If your USDOT number ends in 6, 7, 8 or 9 and its second-to-last digit is even, your biennial update was due this summer. If you missed it, the old rule said your number goes inactive and the fines start at up to $1,000 a day. For now, that is not happening. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has temporarily suspended the inactivation of USDOT numbers for every registrant whose biennial update came due on or after June 1, 2026, while its new Motus registration system works through launch problems. There is no end date. The agency says it will warn carriers before enforcement resumes.
What FMCSA actually said
The notice on FMCSA's registration page is titled "Temporary Suspension of USDOT Inactivation in Motus" and is short. As the agency "continues supporting the transition to Motus, the USDOT Registration System, launched on May 19," and to "help reduce disruption during this transition period," it has "temporarily suspended the inactivation of USDOT numbers for entities that have not completed the required biennial update since June 1." Registrants "will receive additional time to complete any required biennial updates and should not worry about inactivation resulting from Motus-related access or system issues." More guidance will follow "as recovery and stabilization efforts continue."
The page carries a June 22 update date, and FreightWaves reported on September 9 that the pause remains in force with no restart date. Motus replaced FMCSA's legacy registration systems, which began yielding to the new platform on May 14, and has handled federal registration since May 19. FMCSA's own notice refers to "Motus-related access or system issues" and to "recovery and stabilization efforts," and the agency has extended its Registration Customer Service Center hours to 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern on weekdays plus Saturdays.
What the rule normally requires
Every entity with a USDOT number must update its registration every 24 months, even if nothing has changed. The month is set by the last digit of the USDOT number (1 is January, 2 is February, and so on through 0 for October) and the year by the second-to-last digit (odd digits file in odd years, even digits in even years). FMCSA's own guidance states that failure to complete the update "will result in deactivation of your USDOT number and may result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day, not to exceed $10,000." The update is free. None of that has been repealed. The pause suspends the deactivation, not the obligation.
There is one real change buried in the transition. Motus no longer offers a federal biennial-update filing for intrastate-only carriers, because the federal requirement does not apply to them. Intrastate operators can still update mileage, power-unit and driver counts in the system, and FMCSA plans to show each carrier's most recent submission date so state agencies can check compliance under their own rules. Whether a recurring update is still required for an intrastate carrier is now a state question.
What the notice does not say
FMCSA has not said when deactivations will resume, whether overdue filings from the pause window will be excused from civil penalties, or whether inactivations that happened before June 1 will be reversed. The notice covers inactivation for missed biennial updates only; it says nothing about any other registration deadline or enforcement action, so assume those are unchanged.
Checklist
What to do this week
Look up your own USDOT number in Motus public search. If the record shows inactive, open a ticket at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov or call 1-800-832-5660 rather than assuming the pause covers you.
If you can log in, file the overdue update now. The pause buys time, but a shipper, broker or insurer running a carrier check sees the stale filing date, not the FMCSA notice.
If you cannot claim your Motus account, document the attempt with screenshots and ticket numbers. That record is what protects you if a penalty letter arrives later.
Intrastate-only carriers: check your state's rules on recurring registration updates. The federal filing is gone from Motus, but the state obligation may not be.
Watch FMCSA's registration alerts page. The agency has promised advance notice before enforcement restarts, and that is where it will appear.
Sources: FMCSA, "Temporary Suspension of USDOT Inactivation in Motus," fmcsa.dot.gov, updated June 22, 2026; FMCSA, "Updating Your Registration or Authority," fmcsa.dot.gov; FreightWaves, September 9, 2026.
Registration and compliance news, before the penalty letter
FMCSA rules, Motus updates and deadlines that matter for carriers, owner-operators and fleet managers, on Qrylo.