Compliance

Reinstate your authority after a lapse: steps, fee and timing

Updated October 21, 2026

How a lapse turns into a revocation

Your insurer cancels its filing with FMCSA on Form BMC-35. Ordinarily the cancellation takes effect 30 days after FMCSA receives that form, unless a replacement filing comes in first. Bond cancellations use Form BMC-36.

Those 30 days are notice before the cancellation takes effect, and coverage that has already ended gets no grace period. Your authority depends on an accepted insurance filing and a BOC-3 staying on file, and FMCSA can revoke it when either one drops off.

Steps to reinstate

1. Get an accepted insurance filing back on your record at the required minimum. Your insurer files it.
2. Make sure a valid BOC-3 is on file. See BOC-3.
3. Make sure your USDOT number is active and up to date.
4. Resolve any out-of-service order on its own track. See out-of-service orders.
5. Submit the reinstatement request and pay $80.
6. Check that your authority shows active before you haul.

FMCSA's FAQ estimates active status within about a week after it receives the request and payment, and holds or extra review can stretch that. Until then, a pending reinstatement request doesn't let you haul.

Where to file

Start in Motus at motus.dot.gov or contact FMCSA for help, since registration management now runs through Motus. FMCSA's reinstatement FAQ, dated May 20, 2023, still points to the old Portal.

What blocks reinstatement

Standard reinstatement needs a USDOT number that's active and not out of service. It also waits on any imminent-hazard order or final unsatisfactory safety rating until that safety case is resolved.

A dismissed application is a different problem from revoked authority, and the $80 reinstatement doesn't fix it. See pending authority.

USDOT numbers inactive for a missed MCS-150

For MCS-150 updates due on or after June 1, 2026, FMCSA has paused USDOT inactivation for a missed update. If your number went inactive for a different reason, such as insurance or a safety order, that pause doesn't apply. See MCS-150.

Reinstatement and broker authority age

A reinstatement can restart a broker's age count. CEVA Logistics asks for 90 days of authority, counted from the initial grant or a reinstatement.

Bind your renewal several business days early and check that the new filing posted before the old one ends. See getting loads with a new authority for how brokers read authority age.

Catch a lapse early. The status check shows whether FMCSA has a cancellation on file for your insurance, so you can act inside the 30-day notice. Check your status

See the coverage you need to get back on. The load-ready check shows the coverage brokers ask for. Load-ready check

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to reinstate MC authority?

The reinstatement request costs $80. FMCSA's FAQ estimates active status within about a week after it receives the request and payment.

Can I haul while my reinstatement request is pending?

No. A pending request doesn't let you haul. Wait until your authority shows active.

Is reactivating a USDOT number the same as reinstating authority?

No. Your USDOT number is your federal safety registration, and your MC authority is permission to haul other people's freight for pay across state lines. The USDOT number has to be active before FMCSA will reinstate the authority.

Does the 30-day notice give me 30 days without insurance?

No. The 30 days are notice before the filing is cancelled, and coverage that has ended gets no grace period.