FMCSA L&I Carrier Insurance Lookup 2026: Check Any Carrier

Every interstate carrier's federal insurance record is public. The FMCSA Licensing & Insurance system — li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov — shows who insures a carrier, for how much, since when — and every cancellation back to 1995. Brokers and shippers use it to vet carriers before tendering a load. Owner-operators need it for something even more important: confirming their own filing actually reached FMCSA. Here is how to read it in 2026 — including the Motus changes.

What is the FMCSA L&I database and can anyone use it?

L&I is the federal registry of operating authority and insurance filings, inherited from the ICC in 1994. The public search requires no account and no fee. You can search by USDOT number, MC docket number, or by legal name / DBA and state. A carrier record contains:

• Authority status — common, contract and broker authority, each marked Active or Inactive;
• Insurance requirements — the types and amounts required on file;
• Active/Pending Insurance — filing form (BMC-91/BMC-91X), insurer name, policy or surety number, effective date, and required vs on-file amounts;
• Rejected Insurance — filings FMCSA rejected in the prior 12 months, with reasons;
• Insurance History — every filing and cancellation since 1995;
• Revocation — authority type, service dates and the reason for each revocation;
• Pending Application — applications not yet granted, denied or dismissed.

What changed in 2026 — Motus and the old L&I website

FMCSA is replacing its 1990s-era registration systems with one platform: Motus. Phase I opened December 8, 2025 for supporting companies — insurers and BOC-3 agents. On May 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. ET, FMCSA retired the legacy filing functions of URS, L&I and the FMCSA Portal. Since then the old L&I site serves as a read-only historical archive, and new Motus-era filings may not appear in the old views. The practical rule of summer 2026: use L&I for history and red flags, and confirm current status via FMCSA's registration page and SAFER while Motus rolls out.

What insurance amounts should you see on file?

Federal minimums are set by 49 CFR Part 387. The L&I record shows both the required amount and the amount actually on file.

Operation	Federal minimum	Filing form
General freight, vehicles 10,001+ lbs	$750,000	BMC-91 / BMC-91X
Oil and certain hazmat	$1,000,000	BMC-91 / BMC-91X
Bulk hazmat, explosives classes	$5,000,000	BMC-91 / BMC-91X
Household goods cargo	$5,000 per vehicle / $10,000 per occurrence	BMC-34
Broker / freight forwarder	$75,000 bond or trust	BMC-84 / BMC-85

BMC-91 vs BMC-91X: a BMC-91 certifies one insurer covering the full required limit; a BMC-91X means the limit is split or layered across insurers. Both satisfy FMCSA. Note that the market minimum most brokers demand — $1,000,000 auto liability plus $100,000 cargo — is higher than the federal floor.

How do brokers and shippers vet a carrier in L&I?

1. Search by MC or USDOT number and confirm the legal name matches the rate confirmation — mismatches are a classic double-brokering sign.
2. Check authority status: Active common/contract authority, no recent involuntary revocation.
3. Open Active/Pending Insurance: insurer, policy number, on-file amount at or above your load's needs.
4. Open Insurance History: count the cancellations. Three insurers in two years usually means non-payment or claims problems.
5. Check Revocation for involuntary pulls for lack of insurance.

How does an owner-operator confirm a new filing was really transmitted?

Under 49 CFR 387.313, an insurer cancelling a federal filing must give FMCSA 30 days written notice on Form BMC-35 (BMC-36 for surety bonds). When you switch insurers, the old one files the cancellation and the new one must file a replacement BMC-91 — it usually posts within a few business days. If it never posts, your authority goes inactive once the old filing lapses.

Illustrative composite scenario: Trofim, an owner-operator from Charlotte, switched insurers to cut his premium roughly 18 percent. The old insurer filed its BMC-35; the new agent said the filing "went out." It hadn't. A month later a broker saw no active filing and an involuntary revocation — Trofim spent two weeks reinstating authority and lost his regular loads. A two-minute self-check would have caught it.

What do PENDING, rejected and REVOCATION entries mean?

• Pending insurance — a filing received but not yet effective; normal during a switch, a problem if it sits for weeks.
• Rejected insurance — the filing failed FMCSA checks (wrong docket, wrong form, amounts below requirement). The carrier may not even know.
• Revocation with reason "involuntary" — FMCSA pulled the authority, most often for an insurance lapse. Chains of voluntary revocations and reinstatements can signal dodging enforcement.

SAFER vs L&I — what is the difference?

SAFER is the safety snapshot: operating status, out-of-service date, fleet size and inspection/crash history from MCS-150 data. L&I is the money side: who insures the carrier, for how much, and how often coverage has been cancelled. A carrier can look clean in SAFER while its L&I history shows four insurers in three years. Vet with both.

If a record — yours or a partner's — shows gaps, thin limits or a cancellation chain, that is a pricing problem too. TruckSafe helps Russian-speaking truckers connect with licensed insurance professionals who fix filings and shop real coverage: call (315) 871-0833. TruckSafe is not a licensed insurance agency; it connects carriers with licensed professionals.