BOC-3 process agent, filed the same day, no government fee
FMCSA will not grant operating authority until a BOC-3 is on file. We file a blanket designation covering all 50 states and DC for $49, one time. There is no federal fee, and there is no annual renewal.
Required for authority
Motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders must designate a process agent in every state they operate in before FMCSA grants authority. 49 CFR 366.
One blanket filing
A blanket designation names one company with an agent in every state. It is filed electronically by the process agent, not by the carrier. 49 CFR 366.4.
No fee, no renewal
FMCSA charges nothing for the BOC-3. It stays in force until you change agents, change your legal name, reinstate authority or add an authority type.
Why a trucking company in Texas needs an agent in Maine
If your truck is involved in a crash in a state where you have no office, the other party has to be able to serve you with legal papers there. Federal law solves that by requiring every carrier, broker and freight forwarder with operating authority to name a process agent in each state where it operates. The agent receives the papers and forwards them to you. That is all a process agent does.
Naming 51 individual agents is impractical, so 49 CFR 366.4 allows a blanket designation: one company that maintains an agent in every state files one form on your behalf. Almost every carrier uses a blanket designation, and FMCSA only accepts them electronically from the process agent company itself. You cannot file your own BOC-3 through Motus.
The BOC-3 is one of the three things FMCSA checks before granting authority. The other two are the application itself (with the $300 federal fee per authority type) and the insurance filing from your insurer. Of the three, the BOC-3 is the fastest and the cheapest, and it is the one that most often gets forgotten because it has no deadline of its own. It simply blocks the grant until it is there.
Who does not need one
A private carrier hauling its own freight, or a for-hire carrier moving only exempt commodities, operates under a USDOT number without authority and has no BOC-3 requirement. If you later apply for authority, the requirement starts then.
When it has to be refiled
- You switch to a different process agent company.
- Your legal name changes, or you form a new entity with a new USDOT number.
- Your process agent cancels the designation or goes out of business.
- Your authority is revoked and you apply for reinstatement.
- You add an authority type (broker, freight forwarder, passenger) that the current designation does not cover.
In every other case the filing stays valid. There is no annual BOC-3 renewal, whatever a renewal notice in your mailbox says.
One fee, no federal charge
New carrier start-up package
- USDOT number and operating authority filed in Motus
- BOC-3 process agent
- UCR registration
- Clearinghouse registration and C/TPA designation
- Consortium enrollment, first year
- Drug and alcohol policy
- Your 12-month new-entrant compliance calendar
Registration filings
| Service | Our fee | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| BOC-3 process agent filing | $49 | one-time |
| Operating authority filing (for-hire) | $199 | one-time |
| USDOT number filing (Motus) | $99 | one-time |
| UCR registration filing | $49 | per year |
The BOC-3 is included in the new carrier start-up package. Bought on its own, it is a one-time $49 with nothing recurring.
How the filing works
- Send us your USDOT number and legal name
Exactly as they appear in Motus. If you are applying for authority through us, we already have them.
- We file the blanket designation
Electronically with FMCSA, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. No government fee. Same business day.
- Confirmation in your file
You get a copy of the filed form for your compliance binder. We keep it on record and refile if you change your name, reinstate authority or add an authority type.
The order of filings for a new for-hire carrier
| Filing | Who files it | Government fee | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDOT number (Motus) | You, or Profirm as authorized filer | $0 | Day 0, issued on submission |
| Operating authority application | You, or Profirm as authorized filer | $300 per type | Day 0, 10-day protest period |
| Liability insurance (BMC-91 or BMC-91X) | Your insurer | $0 | Within 90 days or the application is dismissed |
| BOC-3 process agent | Profirm, as process agent filer | $0 | Day 0, same business day |
| UCR registration | Profirm | By bracket | Before the first interstate trip |
Authority is typically granted about 21 days after the application, the insurance and the BOC-3 are all on record. See the USDOT and authority page for the full process and the UCR page for the bracket fees.
File it now, or ask us to check yours
Send your USDOT number. We confirm whether a BOC-3 is on record and whether it still covers your current name and authority types.
Online requests open soon. Call or email us and we answer the same business day.
Frequently asked questions
What is a BOC-3?
Form BOC-3, "Designation of Agents for Service of Process", is the filing that names a process agent in each state where a carrier, broker or freight forwarder operates. A process agent is a person or company that can be served with legal papers on your behalf in that state. The requirement is in 49 CFR Part 366.
Who needs to file a BOC-3?
Every motor carrier applying for or holding operating authority, every broker and every freight forwarder. A private carrier or an exempt for-hire carrier that has only a USDOT number and no authority does not need one. If you are applying for authority, FMCSA will not grant it until the BOC-3 is on file.
What is a blanket designation?
Instead of naming a separate agent in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, you designate one process agent company that maintains an agent in every state. That single filing covers all jurisdictions. Under 49 CFR 366.4, only the process agent company itself can file a blanket designation, and it must be filed electronically. That is why a carrier cannot file a BOC-3 on its own.
Is there a government fee?
No. FMCSA charges nothing to receive or record a BOC-3. Our fee for the blanket designation is $49, one time, and it stays on file until something changes. Any site that lists a "federal BOC-3 fee" is adding a charge that does not exist.
When does a BOC-3 have to be refiled?
When you change process agents; when your legal name or your USDOT number changes (a new entity is a new registrant); when your designation is cancelled because the agent stopped serving; and when you reinstate authority after it was revoked, since a revoked docket loses its filings. Adding a second authority type (for example broker authority) also requires the designation to cover it. Otherwise it does not expire and there is no annual renewal.
How fast is it filed?
The same business day, electronically, once we have your USDOT number and legal name. It appears in FMCSA's system within one to two business days. For a new authority application, we file the BOC-3 the day the application goes in so that it is never the item holding up the grant.
I am a Canadian carrier with US authority. Do I need a BOC-3?
Yes. The requirement applies to every carrier holding FMCSA operating authority regardless of where it is based. A Quebec or Ontario carrier with for-hire authority needs a process agent in every state it operates in or crosses, which in practice means a blanket designation. We file it alongside the authority application.
Do not let a 49 dollar form hold up your authority.
We file the BOC-3 the same day as your authority application so the only thing you wait on is FMCSA. No government fee, no renewal, no surprises.