MOTUS GUIDE · UPDATED JULY 2026
Filing your MCS-150 biennial update in Motus
Same filing, new system. The MCS-150 is still free, still due every two years even if nothing changed, and still punishable by deactivation — but since May 2026 it's filed in Motus, not the old portal. Here's the clean walkthrough.
Step 0: know your deadline
Your due month is the last digit of your USDOT number (1 = January … 9 = September, 0 = October); the second-to-last digit decides odd or even years. Our free checker decodes it in one second and can email you before it's due.
What you'll need
- Motus access via Login.gov (identity-verified) with your carrier record linked
- Last 12 months' vehicle miles traveled (from IFTA returns or your ELD — don't guess)
- Current vehicle and driver counts (power units, trailers, total drivers, CDL drivers, interstate drivers)
- Company officer names and current contact info
The filing, step by step
- Sign in to Motus from FMCSA's update page and open your carrier record.
- Choose the biennial update / MCS-150 flow. The same form also handles address and contact changes (due within 30 days of any change).
- Update every field that moved: mileage, fleet counts, driver counts, cargo classifications. Fleet count feeds your UCR bracket; classification feeds your audit profile — accuracy here is money later.
- Review the summary screen against your records before certifying. The certification is a federal attestation of the data's accuracy.
- Save your confirmation. Screenshot or download it — if anything goes sideways in processing, the confirmation is your proof of timely filing.
- Verify the record actually updated. Days later, your federal record should show the new MCS-150 date. Filed is not done; verified is done. (This verification step is our whole $69 service in one sentence — we file and watch the record until it moves.)
Do it yourself
$0 government fee, ~20 minutes if your Login.gov works and your numbers are ready.
Official FMCSA update page ↗Have it handled + verified
$69 flat. We prep from your federal record, you certify, we file and watch until the record shows the new date.
Straight answers
▸Did the MCS-150 deadline change when Motus launched?
No. Your deadline is still derived from your USDOT number's digits — last digit sets the month, second-to-last sets odd or even years — and it's still enforced with deactivation. Only the filing system changed.
▸I used to file through the old FMCSA Portal — where do I go now?
The legacy portal's registration functions closed May 14, 2026. Biennial updates are now filed in Motus, signed in through Login.gov, from FMCSA's registration page.
▸What if I can't get into Motus and my deadline is this month?
Start the Login.gov identity verification today — it's the slowest step and it can't be rushed. If you're truly stuck against the deadline, that's exactly the situation our $69 service (or FMCSA's own support line) exists for. Don't let the number lapse; reactivation is more painful than filing.
▸What mileage do I report?
Vehicle miles traveled for the prior 12-month period you're reporting. Don't guess — auditors and insurers both see this number, and a wildly wrong VMT is a flag. Pull it from your IFTA returns or ELD.