Use SAFER for company snapshot and safety information, and use FMCSA’s current Motus registration pathway for current authority and insurance filing questions. The boundary matters because FMCSA says legacy Licensing & Insurance (L&I) became historical-only on May 14, 2026 and does not show Motus filings. A record can be real and still be the wrong source for a current decision.
What SAFER remains good for
SAFER’s Company Snapshot is a free search by USDOT number, MC/MX number, or name. It shows identity, size, commodity, any assigned safety rating, an out-of-service inspection summary, and crash information. FMCSA says the free Snapshot updates daily and its inspection and crash counts update weekly. The paid Company Profile is current when it is generated.
That makes SAFER a sensible starting point to identify an entity and read public safety context. It does not make SAFER a current insurance certificate, a capacity board, or a way to authenticate whoever is dispatching a load.
What requires the current registration path
For current operating authority, insurance filings, and process-agent questions, use FMCSA Motus public search. Open the company record, then the relevant entry under Operating Authority Registration(s). The authority detail page has Insurance Details, Process Agent, and Operating Authority History tabs. Read the relevant docket, authority type, status, insurer, filing type, effective date, and any replacement or cancellation event where displayed. If a detail is unavailable, record that limitation and follow up with FMCSA or the insurer instead of guessing. The agency’s AskFMCSA page is explicit that L&I is historical-only after the migration date. An old L&I entry can still help explain history, but it must be labeled as historical rather than used to announce a present-day status.
This split can produce apparent disagreements between screens. Do not average them into a “verified” status. Record which system you consulted, what it displayed, and when. If current information cannot be retrieved, say that the status could not be confirmed instead of treating an outage as a negative finding.
A simple source map
| Question | Best starting source | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Who is this company? | SAFER snapshot / lookup | identity does not prove the booking contact |
| What safety record is public? | SAFER and public SMS | absence of data is not a safety finding |
| Is relevant authority current? | current FMCSA registration/Motus path | role and authority type still matter |
| What filing is current? | current FMCSA registration/Motus path | filing is not shipment-specific cargo coverage |
A practical example
An older vendor note says “insurance active” and links to L&I. The correct update is to identify the legal carrier again, look for current filing information through the post-Motus pathway, and separately obtain shipment-specific proof if the load requires it. The note becomes evidence of what was previously observed, not a current insurance assurance.
The Motus registration changes also caution against interpreting the magnitude of a new number as business age. Review actual dates, actual authority status, and the transaction details instead.
Use check operating authority, carrier insurance filings, and carrier safety ratings for the related review paths. Each one uses a different type of record.