The four-question test
Hold the notice next to these four questions. One clear yes on any of them is reason to stop and verify before paying anything.
1. Is it charging me for something that is free? The MCS-150 biennial update has no government fee. If a notice quotes a price to file it, you are being sold a free filing.
2. Does the web address end in .gov? Real FMCSA addresses end in .gov: fmcsa.dot.gov, portal.fmcsa.dot.gov, safer.fmcsa.dot.gov, clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov. FMCSA has published alerts about imitation domains ending in .info, .pro, and .us. Anything that is not .gov is not FMCSA, no matter how the page looks.
3. Is there a deadline designed to rush me? Real deadlines exist, but they come from the rule, not from the envelope. Your MCS-150 month is fixed by your USDOT number and you can check it yourself in a second. A date you cannot verify anywhere official is a sales tactic.
4. Is it asking for a card number? FMCSA does not call carriers to collect payment and does not charge for its downloadable forms. A caller who says they are FMCSA and wants a card number is not FMCSA.
What is actually free
These obligations carry no government fee. If you are being invoiced for one, the invoice is for someone else's service, not a government charge.
| Obligation | Government fee | File it yourself at |
|---|---|---|
| MCS-150 biennial update | None | portal.fmcsa.dot.gov |
| Liability insurance on file (BMC-91) | None | li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov |
| New entrant safety audit | None | www.fmcsa.dot.gov |
| Kentucky weight distance tax (KYU) | None | drive.ky.gov |
What genuinely costs money
Being suspicious of everything has its own cost, which is missing a real bill. These carry real government fees, and paying them is not a scam.
| Obligation | Government fee | Official site |
|---|---|---|
| UCR annual registration | $46 | www.ucr.gov |
| Clearinghouse queries | $1.25 | clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov |
| New York highway use tax (HUT) | $1.50 | www.tax.ny.gov |
Fees shown are the government charge for the lowest applicable bracket where a fee scales with fleet size, and each is dated on the obligation itself inside your report. Some filings, such as the BOC-3, have no government fee but do require a third-party process agent who charges their own price. Paying that is normal; being told it is a government fee is not.
FMCSA publishes its own list of these schemes
This is not folklore. FMCSA maintains a Fraud Alerts page naming the schemes it has been told about. If the wording on your notice matches one of these, you are holding something the agency has already warned about:
- Bogus Compliance Notice
- Fraudulent Action Required Notice
- Fake FMCSA Notice
- Fake Validation Notice
- Fake Safety Audit
- Bogus Notice of Carrier Status
- Impersonating Government Officials
- Spoofing FMCSA Portal
- Aggressive Telemarketing
FMCSA also warns that a USDOT number or operating authority may not be bought, sold, rented, or leased, and says it will inactivate numbers used by anyone other than the assigned legal person. Offers to sell you an existing authority are not a shortcut, they are a way to lose the number.
How to verify any notice yourself, free
You never have to take a letter's word for your own record. Two official places show you the truth:
Your public record is at SAFER Company Snapshot, which shows your authority status, insurance on file, and the date of your last MCS-150 update straight from FMCSA.
Your filings go through the official FMCSA portal. If a notice claims something is overdue, check there before paying anyone.
If you would rather not read a government database, that is what this site does: enter your USDOT number and get your record plus the obligations that actually apply to you, each with its citation, its real government fee, and a link to file it free. We will always tell you when a filing costs nothing.
How to report it
Reporting takes a few minutes and is the only thing that slows these operations down.
- Federal Trade Commission: reportfraud.ftc.gov
- FMCSA Contact Center: 1-800-832-5660, which FMCSA lists as the number to call if you are the target of these practices
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov
- Your state attorney general's office
Frequently asked
Is this DOT compliance letter a scam?
If it demands payment to file your MCS-150 biennial update, it is selling you a filing that is free. Ask four questions: does it demand money for something free, does the web address end in .gov, does it threaten deactivation with a short deadline, and does it ask for a credit card. FMCSA does not charge for the biennial update and does not use telemarketers to collect payment.
Does FMCSA charge for the MCS-150 biennial update?
No. There is no government fee for the biennial update. You file it yourself for free at the official FMCSA portal. Any company charging you for it is charging for a free filing.
How can I tell a real FMCSA website from a fake one?
Real FMCSA sites end in .gov, such as fmcsa.dot.gov, portal.fmcsa.dot.gov, safer.fmcsa.dot.gov, and clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov. FMCSA has published alerts about fake domains ending in .info, .pro, and .us that imitate SAFER and the FMCSA portal. A hyphen, an extra word, or any ending other than .gov is the tell.
Is it illegal for these companies to send this mail?
Not necessarily. Many are real businesses offering to do a filing you could do yourself, which is legal as long as they do not misrepresent themselves as the government. What makes it a problem is the presentation: government-styled envelopes, official-sounding names, and deadlines that imply a legal obligation to pay. Some cross the line into impersonation, which is why FMCSA maintains a fraud alert list.
I already paid one of these companies. What now?
You have most likely paid for a filing that is free, and the filing may or may not have been made. Verify your record directly at FMCSA rather than trusting a confirmation from the sender, then report the solicitation to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the FMCSA Contact Center at 1-800-832-5660. Contact your card issuer if you believe you were deceived.
Which trucking filings actually cost money?
Some do. UCR registration has a real annual government fee that scales with fleet size, the Clearinghouse charges per query, and the heavy vehicle use tax on Form 2290 is a real tax. The MCS-150 biennial update does not cost anything. The distinction matters: treating every notice as a scam can mean missing a real fee.
Related
The filing these notices most often target is the MCS-150 biennial update, and you can calculate your own due date in a second. For a fee that is real, see UCR registration.