How to Get a DOT Number in Minnesota: Filing, Authority, Insurance

To get a DOT number in Minnesota, register your business through the FMCSA’s Unified Registration System at fmcsa.dot.gov. There is no filing fee for the USDOT number itself, and the number is typically issued instantly once you submit the online application.¹ The harder parts come around the registration: confirming you actually need a number, lining up insurance, marking your vehicles, and surviving the 18-month new entrant monitoring period that follows.

Do You Need a USDOT Number

Any business operating a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce must register with the FMCSA.² For interstate operations, you need a number if any of these apply:

Your vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating over 10,000 pounds.
You carry between 9 and 15 passengers (including the driver) for compensation.
You carry 16 or more passengers regardless of whether you charge a fare.
You haul hazardous materials in quantities that require placarding.

Minnesota also requires a USDOT number for intrastate carriers. If your truck or trailer exceeds 10,000 pounds and you only operate within the state, you still register. This covers motor carriers of both passengers and property providing transportation services within Minnesota.⁴

Farm Vehicles

Vehicles that meet the federal “covered farm vehicle” definition are exempt from several motor carrier safety regulations. To qualify, the vehicle must be operated by a farm or ranch owner, a family member, or an employee, hauling agricultural commodities, livestock, machinery, or supplies to or from a farm. It cannot be used in for-hire operations, and it must carry a farm vehicle license plate or other state-issued identification.⁵

Vehicles at 26,001 pounds or less (GVW or GVWR, whichever is greater) qualify anywhere in the country. Heavier farm vehicles are only exempt within their home state or within 150 air miles of the farm. Vehicles hauling placarded hazardous materials do not qualify regardless of weight.⁵

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

The online system lets you save progress, but having your documents in front of you makes the process much faster:

Legal business name, any DBA names, physical address, mailing address, phone, and email
Business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC)
Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number
Operation type: interstate or intrastate; property, passengers, or hazardous materials
Number and type of commercial vehicles, their gross vehicle weight, and whether any carry hazardous materials
Name and title of the person responsible for your company’s safety compliance

Filing Through the Unified Registration System

First-time applicants register through the FMCSA’s Unified Registration System (URS) online portal.⁶ Create an account on the FMCSA portal, then select the option to apply for new USDOT registration. The system walks you through each section, asking for the business, vehicle, and operational details you gathered. When you finish, you certify that everything is accurate and provide an electronic signature.⁷

Check every field before submitting. Errors in your legal name, EIN, or operation type can delay processing or cause problems later when you apply for insurance or operating authority. The USDOT number is issued instantly after submission.¹

Operating Authority Is a Separate Filing

A USDOT number and operating authority are not the same thing, and many carriers need both. The USDOT number is an identification number that lets the FMCSA track your safety record. Operating authority (often called an MC number) governs what type of hauling you’re allowed to do and what cargo you can carry.⁸

You generally need operating authority in addition to your USDOT number if you are:

Operating as a for-hire carrier, hauling someone else’s cargo or passengers for compensation
Transporting federally regulated commodities in interstate commerce
Arranging for the transport of passengers or cargo as a broker or freight forwarder

⁸

Private carriers hauling only their own goods generally don’t need operating authority. Neither do carriers that exclusively transport exempt commodities. Each type of operating authority costs $300 as a nonrefundable, one-time filing fee, and you pay $300 for each type you need.⁹ Expect 20 to 25 business days for FMCSA to process an operating authority application filed through URS.¹

For-hire motor carriers of property that operate intrastate must also obtain state-level authority through the Minnesota Department of Transportation.⁴

BOC-3 Process Agent

Carriers with operating authority must designate a process agent in every state where they operate or travel through. This is done by filing Form BOC-3 with the FMCSA. You cannot file this form yourself; a registered process agent must submit it on your behalf. Several companies offer this service for a small one-time fee.¹⁰

Vehicle Marking

Once your number is issued, you must display it on every self-propelled commercial vehicle you operate. The marking appears on both sides and includes your legal business name (or a single trade name) along with the letters “USDOT” followed by your number. If someone else’s name appears on the vehicle, your company name and USDOT number must be preceded by the words “operated by.”¹¹

Letters must contrast sharply with the background color and be readable from 50 feet during daylight while the vehicle is stationary. Paint, vinyl lettering, or magnetic signs all work as long as they stay legible. Inspectors check for this at roadside, and missing or unreadable markings will produce violations.¹¹

Insurance

You cannot operate legally without the minimum coverage required by federal law. Required amounts depend on what you haul and your vehicle weight:

For-hire property carriers (non-hazardous) under 10,001 lbs: $300,000 minimum liability
For-hire property carriers (non-hazardous) at 10,001 lbs or more: $750,000 minimum liability
Carriers of certain hazardous materials: $1,000,000 minimum liability
Carriers of explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materials: $5,000,000 minimum liability
For-hire household goods carriers at 10,001 lbs or more: $750,000 liability plus $5,000 cargo insurance

¹²

Your insurance provider must file proof of coverage directly with the FMCSA. Shop for commercial trucking insurance early, ideally before you submit your USDOT application, because filings often take longer than new carriers expect.

Unified Carrier Registration

Interstate carriers must also register annually through the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) program. This is separate from your USDOT number and has its own fee based on fleet size. For 2026, fees start at $46 for carriers with two or fewer vehicles. Most small carriers with a handful of trucks fall in the $46 to $276 range.¹³

The 18-Month New Entrant Period

Every new motor carrier enters the FMCSA’s New Entrant Safety Assurance Program, which lasts 18 months.¹⁴ During that period, the FMCSA will conduct a safety audit, typically within the first 12 months.¹⁵ The audit checks whether you have adequate safety management controls in place: driver qualification files, vehicle maintenance records, hours-of-service logs, and a drug and alcohol testing program.

Certain violations trigger automatic failure. These include operating without required insurance, using a driver without a valid CDL, using a disqualified or medically unqualified driver, having no drug and alcohol testing program, and failing to require drivers to keep hours-of-service records. If you fail the audit, you must implement a corrective action plan. Failing to do that results in revocation of your USDOT registration and a full shutdown of your authority to operate.¹⁵

Biennial Updates

Your USDOT number doesn’t stay active on its own. Every two years, you must file a biennial update to keep your registration current. The FMCSA assigns your filing month based on the last two digits of your USDOT number.¹⁶

Missing the biennial update leads to deactivation, which means you cannot legally operate. The FMCSA can also impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day, capped at $10,000. You must also file an update whenever your business information changes, including a new address, a change in operation type, or a shift in the number of vehicles you operate, regardless of where you are in the two-year cycle.¹⁶

1
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. How Long Does the Operating Authority or USDOT Number Application Processing Take
2
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Do I Need a USDOT Number
3
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Who Needs to Get a USDOT Number
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Minnesota Department of Transportation. Commercial Vehicle Operations – Motor Carriers of Property
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. MAP-21 Agricultural Exemptions Questions and Answers
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Registration Forms
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. How Do I Register for a USDOT Number
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. What Is Operating Authority (MC Number) and Who Needs It
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. What Is the Cost of Obtaining Operating Authority
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Form BOC-3 – Designation of Agents for Service of Process
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eCFR. 49 CFR 390.21
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Insurance Filing Requirements
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Unified Carrier Registration Plan. UCR Fee Brackets
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eCFR. 49 CFR 385.307 – New Entrant Safety Monitoring Procedures
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. New Entrant Safety Assurance Program
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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Updating Your Registration or Authority