Claim Your USDOT on Motus — Operator Checklist

Find the exact Company Official email from your legacy FMCSA Portal era. That address must match the Login.gov account you will use. Gather legal name, USDOT, EIN details if asked, an unexpired photo ID, and a smartphone for identity capture. Recover passwords before you are stuck in a support queue.

If a former partner still owns the Company Official inbox, resolve that politically and contractually before you fight the Motus UI. Technology cannot fix an ownership dispute.

Make a short video call checklist for remote owners: who holds the ID, who watches the Motus desktop session, who stores the screenshots in the company drive.

Sign into Motus with the matching Login.gov account. Complete required identity verification (commonly IDEMIA document + facial match). Claim / link your USDOT and review pre-filled company data. Confirm users who may update MCS-150 later. Save confirmations.

New applicants: finish identity proofing, then complete the Motus registration application for your entity type. Do not purchase "DOT numbers" from random ads.

After a successful claim, immediately review phone and email fields. Brokers still dial whatever public records show. Then start website intake so marketing copy matches the newly claimed legal reality.

If Motus shows unexpected company data, do not ignore it. Correct source fields through official channels before you print the wrong DOT on trailers and invoices.

If emails do not match, Motus often will not auto-link the company. Use official recovery paths — not social-media fixers asking for one-time codes. See our Login.gov/IDEMIA and email-mismatch guides for deeper troubleshooting narratives, then verify against FMCSA.

Document ticket numbers and dates. Parallel-path your sales assets carefully: you can draft website copy while recovery is pending, but do not publish authority claims you cannot support.

Brokers search your USDOT and company name. Pair the government record with a Motus Website package: Starter $274 one-time (year-1 hosting included), Growth $597, Authority $1,197. Directory links from motusdirectory.com can prefill intake with ?dot=&company=&mc=.

Lookups stay on Motus Directory; filings stay on Motus; your brand lives on the site we build for you.

Search your own DOT in an incognito window. Note the top results. If they are thin or confusing, that is your website brief. Starter at $274 is designed for that exact moment — credible, mobile, and honest about Motus vs marketing.

Morning: confirm Company Official email and Login.gov MFA. Test phone camera with a sample document photo. Open a shared drive folder named Motus-Claim-Date. Afternoon: navigate only to motus.dot.gov, sign in, complete identity proofing, claim USDOT, screenshot success, export or photograph confirmation, invite backup user if appropriate.

Evening: search your DOT on Motus Directory and SAFER; note discrepancies; draft MCS-150 corrections; start Motus Website intake if brokers still see an empty brand story. Keep filings and marketing in different mental buckets — both matter, only one is governmental.

Starter ($274 one-time, year-1 hosting included) fits owner-operators and micro fleets who need authority badges, click-to-call, and a load form. Growth ($597) fits carriers who want lanes, equipment, and insurance storytelling. Authority ($1,197) fits brokers and larger brands needing deeper information architecture, quote flow, and Motus-aware SEO content.

Payment is via Stripe Payment Links; intake captures DOT/MC so we do not invent identifiers. We will not ask for Motus passwords during onboarding.

This guide is educational and commercial-context only. Motus Website is not FMCSA. For live claim buttons, recovery instructions, and identity proofing prompts, use https://motus.dot.gov and official Login.gov help. If anything here conflicts with FMCSA materials, follow FMCSA.

Related reading on this site includes What is Motus, Login.gov and IDEMIA, Motus vs Portal vs SAFER, MCS-150 biennial updates, and the owner-operator and broker guides. Carrier lookups belong on Motus Directory. Website packages begin at pricing.