Active but out of service: 14,332 carriers

CarrierTell data report · Data as of 2026-11-09 · Source: FMCSA public data on data.transportation.gov, spot-checked against FMCSA SAFER

Summary

FMCSA publishes its carrier registry as bulk data files that load boards, TMS platforms, factoring companies and vetting tools import. As of 2026-11-09, 14,332 carriers carry status "active" in FMCSA's census file even though FMCSA has issued them an out-of-service order that has not been rescinded. That's about 1 in every 157 active carriers. For 3,748 of them, FMCSA's licensing and insurance file also still lists their for-hire operating authority as active.

FMCSA's own SAFER snapshot gets it right. We checked 42 of these carriers by hand and SAFER showed every one as OUT-OF-SERVICE. The gap is in the bulk files. A system that reads only the census status field, or only the authority status, sees "active" and moves on.

Why it matters

A carrier under an out-of-service order may not operate commercial motor vehicles until FMCSA lifts the order. Tendering a load to one exposes the shipper or broker to a carrier that may be uninsured for the move. Double brokering and identity-theft schemes also depend on a carrier record that looks clean at a glance.

Who these carriers are

Most are new entrants. 84% were revoked because they refused their new entrant safety audit or FMCSA couldn't reach them, and 86% of the orders were issued in May 2026 or later. The median carrier reports 1 power unit.

By reason (most recent order per carrier)

By order date

The recent skew is not a surge in enforcement. FMCSA issued a similar number of orders in each of the last three years (Jan 1 to Nov 9, all carriers):

The likelier explanation is lag. Most carriers ordered out of service are eventually marked inactive in the census, so the ones still showing "active" skew toward recent orders. A few hundred orders from before 2023 have never been reflected at all.

Method

• Census: FMCSA Company Census File (dataset az4n-8mr2), downloaded 2026-11-09, carriers with status code A.
• Orders: FMCSA Out of Service Orders (p2mt-9ige). An order counts as in effect when it has no rescind date and its record status is ACTIVE. We excluded 83 carriers whose unrescinded order record is marked INACTIVE: SAFER shows those records as inactive, so they aren't "active" carriers.
• Authority: FMCSA Licensing & Insurance authority file (6eyk-hxee). Common, contract or broker authority status A.
• Verification: on 2026-11-09 we looked up a random sample of 30 carriers, plus 12 from the active-authority subset, on SAFER's Company Snapshot. All 42 showed USDOT status and operating authority status OUT-OF-SERVICE. We also looked up 5 of the 83 excluded carriers, and all 5 showed "Record Inactive".
• Privacy: this report gives aggregate figures only. We don't name individual carriers.

What brokers and shippers should do

Check out-of-service orders directly, not just "active" status. Look up each new carrier on SAFER or with a tool that reads FMCSA's out-of-service order data, and re-check carriers you already work with. CarrierTell flags every carrier with an order in effect as HIGH risk, with the reason and date, and alerts watchlist users when an order is issued or lifted.

Reporters and researchers: aggregate tables are available on request through the support page.