Running into the United States from Canada
A Canadian carrier hauling into the States needs the same federal registrations a US carrier does: a USDOT number, FMCSA operating authority if you haul for hire, a BOC-3 process agent designation, and annual UCR registration. Your provincial credentials do not substitute for any of them.
All fees on this page are in US dollars.
What you need, in order
Identifies your company to the FMCSA. Required for cross-border operation of vehicles at or above the federal weight threshold, whether or not you haul for hire.
Federal permission to haul regulated freight for compensation. Applied for through the FMCSA's Motus system, $300 per authority type. New applicants no longer receive an MC number — the USDOT number is the identifier.
Filed with the FMCSA by your insurer, not by you. Authority is not granted until it is on record, and a certificate emailed to you is not the same thing as a filing.
Names who can accept legal papers on your behalf in each US state. A carrier cannot file this itself — it has to come from the process agent. Authority is not granted without it.
An annual state-administered registration, priced by fleet size. Canadian carriers register with a participating US state chosen by geography, because Canadian provinces are not part of the UCR Agreement.
Steps 3 and 4 are the ones that hold applications up, and both can be started the moment you have applied. The FMCSA dismisses applications where insurance and a BOC-3 have not been filed — the deadlines are in our guide on getting operating authority.
The two we can file for you
Same service, same price, whether you are based in Ontario or Ohio.
Process agent designation in all 50 states and DC, $49.90 USD, filed with the FMCSA the same day.
What Canadian carriers need to know →Annual registration priced by fleet size, filed with a participating US base state on your behalf.
How base state selection works →What we do not handle
We file US federal paperwork. We do not handle the Canadian side of your operation, and we would rather say so than take an order we cannot fulfil.
Not us: provincial operating credentials such as an Ontario CVOR or an NSC safety fitness certificate, CBSA carrier codes, ACI or eManifest submissions, customs brokerage, and IRP or IFTA apportioned licensing. A Canadian compliance consultant or customs broker is the right call for those.
We are also a private filing service, not a government agency and not affiliated with the FMCSA. You can file a BOC-3 through any FMCSA-registered process agent directly, and you can verify anything we file for you against the FMCSA's own records.
Questions from Canadian carriers
Does a Canadian carrier need a BOC-3?
Yes, if you are applying for FMCSA operating authority. The requirement is the same as it is for a US carrier: a process agent designated in every state you operate in or through, filed by that agent rather than by you. The FMCSA will not grant authority without one.
Do Canadian carriers have to register for UCR?
Yes, if you operate into the United States in interstate commerce. Because no Canadian province participates in the UCR Agreement, you select a participating US state as your base state. You register and pay once, and it covers you in every state you run in.
Do I need a US DOT number if I already have a CVOR or NSC number?
Yes. Provincial credentials such as an Ontario CVOR or an NSC number are separate from the US federal system and do not substitute for a USDOT number. You will hold both: the provincial one for Canada, the federal US one for operating into the States.
Is the price in Canadian or US dollars?
US dollars. Every fee on this site, and every fee the FMCSA and the UCR Plan charge, is in USD. Our BOC-3 filing is $49.90 USD.
Do I still get an MC number as a Canadian carrier?
No — and neither does anyone else. The FMCSA stopped issuing MC, FF and MX docket numbers to new applicants on 1 October 2025. Your USDOT number is the identifier now. Mexican carriers previously received MX numbers under the same system, which has also stopped.
Start with the BOC-3
It is the filing that most often holds up a cross-border authority application, and it takes about two minutes. Enter your USDOT number and we prefill the rest from the public FMCSA registry.