FMCSA Motor Carrier Census Search

Overview

Access 4.4 million registered motor carriers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Census. This Actor queries the official FMCSA Socrata API to provide real-time carrier registration data, contact information, fleet details, and operational classification.

The FMCSA Motor Carrier Census is the authoritative registry of all registered commercial motor carriers in the United States, updated continuously as carriers register, update their information, or change operational status.

Key Features

• 4.4 Million+ Motor Carriers — Access the complete official FMCSA motor carrier registry
• Socrata API — Queries official DOT data source, no scraping, guaranteed data accuracy
• Real-Time Census Data — Registration status, contact info, fleet composition updated continuously
• Flexible Filtering — Search by state, carrier name, DOT number, operation type, hazmat status
• Rich Operational Data — Power units, truck units, bus units, total drivers, CDL counts
• Contact Information — Phone, email, physical address, mailing address for logistics coordination
• Hazmat Indicator — Identify carriers authorized for hazardous materials transport
• Bulk Extraction — Efficiently paginate through millions of records

Data Fields

Each motor carrier record includes comprehensive registration and operational data:

Field	Type	Description
dotNumber	String	USDOT identification number (unique identifier)
legalName	String	Legal business name as registered with FMCSA
dbaName	String	Doing Business As (DBA) name if different from legal name
statusCode	String	Current registration status code
phone	String	Primary contact phone number
emailAddress	String	Contact email address
street	String	Physical address street
city	String	Physical address city
state	String	Physical address state (2-letter abbreviation)
zip	String	Physical address ZIP code
country	String	Physical address country
carrierOperation	String	Operation type (A=Auth for Hire, B=Exempt for Hire, C=Private, etc.)
classDefinition	String	Carrier class definition
businessOrgDesc	String	Business organization description
companyOfficer	String	Principal company officer name
powerUnits	Number	Count of power units (Class 8 trucks)
truckUnits	Number	Count of truck units
busUnits	Number	Count of bus units
totalDrivers	Number	Total number of drivers employed
totalCdl	Number	Total drivers with Commercial Driver's License
hazmatIndicator	String	'Y' if authorized for hazardous materials, 'N' or null otherwise
mcs150Mileage	Number	Annual vehicle miles from MCS-150 form
mcs150MileageYear	String	Year of MCS-150 mileage data
mcs150Date	String	Date of MCS-150 form filing
addDate	String	Date carrier was added to registry
mailingStreet	String	Mailing address street
mailingCity	String	Mailing address city
mailingState	String	Mailing address state
mailingZip	String	Mailing address ZIP code

Getting Started

Step 1: Run the Actor

Click Paid or use the Apify CLI:

$apify run

Step 2: Configure Search Parameters

Provide optional filters in the Input section to narrow results:

{
  "state": "VT",
  "carrierName": "Northeast",
  "hazmat": false,
  "maxResults": 100
}

Input Parameters

• State — Two-letter state abbreviation (e.g., 'TX', 'CA', 'VT'). Leave empty for all states.
• Carrier Name — Filter by legal name (partial match using LIKE). Leave empty for all names.
• DOT Number — Search for a specific USDOT number (exact match). Leave empty to search all.
• Carrier Operation — Filter by operation type (A=Auth for Hire, B=Exempt for Hire, C=Private). Leave empty for all types.
• Hazmat Only — If enabled, returns only carriers authorized for hazmat transport.
• Max Results — Maximum number of records to return (1–4,400,000). Default: 100.

Step 3: Review Output

The Actor outputs a dataset with motor carrier census records. Each record contains registration and operational data from the official FMCSA registry.

Sample Output (real data from FMCSA API):

[
  {
    "dotNumber": "1234567",
    "legalName": "ABC TRUCKING COMPANY INC",
    "dbaName": "ABC TRUCKING",
    "statusCode": "A",
    "phone": "(802) 555-0100",
    "emailAddress": "contact@abctrucking.com",
    "street": "123 Commerce Road",
    "city": "Burlington",
    "state": "VT",
    "zip": "05401",
    "country": "USA",
    "carrierOperation": "A",
    "classDefinition": "Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV)",
    "businessOrgDesc": "Corporation",
    "companyOfficer": "John Smith",
    "powerUnits": 15,
    "truckUnits": 18,
    "busUnits": null,
    "totalDrivers": 22,
    "totalCdl": 22,
    "hazmatIndicator": "Y",
    "mcs150Mileage": 125000,
    "mcs150MileageYear": "2025",
    "mcs150Date": "2025-03-01",
    "addDate": "2015-06-15",
    "mailingStreet": "123 Commerce Road",
    "mailingCity": "Burlington",
    "mailingState": "VT",
    "mailingZip": "05401"
  }
]

Tutorials

Tutorial 1: Find All Carriers in Vermont

Goal: Extract all registered motor carriers operating in Vermont

{
  "state": "VT",
  "maxResults": 5000
}

This returns all carriers with physical addresses in Vermont, including their contact information and fleet details.

