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The DOT number is used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the States to identify motor carriers and monitor their safety performance.
The FMCSA considers an owner-operator that “leases on” with a carrier an employee. The owner-operator’s vehicle must be marked with the carrier’s name and USDOT number.
Owner-operators leased to a carrier operate under the carrier’s authority and USDOT number. There is no need for the owner-operator to have a separate DOT number unless the owner operator will also operate as a carrier under their own authority.
An owner-operator that has leased themselves and their vehicle to a carrier, must mark the vehicle with the carrier’s legal name (or tradename if included on the carrier’s MCS-150) and USDOT number.