Plenty of contractors who never leave California assume a USDOT number is only for interstate truckers. In California it's usually the first step, and the CA number comes second.
Quick answer
California generally requires intrastate carriers to have a USDOT number, so that comes first. The CHP then issues a CA number through its online CHP 362 application, and the DMV uses that same CA number as your Motor Carrier Permit number. Federal rules call for an MCS-150 update every 24 months to keep the USDOT record current, on a schedule set by the number's last two digits. Under California's display rule, a truck that shows a valid USDOT number is exempt from displaying the CA number.
A common assumption on job sites goes like this: Our trucks never cross the state line, so the federal number doesn't apply to us. California sees it differently. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) lists California among the states that require a USDOT number of carriers operating only inside the state, and California has required the USDOT number since September 2016.
That gives most contractor and business fleets with permit-sized trucks two numbers. The USDOT number identifies the company to the federal safety system. The CA number, issued by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), identifies it to the state, and the DMV uses the CA number as the Motor Carrier Permit (MCP) number. They aren't alternatives: The CA number is built on the USDOT number.
Which trucks pull a company in? The permit rules generally reach a motortruck with two or more axles rated over 10,000 lbs GVWR, among other vehicles, and they include private carriers hauling their own tools, parts and materials. The CHP's permit FAQ uses a construction company's pickup rated 10,500 lbs GVWR as an example of a truck that needs one. Read the GVWR on each unit's door-jamb label before deciding a truck is too small to count.
Size isn't the only trigger. A vehicle used to carry someone else's property for pay typically falls under the permit at any weight, though that's for-hire trucking, which sits outside what we insure. For a contractor hauling its own gear, the axle count and the rating usually decide it.
Official sources
Because the DMV uses the CA number as the permit number, the number on your CHP record, your permit and your insurance filing should be the same one. Our guide to the MC 65 M filing behind the Motor Carrier Permit explains what the insurer files and when it typically needs to be in place.
Keep the approvals together. When a CHP officer, a general contractor's safety manager or an underwriter asks for your numbers, you'll want the USDOT number, the CA number and the permit's expiration date on a single page.
Official sources
Getting the number is the easy part. Keeping it active usually takes a biennial update. Federal rules call for an MCS-150 update every 24 months, and California's statute adds its own version, which generally calls for the USDOT information to be updated at least every two years and within 15 days of a change to what's on file.
The federal schedule picks the date for you. The last digit of the USDOT number sets the month the update is due:
| Last digit | Due by the end of | Last digit | Due by the end of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | 6 | June |
| 2 | February | 7 | July |
| 3 | March | 8 | August |
| 4 | April | 9 | September |
| 5 | May | 0 | October |
The next-to-last digit sets the year: Odd means odd-numbered years; even means even-numbered years. A fleet whose number ends in 47 updates by the end of July in even-numbered years. A carrier that skips the update risks having its USDOT number deactivated, so put the month on the office calendar next to the permit renewal.
Official sources
California's rule calls for the CA number on both sides of the vehicle, legible from 50 feet. Under the same rule, a vehicle that displays a valid USDOT number is exempt, so many fleets letter the USDOT number on both doors and leave the CA number off, while others show both.
Three situations deserve a second look. A used truck may still wear the seller's numbers, which should come off before it works for you. A truck borrowed from a related company raises the question of whose number belongs on it, which the CHP can answer. And magnetic door signs can fall off on the freeway; paint or vinyl tends to stay put.
The display rule is one of several state requirements that ride along with the permit. Our page on commercial truck insurance requirements gathers the rest in one place, from inspections to filings.
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Once the numbers are issued, the agencies' schedules set recurring dates. A missed one can go unnoticed until a roadside inspection or a permit renewal, so it pays to keep them in one place:
Insurance isn't the only way to back the permit. The DMV also accepts a surety bond on form MC 55 M, and carriers with 25 or more vehicles may qualify to self-insure on form MC 131 M. Most contractor fleets file insurance, since they carry an auto policy anyway.
Official sources
Picture an electrical contractor in Sacramento with three cargo vans, two service body trucks rated 14,500 lbs and a one-ton pickup rated 10,700 lbs. The vans sit under the 10,000-lb line. The service trucks and the pickup are two-axle motortrucks over it, so the company would likely need a permit: a USDOT number first, a CA number second, then the MC 706 M application and an MC 65 M filing from its insurer. Its USDOT number ends in 82, so the MCS-150 update is due by the end of February in even-numbered years.
The pickup is the unit owners often overlook. Heavier one-ton trucks are often rated just over 10,000 lbs, and that rating is what counts; our page on insurance for heavier work pickups covers how they're written. If the service trucks are diesel, they also sit over CARB's 14,000-lb line, which typically brings in Clean Truck Check rules for trucks over 14,000 lbs. None of this company's drivers needs a commercial license, but the owner can still enroll them voluntarily in the DMV's pull notice program for employers.
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The insurance side meets these numbers at the filing. The MC 65 M ties your policy to your permit, so the legal name, USDOT number and CA number on the policy should match what the CHP and DMV hold. For general freight, the Vehicle Code calls for the filing to show at least a $750,000 combined single limit; many contractor fleets carry $1 million because their contracts ask for it.
When you add a truck that needs the permit, tell your broker before it runs so the schedule and the filing keep pace. If the company changes its name or legal entity, raise it with the FMCSA, the CHP, the DMV and your broker before the change takes effect, because the numbers, the permit and the policy usually have to follow it.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The FMCSA, the CHP and the DMV decide how their rules apply to your trucks, so confirm your situation with them. When your numbers are in order, get a quote for the trucks that carry them, and we can arrange the MC 65 M filing through national carriers.
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Often, yes. In California a two-axle motortruck rated over 10,000 lbs GVWR generally falls under the Motor Carrier Permit, and the permit is built on a USDOT number and a CA number, even for a contractor hauling only its own tools.
Some fleets file the biennial update once, then forget the month their USDOT number's last digits set. A skipped update risks deactivation, which puts the permit built on that number at risk too.
Filing delays often trace to small mismatches, such as a trade name on the policy and the legal name on the CHP record. Send your broker the exact legal name and both numbers as the agencies list them.
Because the DMV suspends the permit when the insurance behind the MC 65 M is canceled, a gap between an old policy and its replacement can idle every permitted truck. Coordinate the renewal so the filing carries over.
Official resources
Requirements change without notice. Confirm what applies to your fleet with the agency before relying on it.
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