When I first got my authority in 1999, like so many I thought that meant I didn’t need to do anything outside of maintaining my insurance, single state permits (now replaced with the Unified Carrier Registration system), truck and trailer registrations, truck and trailer safety inspections, and etc. to be compliant with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations. Like most everyone else, as time went along I began to discover just how shortsighted I was -- there’s a lot more to it.
That brings me to a very important and all too often misunderstood and overlooked requirement of the FMCSA. The MCS-150. Most of us are aware that we are required to do a “Biennial Update” (every other year) of our MCS-150 form. However, that is not the only time we are required to update the MCS-150. The FMCSA requires, as it states on its website:
Most do not realize, including myself in my early years, just how important the accuracy of the MCS-150 can be. Lets talk insurance, first.
Insurance companies use the information the FMCSA receives via the MCS-150 from those who have been awarded a U.S. DOT and/or MC number to assess applicants for insurance, likewise for its existing insureds. All insurance companies look at the basic information (company name, owner’s name, addresses, etc.). However, not all insurance companies look at everything. Have you ever heard the old saying, “They gave me just enough rope to hang myself”? For me, that’s an appropriate way to look at it.
However, it’s not the insurance companies who have given us that rope. It’s the FMCSA!
