COMPLIANCE
FMCSA SAFER
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records system — the official federal database of all registered US motor carriers.
FMCSA SAFER (Safety and Fitness Electronic Records) is the public-facing database maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that contains operating authority, safety ratings, inspection history, crash data, and insurance information for all registered US motor carriers. It is accessible at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov.
Every motor carrier operating in interstate commerce in the United States must be registered with the FMCSA and hold a USDOT (US Department of Transportation) number. Carriers providing interstate for-hire freight services also require an MC (Motor Carrier) number. FMCSA SAFER allows shippers and freight brokers to verify that a carrier holds active operating authority, has current insurance on file, and has no "Out of Service" status.
DrayLocator cross-references every carrier listing with FMCSA SAFER data, refreshed daily. This means the fleet size (power units), driver count, carrier type, and safety rating shown on each carrier profile reflects current federal records — not self-reported figures. When vetting a drayage carrier, always confirm their USDOT and MC numbers against FMCSA SAFER before booking, regardless of what they state verbally.
Beyond basic authority verification, FMCSA maintains the Safety Measurement System (SMS), which assigns BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) percentile scores to carriers across seven safety categories: Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials, and Crash Indicator. Lower percentile scores indicate better relative performance. Scores above 65–75% in certain categories generate alerts and trigger FMCSA scrutiny.