Trucking company glossary

The words you will see when you buy or sell a trucking company, in plain English. Where an official definition exists, we use it and link to it.

TruckBiz Team · Last reviewed: October 6, 2026

A

Articles of Organization

The document filed with a state to create an LLC. It lists basics such as the company name and its registered agent.

B

BASICs

The seven categories FMCSA uses to measure safety in SMS: Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials Compliance and Driver Fitness. Crash Indicator and Hazardous Materials results are not public. See SMS/CSA.

BMC-91 / BMC-91X

Forms an insurer files with FMCSA to prove a carrier’s liability insurance. BMC-91 is filed for the full limits. BMC-91X can show full coverage or coverage built in layers. The insurer files it, not the carrier.

BOC-3

The form that names a carrier’s process agents — the people who can accept legal papers for the company in each state. A carrier files one current BOC-3 that covers all required states, and changes it only by filing a new one. See Process agent.

C

Chameleon carrier

A carrier that registers under a new identity to hide its old one and avoid FMCSA enforcement. Checking a company’s history and matching its phone number to the SAFER record can help you spot one.

Clearinghouse (Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse)

FMCSA’s online database of CDL drivers’ drug and alcohol program violations, used by employers and government agencies. Employers must query it before hiring a CDL driver for safety-sensitive work, and at least once a year after that.

D

Docket number

see MC number.

Double brokering

When a carrier takes a load and passes it to another carrier to haul without permission. FMCSA lists it as a form of fraud.

E

EIN (Employer Identification Number)

A federal tax ID number the IRS gives to businesses and other entities.

ELD (electronic logging device)

A device that records a driver’s hours of service — driving time and off-duty time. Most motor carriers must have their drivers use one, with a few exceptions such as vehicles made before model year 2000.

Escrow

A neutral company holds the buyer’s money until the seller delivers and the buyer accepts. Then it releases the money to the seller. Escrow is designed to protect the payment step. It does not check whether a company is real or clean.

F

Factoring

Selling a company’s unpaid invoices to a factoring company to get cash sooner. A sale of invoices (“accounts”) is covered by Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Ask about factoring before you buy, because it can be tied to a UCC lien.

Factoring release (letter of release)

A letter from the factoring company releasing its claim on the company’s invoices.

FMCSA Register

FMCSA’s published list of decisions and notices, with sections such as name changes, revocation actions and transfers. Public users can view it in Motus.

I

Inspection period

In escrow, the time the buyer has to check what was delivered and then accept or reject it. The parties agree on it at the start of the transaction.

K

KYC (Know Your Customer)

Identity checks a financial company must run on its customers. Escrow.com says it verifies the identity of every party in a transaction. It says the main legal basis is FinCEN rules and Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act.

L

L&I (Licensing & Insurance)

FMCSA’s public website where you can search a carrier’s authority and insurance filing history. Its old registration functions were permanently retired on May 14, 2026. See Motus.

M

MC number (docket number)

The docket number FMCSA gives to companies with operating authority, shown in SAFER as MC/MX/FF number(s). In FMCSA’s words, operating authority “is not a distinct commodity” — you cannot buy an MC number on its own. A company that holds an MC can be sold.

MCS-150

The form a carrier files to register with FMCSA and to update its information. Carriers must file it before they begin operations and update it every 24 months. Missing the update can lead to penalties and USDOT deactivation.

MCS-90

An endorsement on a carrier’s liability policy that serves as proof of the federal insurance requirement. The form text is in federal rules.

Membership interest

The ownership of an LLC. When the company is an LLC, buying it on TruckBiz means buying all of its membership interest, including its USDOT and MC operating authority. For a corporation, see Shares.

Motus

FMCSA’s new registration system. It replaces the old Unified Registration System (URS) and the FMCSA Portal. Motus launched in May 2026. It checks identity with a government ID and face capture, and checks the business too. After a company is sold, the new owner claims the company in Motus with their own Login.gov identity — never the seller’s login. Ask FMCSA how.

N

New entrant

A new carrier in FMCSA’s safety monitoring period, which lasts 18 months.

O

Operating authority

The federal registration a for-hire carrier needs to haul regulated freight across state lines. Running without required authority can lead to an out-of-service order.

Out-of-service order

An officer’s order that a driver, a truck or a carrier’s operation must stop.

Out-of-service rate (OOS rate)

The share of a carrier’s roadside inspections that ended with an out-of-service order. SAFER shows it for the last 24 months next to the national average.

P

Process agent

A person in a state who can accept court papers for a carrier. Carriers list their process agents on Form BOC-3.

S

Safety rating

FMCSA’s rating of a carrier after a review: Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory, or Unrated. Unrated means a rating has not been assigned. Unrated does not mean unsafe.

SAFER (Company Snapshot)

FMCSA’s free public lookup for a carrier. It shows status, authority, MCS-150 date, inspections, crashes and safety rating.

Shares (stock)

The ownership of a corporation. When the company is a corporation, buying it means buying its shares. The same legal company keeps its USDOT number.

SMS / CSA

FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (part of the CSA program) scores carriers in each BASIC from inspection and crash data. SMS results are not a safety rating. FMCSA says a carrier may operate unless it is rated Unsatisfactory or ordered to stop.

Stock sale vs asset sale

In a stock or membership-interest sale, you buy the company itself, so the same legal company keeps its USDOT number and history. In an asset sale, you buy selected things the company owns, not the company. FMCSA records a transfer of operating authority only as part of buying an entire operation. TruckBiz deals are sales of the whole company.

U

UCC lien (UCC-1 financing statement)

A public notice, filed with the state, that a creditor has a security interest in a debtor’s personal property. State filing offices let the public search these filings — New York, for example, offers a public online search of its UCC database.

UCR (Unified Carrier Registration)

A yearly registration with fees for carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies. The fee depends on fleet size.

USDOT number

The number FMCSA uses to identify a carrier. It “belongs to the same legal person forever” and cannot be sold, rented or leased on its own. When a company is sold, the USDOT number goes with the company. A sole proprietor’s number never passes to a buyer.

W

Wire transfer

A bank-to-bank payment. If you pay by wire, send it only to the account shown inside your own Escrow.com transaction — never to a person.

Disclaimer: General information only, as of the “Last reviewed” date — not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules change; check the official source we link. TruckBiz is a marketplace, not a law firm, insurance agency or escrow company. TruckBiz is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escrow.com, FMCSA or the U.S. DOT.

Last reviewed: October 6, 2026