Motus Set You Up as a Service Provider? How to Close the TSP Account and Claim Your USDOT Number

Reviewed by Austin Park, founder of ICR Filings · Updated November 11, 2026

The short answer

A carrier's account in Motus shows a USDOT number at the top. A supporting company account shows a Filer Number, and it cannot claim a USDOT record.
FMCSA's fix: sign in, open the TSP account page, click the gear icon, choose Close Account, and confirm.
After closing, Motus should prompt you to claim your USDOT number if your Login.gov email is linked to one.
If Link a USDOT Number stays greyed out or lists no numbers, send FMCSA one ticket with your USDOT number, the company official's name and Login.gov email, and proof of ownership.
Do not start a New Registration to get around it. That creates a second USDOT number.

You signed in to Motus to update your record, and it does not show your company the way you expected. There is a Filer Number at the top, no USDOT number anywhere, and nothing that lets you file. FMCSA has confirmed this happens: some carriers end up registered as a Transportation Service Provider (TSP), and that account type cannot claim a USDOT record. The fix is short, and you can do it yourself.

FMCSA's registration alert states the rule directly:

“If you are a carrier and your email address was inadvertently registered for the Transportation Service Provider (TSP) role in Motus, you must close the TSP account before you can claim your USDOT record.”
FMCSA: Registration alerts

How it happens

The first time you sign in, Motus offers three choices: Link an Existing USDOT Number, New Registration, and Supporting Company. The third is meant for insurance companies, process agents, and filing services. A carrier who picks it gets a supporting company account with a Filer Number, and from then on Motus treats that login as a service provider.

How to tell which account you have

The right one: a company account with your USDOT number and legal name at the top.
The wrong one: a page headed Supporting Company Account, with a Filer Number and the capability Transportation Service Provider.

FMCSA's steps to close the TSP account

Log in to your Motus account at motus.dot.gov.
Go to the TSP account page.
Click the gear icon on the right side of the screen.
Select Close Account.
Follow the prompts to confirm that you are permanently closing the TSP account.

Closing is permanent, which is what you want here: the account was never meant to exist. Your USDOT record is not touched by it.

When we saw this screen in November 2026, the gear opened a side panel headed with the Filer Number. Close Account was near the bottom of it, below Business Email. The same panel has a Create New Company Account option near the top. That is not the fix, so leave it alone.

What should happen next

FMCSA says that if your Login.gov email address is linked to a USDOT number, you should now see a dialog box prompting you to claim it. Choose your number, review the company information Motus imports, and you are in. The screens after that are in our Motus setup guide.

If the link is greyed out, or Motus finds no number

Sometimes the account closes and the claim still does not appear. Link a USDOT Number is greyed out, or Motus says there are no unclaimed USDOT numbers associated with your account. That means the email you signed in with is not the one FMCSA has tied to your USDOT number. It is common when someone else filed your original application, or you never had an account on the old FMCSA Portal.

First check whether you have another email address your numbers could have been set up under, and try signing in to Login.gov with that one. If not, FMCSA has to link it for you. Send one ticket with:

Your USDOT number.
The name and Login.gov email address of the company official who will be the account owner.
Proof of company ownership, such as an IRS letter, articles of incorporation, or other official state or city registration documents.

The ticket form is at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov, and it lets you attach the documents. You can also call 1-800-832-5660, but in our experience the call usually ends with an agent opening a ticket for you, so the form saves a step. Send one ticket and keep the reference number. See how to contact FMCSA for hours.

What to write in the ticket

Keep it short and put the facts first. Something like:

I am the company official for [legal business name], USDOT [number]. My Login.gov email is [email]. Motus registered me as a Transportation Service Provider by mistake. I closed that TSP account, and Motus still does not let me claim my USDOT number: Link a USDOT Number is greyed out, or it says there are no unclaimed USDOT numbers associated with my account. Please link USDOT [number] to my Login.gov account. Proof of ownership is attached.

FMCSA does not publish how long these tickets take, so do not plan around a date.

If a deadline is running while you wait

Nothing on your registration can be updated until the number is claimed, and FMCSA knows carriers are stuck. It has temporarily suspended enforcement of the biennial update requirement and is not inactivating USDOT numbers that missed one, with no end date announced. The update is still required, so file it as soon as you are in. If something else depends on a change to your record, such as an insurance requirement tied to your vehicle weight, tell the other party in writing that the update is waiting on FMCSA and keep your ticket number.

Once your USDOT number is linked

Everything that was blocked opens up: your MCS-150 update, address and vehicle changes, and requests on your operating authority. If you were trying to file something with a deadline, keep a dated screenshot of the Motus message that stopped you.

Common questions

How do I know I have the wrong kind of Motus account?

The page is headed Supporting Company Account, it shows a Filer Number where a USDOT number should be, and the capability listed is Transportation Service Provider. That account type is for filing services, insurers, and process agents, not carriers.

Will closing the TSP account delete my USDOT number?

No. FMCSA's steps close only the service provider account that was created by mistake. Your USDOT record is separate, and closing the TSP account is what lets you claim it.

I closed the account and Motus says there are no unclaimed USDOT numbers. Now what?

Your Login.gov email is not the one FMCSA has tied to your USDOT number. Send FMCSA a ticket with your USDOT number, the name and Login.gov email of the company official who will own the account, and proof of company ownership such as an IRS letter or articles of incorporation.

Should I call FMCSA or send a ticket?

FMCSA's alert asks for a ticket, and the form at ask.fmcsa.dot.gov lets you attach your proof of ownership. In our experience a phone call usually ends with an agent opening a ticket for you, so starting with the form saves a step.

Can I just make a new account or a new registration?

No. A second Login.gov account with a different email will not match your record either, and New Registration issues a brand-new USDOT number while your real one stays unclaimed.

Does a filing service have to do this for me?

No. The claim belongs to the company official, and the steps on this page are the whole fix. There is nothing to buy.

Official sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm with the official source before you file.

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