MCMIS Catalog and Documentation

Census File - Overview

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT) responsible for monitoring and developing safety standards for commercial motor vehicles operating in interstate commerce.

The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) is a computerized system whereby the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains a comprehensive record of the safety performance of the motor carriers (truck and bus) and hazardous materials shippers who are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) or Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).

MCMIS Census File contains records for a steadily growing number of active entities, i.e., motor carriers, hazardous materials shippers, entities that are carrier and a shipper, or registrants (entities who register vehicles but are not carriers). In order to identify each entity, MCMIS assigns a unique number to each entity record. This number is referred to as the record census number. This is also the number supplied to an entity as the USDOT number.

MCMIS assigns a status of active or inactive to each census record. A record is considered active in the Census File if the entity identified in the record is currently subject to the FMCSR, HMR, or is an intrastate non-Hazardous Material (HM) carrier issued a USDOT number by selected states (not all states are issuing USDOT numbers to intrastate non-HM carriers). A record is considered inactive if the entity is no longer in business or is no longer subject to the FMCSR or HMR.

Each Census record contains the following information:

  • Census Information. Entity Identifying Data -- name, address, etc.
  • Business/ Operation Data. Operation Classification and type of business.
  • Cargo Classification. Type of cargo carried.
  • Hazardous Materials Carried/Shipped.
  • Equipment and Driver Data. Number of trucks owned, term-leased or trip-leased, number of drivers, etc.
  • Carrier Review Data. Latest review date, accident rate, safety rating, etc.

CENSUS FILE DATA SOURCES | Top

Data contained in the MCMIS Census File originates from the following sources:

  • Federal Form MCS-150. A form used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to collect general identification data from entities.
  • Federal Form MCS-151 Part A. The first page of the Safety/Compliance/Educational Contact Review. This page provides identifying data about the carrier/shipper (i.e., name, address, number of trucks, etc.). A Review contains information regarding a federally-conducted or state-conducted review of a carrier's/shipper's compliance with the FMCSR and HMR. These reviews result in the carrier receiving a Federal safety rating of Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory or Conditional. A safety rating is generated by MCMIS after the review has been added to the MCMIS Safety /Compliance/Educational Contact Review File.
  • Licensing and Insurance Division (Former Interstate Commerce Commission). Applications for Permanent, Emergency and Temporary Operating Authority.
  • Other Users of MCMIS. Department of Defense, American Trucking Association, etc.
  • SAFETYNET. State Inspection and Accident Reports.
  • Telephone contacts and correspondence concerning entities.
  • Federal Form MCS-63. Federally-conducted Driver/Vehicle Inspection Reports.

HOW TO ORDER A CENSUS FILE | Top

The information in the MCMIS Census file represents data that is reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration through the requirements of state and Federal programs. This file is dynamic and is constantly being updated to keep up with the changes in the motor carrier industry. Therefore, the information on a copy of this file is only valid as of the date the copy is generated. The Census file will be provided in a Tilde delineated format text file. Also, any copy of this file will contain only those entities with a status of "active" as defined above. View the Price List. [Opens in New Window]

A copy of the MCMIS Census File, available as a CD-ROM, can be obtained from:

Department of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Office of Registration and Safety Information, W65-206
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: 1(800)832-5660
Tilde- DELIMITED FILES | Top
Below is a sample of what a tilde delimited file will look like. Between each data element is a tilde (~). The data elements can be of varying lengths up to the length specified in the Record Layout section of this documentation. In some cases data fields may be empty, which will be indicated by two tildes with no data between them (~~).

A~C~12345678~~John Doe Trucking Inc~ . . .

Using the Record Layout, the fields can be read from left to right: Status (A for active), Entity Type (C for carrier), Census Number, Legal Name (in this example, blank, or no data), "Doing Business As" Name, etc.