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When is your MCS-150 due?
Your biennial update deadline is already decided — it's written into your USDOT number. Put the number in and we'll tell you the month and the year, and show you how we worked it out.
Filing the MCS-150 is free.
FMCSA says it plainly on their own page: “Updating your information is free.” You file it yourself at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov in about ten minutes and you get a confirmation number by email. Companies that charge for this are charging you for the typing, not for access. We're not one of them — this page is free and we don't file anything on your behalf.
The rule, in plain English
FMCSA requires every carrier under its jurisdiction to update its information every 24 months — even if nothing changed, even if you stopped running interstate, even if you're out of business and never told them. Your slot on the calendar comes from your USDOT number:
The last digit
picks your month
1 is January, 2 is February, and so on through 9 for September. A 0 means October. There is no November or December in the schedule. Your deadline is the last day of that month.
The next-to-last digit
picks your year
If it's odd, you file in odd-numbered years. If it's even, you file in even-numbered years. That's what makes it a two-year cycle rather than an annual one.
Worked example: USDOT 1234528 ends in 8, so the month is August. The next-to-last digit is 2, which is even, so it files in even years — due August 31 of the next even year.
Source: FMCSA, Updating Your Registration or Authority. Missing the update deactivates your USDOT number, and FMCSA states civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day, capped at $10,000. We mention it once because it's a fact worth knowing — not because we think you need scaring into a ten-minute form.
Questions people actually ask
What is an MCS-150 for?
The MCS-150 is the form that creates and maintains your USDOT number record. You file it once when you start, and then every two years to confirm your details are still current — company name, address, how many trucks and drivers you run, and how many miles you drove. FMCSA calls that recurring filing the biennial update. It is not a tax or a permit; it is how the federal government keeps your file accurate.
How do I know if my MCS-150 is due?
Your USDOT number tells you. The last digit is the month you file in: 1 is January through 9 is September, and 0 means October. The next-to-last digit tells you the year: odd means you file in odd-numbered years, even means even-numbered years. The deadline is the last day of that month. Put your number into the checker on this page and it works the date out for you, and shows the arithmetic so you can check it.
How can I get a copy of my MCS-150?
FMCSA does not email you a copy after filing, but your current record is public. Look yourself up in the SAFER Company Snapshot on the FMCSA site and you can see the information on file along with the date of your last update. If you filed through the Ask FMCSA website you also received a confirmation number by email — that is your receipt. If you need the record for an insurer or a broker, the Company Snapshot page is what they will accept.
Can I file my own MCS-150?
Yes, and it is free. You do not need an agent, a service, or a subscription. FMCSA takes the update through their Ask FMCSA website at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov and it takes about ten minutes. Plenty of companies will charge you to do it — they are selling convenience, not access. If someone tells you the filing itself costs money, that is not right.
Related, and also free to read
- The MCS-150 due-date decoder — the same rule, with the edge cases.
- What is a DOT number, and do you need one? — where the number comes from in the first place.
- UCR, explained — the other filing that catches new carriers out.
- What a DOT inspection actually checks — roadside and the audit, side by side.
Want every date, not just this one?
The free readiness check turns your USDOT number into your whole first-year calendar — audit window, UCR, quarterly taxes, the lot. No account needed, and we tell you which filings you can do yourself for free.