If you’ve ever fought with FMCSA’s Motus registration system, you can stop yelling at the screen. FMCSA knows it’s been rough, and they’re promising fixes within the next several weeks.
Speaking at the NMFTA Cybersecurity Conference in Long Beach, California, FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison told the crowd that improvements to the user experience should arrive “within weeks,” according to Truck News. Backend stabilization will take longer. Elison didn’t sugarcoat the launch. As FreightWaves reported, he said “what we had built wasn’t working, and every time we tried to fix it, it worked less.”
How We Got Here
Motus is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration system meant to be a single front door for carrier registration, replacing more than three decades of data scattered across legacy platforms. It went live May 14, 2026.
The first week looked like a win on paper: about 120,000 new user applications and more than 13,000 carriers claiming USDOT numbers, FreightWaves reported. On the ground, carriers hit trouble with logins, identity verification, insurance filings and DOT number linking.
The Damage on the Road
By September, CCJ documented compliant carriers losing authority without warning. Motus purged BOC-3 process agent forms, deactivated DOT numbers and dockets, and in one case overwrote a Texas carrier’s legal name with another company’s. Loaded freight was stranded at roadside inspections. One owner said it could put him out of business, “period, end of story,” and support queues reportedly ran past 275 people deep.
FMCSA has offered some breathing room.
On September 10 it suspended enforcement of biennial registration updates for carriers with requirements due after June 1. Elison said Motus is vital to fighting freight fraud because it locks down a vulnerable entry point into FMCSA records.
The ELD Self-Certification Problem
The other headline: FMCSA is writing a rule to end self-certification of electronic logging devices. Congress set up that system in 2017, and Land Line notes it has made it easy to register noncompliant devices or re-register revoked ones.
Elison put it plainly: “I’ve never heard anybody argue that it has worked.”
The agency says nearly 100 ELDs have been pulled from the registry since 2025, with only one or two new providers certified. Fleets caught running a revoked unit get a grace window to swap devices, then face citations and out-of-service orders. Elison also said the administration is leaning on Vice President J.D. Vance’s task force to go after fraud and cargo theft.
What Alabama Carriers Should Do Now
Check your registration status in Motus and keep copies of every filing, especially your BOC-3. Confirm that every ELD in your fleet is still on FMCSA’s registered list before an inspector does it for you.
For the men and women running I-65, I-20 and I-10, a glitch in a federal database can mean a truck parked and a load going nowhere. Alabama carriers shouldn’t need a consultant to stay legal, and if Motus has you stuck, you don’t have to fight it alone.
That’s where I come in. Helping members untangle Motus problems, BOC-3 filings, ELD questions and any other regulatory headache is part of what I do. Bring me the problem before it parks a truck. Give me call or reach out via email, and I’ll do my best to have you back in compliance and on the road in no time.
