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FMCSA motor carrier definition

What is FMCSA's motor carrier definition?

A motor carrier is defined for FMCSA regulatory purposes in 49 CFR §390.5T, with scope depending on the operation and vehicle. The live eCFR text accessed 2026-07-21 is the named source. Brokers and freight forwarders are distinct roles, and a census record alone does not establish operating authority.

Published
2026-07-21
Retrieved
Not reported
Snapshot
sha256:e407f527f73dbf0d5906664c3d7c4b6acd64ee2c7091be01d55246765babdf0d
Data as of
2026-07-21

Source artifact receipts

Each receipt below describes its exact retained artifact or live source. Dates and digests never cross artifact boundaries.

Scope and material limitation

What this answer covers

This answer points to the current federal definition and keeps registration records separate from the legal classification of a particular operation.

Dated source facts

What the cited record says

Source-snapshot manifest receipt

Reproducible lineage, explicitly unsigned

This receipt attests the source snapshot manifest, not any individual fact.

The answer-series chain record is unsigned. It does not authenticate a person, organization, eligibility state, or individual fact.

Snapshot manifest SHA-256
67c38cd6bda91040239fba049b27ba30774d4773a9c5aab530621634cc6e50a1
Previous chain SHA-256
54dbcfe047b0b328974fdff0551bec2f43574395dff178178dc38ac8a848d492
Current chain SHA-256
b4bd345159f8663b6abe9fce08c87d4873b13334141d32607883569bbcb19179
signature_linked_facts
0
Answer-series chain status
unsigned

Primary-source chain

Follow the answer to its source

  1. 49 CFR 390.5T definitionsOffice of the Federal Register and Government Publishing OfficeAccessed:

    Limitation: The regulatory definition depends on the covered operation and vehicle. Brokers and freight forwarders are distinct roles, and later amendments can change the text.

Re-derive this answer from the named source and dated scope; no Fonteum account is required.

Methodology and limitations

How to interpret this answer

Methodology version: citation-answer/v1

  • The live regulation can change and must be re-checked for a specific legal question.
  • This aggregate public-record answer is not a consumer report, person-level dossier, eligibility decision, or risk score.
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Frequently asked questions

Questions about this answer

Is every broker a motor carrier?
No. Federal rules define broker, freight forwarder, and motor carrier as distinct roles.
Does a census row settle the legal classification?
No. Classification depends on the current rule and the actual operation.

Cite this page as Fonteum, “What is FMCSA's motor carrier definition?,” published , modified .

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What’s on file, by the numbers

Platform snapshot · 2026-07-28

13.4Mproviders & companiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities on file
26.2Msource-linked factsSource-linked field facts in the dated platform snapshot
90sources with dataDistinct snapshot source IDs with at least one positive record count
79fresh sourcesDistinct source IDs whose latest positive-data snapshot falls within the preceding 45 days
111sources integratedActive registry rows; integration does not establish a load
13state Medicaid jurisdictionsDistinct states represented in the state-exclusions serving table

Integrated, with-data, and fresh-observation counts are separate. No platform-wide source-completeness count is published. Completeness is source-specific and must be evaluated against the named source's expected scope. State coverage is a separate jurisdiction measure.

Source authority is record-specific

Use the issuer named on the record.

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Reproducible by design

Inspect the evidence each published figure actually supplies.

Source and date

Research pages expose the named public file and observation date where those fields are available. Source-file SHA-256 coverage is separate; facts do not currently link deterministically to signatures.

Available derivation

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Daily observations

Dated table row-count observations can detect local drift. They do not imply that an upstream publisher released or Fonteum ingested new data that day.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

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