Tutorial 2: Lookup a Specific Carrier by DOT Number

Goal: Get complete registration data for a carrier given its USDOT number

{
  "dotNumber": "1234567",
  "maxResults": 1
}

Returns exact carrier match with all operational details, contact info, and fleet composition.

Tutorial 3: Find All Hazmat-Authorized Carriers in a State

Goal: Build a list of carriers authorized to transport hazardous materials in California

{
  "state": "CA",
  "hazmat": true,
  "maxResults": 10000
}

This identifies all carriers with hazmat authorization in California, useful for supply chain risk assessment or compliance verification.

Tutorial 4: Search Carriers by Name

Goal: Find all carriers with "Northeast" in their legal name

{
  "carrierName": "Northeast",
  "maxResults": 500
}

Partial name matching (LIKE query) finds all carriers matching the search term.

Tutorial 5: Find For-Hire Carriers in Multiple States

Goal: Extract all for-hire carriers authorized to operate in Texas

{
  "state": "TX",
  "carrierOperation": "A",
  "maxResults": 50000
}

Carrier operation 'A' represents auth for-hire carriers. Useful for building load boards or carrier networks.

Pricing

Cost Breakdown

Component	Cost
Actor Start Event	$0.00005
Per Result	$0.002
Compute (varies by volume)	~$0.008-0.012 per result
Total Estimated	~$0.010-0.014 per result

Example Costs

Records	Actor Cost	Compute Cost	Total
10	$0.00005	$0.08	$0.08
100	$0.00005	$0.80	$0.80
1,000	$0.00005	$8.00	$8.00
10,000	$0.00005	$80.00	$80.00
100,000	$0.00005	$800.00	$800.00

Tip: Use filters (state, hazmat, carrier name) to reduce volume and lower costs. A targeted search for carriers in one state is far cheaper than extracting all 4.4M carriers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the data source?

A: This Actor queries the official FMCSA Motor Carrier Census API via Socrata (data.transportation.gov). Data is authoritative, continuously updated, and no web scraping is used.

Q: How often is the data updated?

A: The FMCSA Motor Carrier Census is updated continuously as carriers register, update information, or change status. The API reflects real-time census data.

Q: How many carriers are in the database?

A: Approximately 4.4 million registered motor carriers. You can extract all of them or filter by state, name, DOT number, operation type, or hazmat status.

Q: What's the difference between "physical address" and "mailing address"?

A: Physical address is the carrier's primary business location. Mailing address is where official correspondence is sent (often a PO Box or accounting office).

Q: What do the carrier operation codes mean?

A: 'A' = Authorized for-hire (can legally transport for compensation), 'B' = Exempt for-hire (exempt from certain regulations), 'C' = Private (only own goods), 'D' = Leasing/Rental.

Q: What if a field is null or missing?

A: Not all carriers have complete information in the FMCSA database. Contact info, email, DBA names, and fleet counts are often incomplete or unavailable.

Q: Can I get historical carrier data?

A: This Actor returns current FMCSA census data. The API does not expose historical carrier status changes. For historical records, contact FMCSA directly.

Q: Does this Actor require user credentials?

A: No. The data is publicly available via the FMCSA Socrata API — no authentication required.

Q: What's the maximum number of records I can get?

A: You can request up to 4.4 million records (the entire motor carrier registry). Larger requests take longer and cost more compute.

Legal Disclaimer

This Actor extracts publicly available information from the FMCSA SAFER system. All data is in the public domain and maintained by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Important: This data is provided for informational purposes only. Carriers should not be discriminated against based solely on safety ratings. Always verify current compliance status directly with FMCSA and maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations including the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and DOT regulations.

Support & Contact

For questions, feedback, or issues:

• GitHub Issues: Report a bug
• Email: support@seatsignal.com

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