When is my MCS-150 biennial update due?

Your due date is set by the last two digits of your USDOT number. The last digit gives the month: 1 is January through 9 for September, and 0 is October. The digit before it gives the year: an odd digit means you file in odd-numbered years, an even digit means even-numbered years. You have the whole month to file, and FMCSA accepts the update up to 90 days early.

How much does the MCS-150 cost?

FMCSA charges nothing for the biennial update. Filing services charge between $109 and $199 to do it for you.

What happens if I miss my MCS-150 deadline?

FMCSA can charge civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day to a maximum of $10,000, and can deactivate your USDOT number. A deactivated number means your vehicle is placed out of service at a roadside inspection and you cannot legally operate in interstate commerce.

Do I have to file the MCS-150 if nothing changed?

Yes. The update is required every 24 months whether or not anything about your company has changed.

Home › Filings › MCS-150

When is my MCS-150 due?

Reviewed by Ray Sandhu DOT compliance, 14 years. Former safety director, 40-truck fleet. Last reviewed September 2026

Quick answer

Your MCS-150 biennial update is due in a month set by the last two digits of your own USDOT number. The last digit gives the month — 1 is January through 9 for September, and 0 is October. The digit before it gives the year — odd means odd-numbered years, even means even-numbered years. You have the whole month, and FMCSA will take it up to 90 days early.

Key points

The update is required every 24 months, whether or not anything about your company has changed.
Your date comes from your USDOT number, not from when you last filed. Asking another driver when his is due tells you nothing.
FMCSA charges nothing. Filing services charge $109 to $199.
Miss it and the penalty is up to $1,000 a day, capped at $10,000, and FMCSA can switch your USDOT number off.
Since May 2026 the filing goes through Motus, which replaced the old FMCSA Portal. It needs an identity-verified Login.gov account.

Work out your own date

Step one — the month

Look at the last digit of your USDOT number.

Last digit	Month it is due
1	January
2	February
3	March
4	April
5	May
6	June
7	July
8	August
9	September
0	October

Step two — the year

Look at the digit before that one. If it is odd — 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 — you file in odd-numbered years. If it is even — 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 — you file in even-numbered years.

Or jump straight to your digit

Ends in 1Due in January Ends in 2Due in February Ends in 3Due in March Ends in 4Due in April Ends in 5Due in May Ends in 6Due in June Ends in 7Due in July Ends in 8Due in August Ends in 9Due in September Ends in 0Due in October

Worked examples

USDOT 1234567 — ends 6 then 7.
The 7 means July. The 6 is even, so even years.
Due July 2026, then July 2028, then July 2030.

USDOT 2223339 — ends 3 then 9.
The 9 means September. The 3 is odd, so odd years.
Due September 2027, then September 2029.

USDOT 44110 — ends 1 then 0.
The 0 means October. The 1 is odd, so odd years.
Due October 2027, then October 2029.

What happens if you miss it

The penalty is up to $1,000 for every day it is late, to a maximum of $10,000. Then FMCSA deactivates the number.

Out of service, where you standA deactivated number is not a fine you settle later. The officer stops the vehicle at the next inspection, with the load on it.
You cannot legally runNot in interstate commerce, until the record is put right. Brokers see it too.
Fixing it is not instantReinstatement is a process with FMCSA, not a button. Days, not minutes.

Failure to complete biennial updates to FMCSA will subject the entities to civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day with a maximum penalty of $10,000. FMCSA may also deactivate the USDOT Number for any entity that fails to comply with the updating requirements. — FMCSA registration guidance

As of September 2026 FMCSA has temporarily paused deactivating numbers for missed biennial updates, because its new Motus system has been locking carriers out. It has said it will give notice before starting again. The pause does not remove the requirement, and it has no published end date.

Doing it yourself

FMCSA charges nothing for the biennial update. You are allowed to file it, and plenty of people do. It is worth knowing what that involves before you decide.

Since 14 May 2026 it goes through Motus, which replaced the old Portal. First time through, with the account setup and the identity check, it can take several hours — and that is if nothing goes wrong.

Where it goes wrong

You cannot get in at all. The most common problem, and it has nothing to do with the form. If the email FMCSA holds belongs to an old filing service or somebody who has left, you cannot claim your own record. Fixing that means proving you own your company, and it takes days, not minutes.
The identity check fails. A licence photo that will not read, an address that does not match, a phone that will not take the code. There is no counter to go to.
The numbers are wrong. Mileage for the year, vehicle counts and driver counts all have to be right and in the right boxes. Getting one wrong does not bounce back — it sits on your record until it causes a problem.
You file, and it does not take. People submit and assume it is done. Your record is what counts, and it is worth checking that it actually changed.

None of that is a reason you cannot do it. It is the reason most owner-operators would rather not.

Or let us work it out for you.

Put in your USDOT number. We read your official FMCSA record and show you your exact date, plus everything else you owe. Free, and you do not need an account.

If you want us to file it, that is $109 and you get your money back if it is rejected.

Interstate registration (UCR) Due every year before you run. Held at the scale if you miss it. Annual truck tax (IRS Form 2290) Due 31 August. No stamped form, no plate renewal. Fuel tax (IFTA) Four returns a year if you cross state lines. Locked out of Motus? What changed in May 2026 and how to get your record back.

Filings USDOT details update Interstate registration Annual truck tax Fuel tax

Help Locked out of Motus Should I do it myself? About Filed [email protected] (800) 555 0100

Filed

We work out what your trucking company owes the government, and we file it.

We are a private company. We are not part of FMCSA, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Transportation, or any state agency. Every filing described on this site can be made by you, directly, for the government's own fee.