Carrier VMT Outdated: The Urgency of Updates for DOT Compliance

Keeping your trucking company on the road and running smoothly requires keeping up with ever-changing regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the US Department of Transportation maintain strict rules and guidelines governing the operation of commercial vehicles, which include consistently updating information related to the USDOT number via the DOT biennial MCS-150 filing.

One of those updates is the carrier vehicle miles traveled. If an inspection reveals “Carrier VMT outdated,” the consequences for the trucking company can be dire, up to the point of being unable to operate. Avoiding outdated VMT reporting by knowing and following the rules can save a great deal of time and expense and ensure that your company stays on the road. 

FMCA Filings can help prevent VMT compliance concerns by streamlining the permitting process and giving you greater visibility into your company’s status. This blog will help you understand the urgency of making VMT updates and why it’s so critical to DOT compliance.

How to Avoid Carrier VMT Outdated Issues

FMCSA evaluates every truck and trucking carrier on a series of criteria called Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement. The ratings for each of the seven individual criteria contribute to the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability score. 

The FMCSA uses drivers’ individual CSA scores in aggregate to rate carriers on their performance. Placing in the top percentiles can help carriers secure lower insurance rates, attract top talent, access a broader range of loads, and more. 

Another tool that the FMCSA uses to determine percentiles is the data collected in carrier VMT updates. By requiring carriers to provide up-to-date numbers of how many miles the vehicle traveled, the agency can produce more accurate data and ratings for the company.  

The FMCSA and USDOT require a VMT data update for carriers every two years to capture this information. These biennial updates us the MCS-150 Motor Vehicle Carrier form to confirm and update the information used for the carrier’s USDOT number. You can determine when to update the form by looking at your USDOT number: if the second to last digit is an odd number, you submit the MCS-150 by the end of your assigned month in odd years (like 2025), if it’s an even number, DOT expects your form in even-numbered years (like 2024). 

The Information You Need to Update to Ensure Accurate Filings 

When you submit the biennial update, you need to include information including:

• Name and address of the business
• Locations 
• Description of the company and the services it provides 
• Information about safety incidents since the last update
• Insurance coverage verification
• Details about the company security plan
• Details about hazardous materials certification 
• Information on the company’s drug and alcohol testing program 
• Maintenance reports for all vehicles and equipment 
• Details about all federal registrations 
• Driver qualification details 
• Updated vehicle miles traveled for all drivers

Submitting this form is the DOT’s best tool for addressing carrier VMT obsolescence and for your trucking company to avoid “carrier VMT outdated” hassles. It also ensures that the carrier percentile ratings are accurate.

Updating the VMT also ensures that carriers with high truck utilization, meaning that their trucks travel more miles than the average, receive high-VMT adjustments. These adjustments support accurate reporting and ensure that companies that travel more miles, which will have statistically more BASIC violations, don’t land in a lower percentile than they should. 

Keeping Track of Miles to Avoid Problems 

Trucking companies must maintain detailed and accurate VMT records to submit an accurate MCS-150 form every two years. Doing so helps prevent a costly carrier VMT outdated violation. You can maintain accurate records in several ways, including:

• Manual tracking and logging of the number of miles driven daily
• Automatic onboard records that track miles driven in real time
• GPS technology to track the vehicle’s movements and calculate mileage 

Whatever method you select, keeping records and knowing when to submit the information to USDOT can help you avoid the frustration and operational consequences that stem from avoidable carrier VMT outdated issues.

FMCA Filings Can Help with Biennial MCS-150 Submissions 

Failing to update your carrier VMT information can mean keeping your trucks off the road for weeks or months while you straighten out the paperwork and compile the necessary data. Keep this from happening by working with FMCA Filings on your MCS-150 biennial update. We’ll help ensure that you don’t face carrier VMT outdated sanctions and that the process is as streamlined as possible. 

FMCA Filings is your one-stop source for all your tricking company filings, from getting your USDOT number to securing freight forwarding authority. Learn more about the intricacies of the trucking industry on our blog, or reach out to one of our agents using Live Chat to get more information about keeping your company’s permits in paperwork in order and your business moving forward.