FMCSA Company Official Guide for MOTUS

What is a Company Official?

The Company Official (CO) is the person designated in FMCSA's systems as the primary authorized representative for your motor carrier, freight broker, or freight forwarder. This person has the authority to make registration changes, file biennial updates, respond to compliance notices, and manage your company's FMCSA Portal account.

Think of it as the person who “owns” your company's relationship with FMCSA. In the legacy system, the CO designation was relatively informal — many carriers don't even know who's listed. Under MOTUS, it becomes a hard identity requirement.

Why the Company Official matters under MOTUS

In the old FMCSA systems, portal access was loosely managed. Many carriers had a consultant, dispatcher, or former partner listed as the Company Official without realizing it. The system didn't enforce much, so it rarely caused problems.

MOTUS changes that. Here's why:

• Identity verification is mandatory. The Company Official must have a verified Login.gov account linked to their real identity. MOTUS uses Login.gov for authentication, not legacy FMCSA credentials.
• Only the CO can authorize changes. Under MOTUS, the Company Official is the gatekeeper. If you're not the CO — or the CO is unreachable — you cannot make registration updates.
• Migration carries over whatever is on file. When your carrier's record moves into MOTUS, the current CO designation migrates with it. If it's wrong, you start the MOTUS era locked out.

Who qualifies as a Company Official

FMCSA requires the Company Official to be someone with actual authority over the company. The specific requirements depend on your entity type:

• Sole proprietorship: The owner.
• Partnership: A general partner.
• Corporation: An officer (CEO, President, Secretary, etc.) — not just any employee.
• LLC: A member or manager, depending on your operating agreement.

The common thread: the CO must be someone who can legally bind the company. A dispatcher, bookkeeper, or office manager typically does not qualify — even if they've been managing your FMCSA account for years.

How to check your current Company Official

There are two ways to see who is currently listed as your Company Official:

1. FMCSA Portal: Log in to the FMCSA Portal and navigate to your company profile. The Company Official should be listed under your company's registration details. If you can't log in, that's already a problem.
2. SAFER System / FMCSA Company Snapshot: The public Company Snapshot shows limited information, but the Company Official name may be visible depending on the record type.

The fastest way to flag this issue is our free MOTUS Readiness Check. One of the key questions we assess is whether you know who your Company Official is and whether they're an internal person with the right access.

Common Company Official problems

Based on the assessments we've run, these are the most common CO issues carriers face heading into the MOTUS transition:

• “I don't know who it is.” This is surprisingly common. The carrier was set up years ago, and no one remembers who was listed as CO. If this is you, check the FMCSA Portal immediately.
• A former employee or partner is listed. The CO left the company, but the record was never updated. Under MOTUS, that person's Login.gov account will be linked to your carrier — not yours.
• A consultant or service company is listed. Many carriers used a compliance service to file their initial application, and that service was listed as the CO. This is the single biggest MOTUS risk we see. See the consultant access section below.
• The CO doesn't have a Login.gov account. Even if the right person is listed, they need a Login.gov account with identity verification completed. If they've never set one up, that needs to happen before the transition.
• Name mismatch between Login.gov and FMCSA. If the CO's name on Login.gov doesn't match what's on file with FMCSA (maiden name, legal name change, typo), identity verification will fail under MOTUS.

How to change your Company Official

If the wrong person is listed, you need to update the CO designation through the FMCSA Portal before the MOTUS transition. Here's the process:

1. Log in to the FMCSA Portal using your current credentials. If you can't log in, you may need to contact FMCSA directly or work with a compliance service that can assist.
2. Navigate to your company profile and find the Company Official section.
3. Update the CO designation to the correct person — someone who meets the qualification requirements above.
4. Verify the new CO has a Login.gov account with identity verification completed, using the same legal name that's now on file with FMCSA.

Login.gov and the Company Official connection

Under MOTUS, authentication flows through Login.gov — the federal government's unified identity platform. Your Company Official must have a Login.gov account because:

• Login.gov replaces legacy FMCSA Portal credentials.
• The Login.gov identity must match the CO's legal name on file with FMCSA.
• Login.gov requires identity verification (photo ID + SSN or similar), not just an email and password.

If your CO already has a Login.gov account (perhaps from another federal service), make sure the name on that account matches what FMCSA has. If they don't have one, set it up now — the identity verification process can take a few days.

When a consultant has your access

This is the scenario that causes the most damage, and it's disturbingly common: a carrier hired a compliance service to file their original application, and that service is still listed as the Company Official or has the only FMCSA Portal credentials.

When MOTUS goes live, the person with the Login.gov account linked to the CO designation controls the registration. If that's a consultant's personal account, they effectively control your carrier's FMCSA record.

Here's how to reclaim ownership:

1. Contact your consultant and request that they update the Company Official to you (or the correct person at your company).
2. Get your own FMCSA Portal credentials. If the consultant set up the account with their email, you need your own login.
3. Set up your Login.gov account with identity verification before the transition.
4. Confirm the change is reflected in FMCSA's systems. Don't take the consultant's word for it — log in and verify.

Frequently asked questions

Can I have more than one Company Official?

FMCSA's systems typically designate a single Company Official per USDOT number. While your company may have multiple officers, only one person is the designated CO for registration purposes.

What if my Company Official is the right person but doesn't use computers?

They still need a Login.gov account under MOTUS. If the CO genuinely cannot manage online accounts, you may need to designate a different qualified person who can. This is a practical reality of the digital transition.

Can my accountant or attorney be the Company Official?

Only if they have legal authority to bind your company (e.g., a partner in the business). A service provider hired to do filings typically does not qualify. The CO must be someone with an ownership or officer role.

How long does it take to change the Company Official?

Through the FMCSA Portal, the change can be processed within a few business days. However, if there are complications (wrong credentials, consultant-controlled accounts, identity mismatches), the process can take weeks. Start early.

What happens if I do nothing?

When MOTUS goes live, whoever is listed as your Company Official — with a verified Login.gov account — will be the only person who can manage your registration. If that person is gone, unreachable, or was never the right person, you'll need to go through FMCSA's recovery process, which will be slower under the new system.

The Company Official designation is one of the easiest things to check and one of the most damaging things to get wrong in the MOTUS transition. Run our free MOTUS Readiness Check to find out where you stand, or read the complete MOTUS registration guide for the full picture.