Carrier Authority Watch

Methodology

Where a row comes from

Pages read JSON committed in this repository. They do not call data.transportation.gov when you open them. A GitHub Action pulls the files daily at 14:45 UTC, after FMCSA's 9:30 a.m. Eastern post, and can also be run by hand. If a fetch fails or a dataset returns 0 rows, the previous files stay and data/status.json records the error. Nothing is fabricated and earlier days are not backfilled. Motus history in these datasets starts at the Motus launch; legacy archives use a different schema and are not in this feed.

Source: Latest committed file · file date 2026-10-19 · retrieved Oct 19, 2026, 5:05 PM ET

Datasets

Publisher: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on the DOT Open Data Portal. Metadata Rights: public. The licence field is not stated. A public-domain reading of U.S. government works is an inference, not a statement on the dataset.

The data dictionary on the Motus Carrier view is "USDOT MOTUS Operating Authority Data Dictionary", as of May 18, 2026. It says the daily-difference datasets are targeted to update by 9:30 a.m. US Eastern Time. The clock we show is the portal's rowsUpdatedAt for that view, converted to Eastern time, plus the time this project retrieved the file.

What "new" means

The Motus Carrier daily difference includes records added or updated since the previous run. Pending means op_auth_status is Pending. An Active row is in that file with status Active. That is not, by itself, proof the authority was granted for the first time that morning. AuthHist carries status_change_date (YYYYMMDD) and a reason. The column name op_auth_stat_change_date is not in the Motus resource we retrieved.

Revocations and suspensions come from Motus RevokeSuspend: order1_type_desc, order1_serve_date, and order1_effective_date. Inactive rows in the carrier file are counted on the home page and are not treated as revocation orders.

Blank strings

The dictionary says the Insur daily difference provides insurance policy removals as blank records: other than the docket number, the record shows all empty or "00000" values. The parser marks that shape as a removal and does not fill in a coverage amount, a form code, or a date. The same blank test is applied to the other daily-difference files so an empty row is not shown as a normal authority. InsHist is a separate file of prior policies. Its filing_status_reason values on the file we retrieved include CANCEL and TERM/REPL. The dictionary describes cancellation and replacement in those words, and its legacy note says Term/REPL means a replacement executed by a new policy submission. The feed value is shown as published, with that gloss. A reason that does not match the dictionary is labelled "not stated".

Amounts

The May 18, 2026 dictionary says BI&PD minimum, on-file, maximum, and underlying amounts are in thousands. The JSON values retrieved with this feed are stored and shown as published, with no rescaling. A value of 750000 is shown as 750,000, not multiplied or divided. Confirm the figure on the FMCSA record before you rely on it. Policy numbers and insurance-company names are in the source files and are not copied into this site's data.

Form codes in the live Insur file use values such as BMC-91X. The dictionary lists 91 and 91X as BI&PD, and lists numeric cargo, bond, and trust codes. Where the feed value matches that list, including the BMC- prefix, the label is shown. Otherwise the code is shown and the label is not stated. Y and N on cargo and bond flags follow the dictionary (Y = yes, N = no).

Census join

Company Census (az4n-8mr2) is queried only for USDOTs that appear in that day's diffs, and only for power_units, carrier_operation, business_org_desc, phy_city, phy_state, DBA, legal name, and cargo flag columns. FMCSA describes the census as coming from a database that is about a day behind, so a brand-new USDOT often has no census row. Power units then stay blank. They are not guessed.

carrier_operation labels A, B, C, and D are taken from FMCSA's page carrier operation, fetched October 19, 2026: A interstate, B intrastate hazardous materials, C intrastate not hazardous materials, D none. Any other code is shown as published and the label is not stated. Cargo labels are plain-language readings of the census column names. The view metadata did not include a separate glossary. The free-text "other cargo" description is not stored.

Privacy rules

The FMCSA link on a row is the public SAFER company snapshot for that USDOT. The L&I site is not scraped.

Request a correction. Please include the USDOT or docket and the page URL. That address is the operator inbox also used for sponsorship mail; put "Carrier Authority Watch correction" in the subject.

FMCSA disclaimer

From the Motus data dictionary, as of May 18, 2026: the datasets are provided as a public service by FMCSA to enhance public access to information. The information is constantly changing. The datasets are only a snapshot at the time they were generated. Information provided by FMCSA is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal contract between FMCSA and any person or entity unless otherwise specified. It is not intended as, nor offered as, legal advice. FMCSA and its employees are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by use of or reliance on that content.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by FMCSA or the U.S. DOT.

Not stated in the sources we read

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