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What is the difference between a DOT and MC Number

Dot number

Are you planning to transport people or cargo as a business? If the answer is yes, you might want to know about DOT and MC numbers’ importance.

Some business owners often wonder why they require the numbers regarding their purposes. They also find the different rules from the operating authority a bit confusing. We are here to help you get a clear picture of the different numbers and warrants required for various reasons. However, you mustn’t have the mc number confused with the DOT number or any other number.

Read on to better understand the requirements mentioned above for running a transportation or cargo business. Also, you will learn the differences between the MC and DOT numbers along with their purposes.

What is an MC Number, and why do you need it?

Companies engaged in the transportation businesses need an operating authority interstate, also known as MC number. Transportation includes the following:

1.       The company is operating carriers that are meant to be hired or rented by clients.

2.       The company is operating to transport passengers, or the company is arranging the transportation of passengers. This kind of transportation is confined to interstate commerce.

3.       The company is transporting cargo in interstate commerce. The load includes commodities regulated by the Federal state, or the company arranges in the commodities’ transportation. You might have gotten a better understanding by now about the requirement of getting an MC number. Transportation companies must get an MC number if they are directly or indirectly involved with people’s transportation as a business. The acquisition of this number is also mandatory for companies that transport regulated cargo for business. This means that both private and rental carriers are obligated by the government to get an MC number if they want to transport people and cargo effectively. Also, suppose a transportation company wants to operate within a specific commercial area that has been assigned to them by federal law. In that case, they are obliged to obtain the MC number.

What is a DOT Number, and why do you need it?

Firstly, you need to know that the term DOT stands for the department of transportation. The DOT number is assigned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, also known as the FMCSA. The administration gives the DOT numbers to commercial vehicles that have been registered as carrier vehicles. All rental cars that surpass a certain weight level while transporting cargo or transport a certain number of passengers require DOT numbers.

Suppose you are new to the transportation business. In that case, you might find the requirement associated with the USDOT registration a tad bit confusing. You find yourself questioning what DOT actually stands for and what the costs are. Read on to have the fundamental questions related to DOT answered.

What does it mean to be DOT certified?

Suppose your cargo or transportation business is DOT certified. In that case, it indicates that the driver is skilled and possesses professional qualities that are mandatory for your business’s success. It also reflects the driver’s competency regarding having the professional skills to drive on the roads and highways within the United States. Most of the American states require the transportation and cargo companies to be DOT certified. Only then are the businesses allowed to operate their commercial motor cars, including the trucks and other vehicles required for public and cargo transportation. If you plan to run a successful transportation business, you must have a commercial driver’s license. The commercial license is different as compared to a personal driver’s license. This is the only way to become DOT certified and run your cargo and transportation business. The commercial driver’s license also proves that the driver of the cargo or public transportation is DOT certified.

To become a DOT approved, the driver typically undergoes a physical exam and several tests to display their safe-driving skills. In the United States, the DOT is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Typically, the operators of cargo and public transportation businesses keep re-applying for DOT after every two years. You can check out the link of FMCSA and find out about the costs associated with getting a DOT number. The website will ask you to verify your identity and jot in your credit card number for further processing.