FMCSA Carrier Check API

01 Subscribe on a marketplace and copy your API key. The examples below use RapidAPI's headers; each marketplace shows its own key header on the listing. To try every request without writing code, fork the collection:

02 Call the pickup check:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://carrier-check-api.p.rapidapi.com/v1/check?usdot=1398624&plate=AF60214&state=PA' \
  --header 'X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY' \
  --header 'X-RapidAPI-Host: carrier-check-api.p.rapidapi.com'

const params = new URLSearchParams({ usdot: "1398624", plate: "AF60214", state: "PA" });

const res = await fetch(`https://carrier-check-api.p.rapidapi.com/v1/check?${params}`, {
  headers: {
    "X-RapidAPI-Key": "YOUR_KEY",
    "X-RapidAPI-Host": "carrier-check-api.p.rapidapi.com",
  },
});
const data = await res.json();

console.log(data.verdict === "good" ? "OK to load" : `Stop: ${data.reasons.join(", ")}`);

03 Read the verdict (response abridged):

{
  "verdict": "good",
  "usdot": "1398624",
  "legal_name": "DMP TRUCKING INC",
  "summary": "Good: authority active, insurance OK, truck matches (4 inspections, last seen 2025-12-23). 1 warning.",
  "reasons": [],
  "warnings": ["authority_data_from_frozen_legacy_files"],
  "checks": [
    { "check": "authority", "status": "pass" },
    { "check": "insurance", "status": "pass" },
    { "check": "data_source", "status": "warn" },
    { "check": "truck", "status": "pass" }
  ],
  "carrier": { "authority_active": true, "insurance_ok": true },
  "truck": { "result": "match", "verified": true, "last_seen": "2025-12-23", "inspections": 4 }
}

• verdict is only ever good or bad. summary is the same result in one plain-English line, ready to show a dispatcher.
• reasons lists every check that made it bad. warnings are worth knowing but don't fail the check unless you send strict=true.
• checks shows each thing that was looked at as pass, warn, fail or unchecked. truck.verified is true only when the truck matched your carrier.
• Send vin instead of plate and state, or leave both out to check the carrier only. An unknown USDOT returns verdict: "bad" with carrier_not_found.

/v1/check adds truck results: truck_different_carrier and carrier_not_found make it bad; truck_seen_under_carrier and truck_not_found are warnings.

• Authority and insurance: FMCSA's Motus system, updated daily. Carriers not yet migrated fall back to the legacy L&I files frozen on 2026-05-14, and the sources field says which was used.
• Census (identity, contact, fleet size): updated about monthly by FMCSA.
• Roadside inspections: as published by FMCSA. A truck that has never been inspected won't be found, so not_found isn't proof of anything. Try the VIN if a plate isn't found.
• Responses are cached for up to 6 hours. Coverage is US carriers registered with FMCSA. US government public datasets only, no scraping and no logins.

Data is provided for information only. It is not a legal, safety or compliance determination. Verify with FMCSA before dispatch. Not affiliated with or endorsed by FMCSA or the US DOT.