a charge: they are private companies, not the agency, and the mailings go to every registered carrier. Check FMCSA's site before paying anyone.

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This is general information, not legal advice, and RelayPoint is not a law firm or a compliance consultant. Source: 49 CFR 390.19T (motor carrier identification reports), as published in September 2026, plus FMCSA's registration pages. Registration procedures and systems change; confirm the current process with the FMCSA directly.