The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a warning to motor carriers not to sell, purchase or lease a USDOT number or an MC number online or elsewhere from an unknown person or outside of a legitimate corporate transaction.

The agency said that this notice applies to the purported sale or lease of registration or operating authority itself—not to the leasing of equipment (e.g., trucks or drivers) under arrangements such as those governed by the FMCSA’s regulations. Equipment leasing arrangements between motor carriers and owner-operators also remain permissible and are distinct from the prohibited sale, purchase, or lease of USDOT numbers or operating authority registration.

FMCSA is cracking down on entities that attempt to evade regulation by selling or changing company registration or operating authority, If the FMCSA finds that an entity has attempted to sell, purchase or lease a USDOT number or an MC number outside of a legitimate corporate transaction, the agency will initiate proceedings to inactivate the USDOT Number and revoke all related registrations, including safety registration and any operating authority registration.