Between July 1 and September 30, 2026, 1,156 car-hauling trucking companies lost their federal operating authority without asking to. That is roughly one in every 96 interstate carriers registered to haul vehicles, or about 13 every day. In 94% of cases the reason was the same: their insurance was cancelled and nothing replaced it.
A company in that position cannot legally haul your car across state lines. Many of them still have a website, a phone number and reviews from last year. This report uses FMCSA’s own records to show how often it happens, where, and how to make sure the company picking up your car is not one of them.
Key findings
- 1,156 interstate car haulers had their operating authority suspended or revoked by FMCSA in the third quarter of 2026: 10.4 per 1,000 active carriers.
- 94% of those suspensions were for insurance: the insurer cancelled the policy and the carrier had no other qualifying coverage on file.
- August was the worst month, with 576 car haulers losing authority, more than the 481 that were granted new authority that month.
- Of the carriers suspended for insurance in June to August, 46% were still without authority on October 8. A suspension is often not a short paperwork gap.
- New Jersey (15.9 per 1,000), Arizona (15.7) and North Carolina (13.8) had the highest rates among states with at least 1,500 car haulers. Minnesota (3.9) and Wisconsin (5.5) had the lowest.
- Separately, FMCSA issued 3,682 out-of-service orders to car-hauling carriers in the 12 months to September 2026. 85% were new companies that refused or never answered the mandatory safety audit.
Month by month: almost as many carriers lost authority as gained it
Every month new car haulers get operating authority and others lose it. In the third quarter, the two numbers were close: 1,213 involuntary losses against 1,142 new grants. Only September, with a sharp drop in suspensions, ended with more new carriers than lost ones.
| Month (2026) | Lost authority (involuntary) | Of which: insurance | Voluntary suspension | New authority granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | 436 | 412 | 53 | 235 |
| August | 576 | 540 | 139 | 481 |
| September | 201 | 189 | 186 | 426 |
| October 1–8 | 237 | 220 | 56 | 96 |
Two notes on reading this table. Monthly totals swing a lot because FMCSA processes suspensions in batches, so a quiet September does not mean the problem went away: the first eight days of October already exceeded September’s total. And voluntary suspensions, where the company itself asks FMCSA to pause its authority, are listed separately. Those are usually companies parking a truck or winding down, not companies in trouble, but they cannot haul your car either.
Why they lose it: insurance, almost every time
Every interstate carrier must keep proof of liability insurance on file with FMCSA, at least $750,000 for a typical car hauler. When an insurer cancels a policy, it files the cancellation with FMCSA. If no replacement policy is filed before the cancellation takes effect, FMCSA suspends the carrier’s authority. The record says it in plain words: “insurance cancellation effective; no active insurance meeting minimum coverage on file.”
Policies get cancelled for ordinary reasons: unpaid premiums, a switch to a new insurer that was filed late, or an insurer that will no longer cover the carrier after claims. From the outside you cannot tell which. What matters for you is the result: on the day of the suspension, the carrier no longer has the coverage that would pay if your car were damaged.
The second reason, a missing BOC-3, is about paperwork rather than money. Every carrier must name a process agent in each state, someone who can accept legal papers on its behalf. Without one, FMCSA suspends the authority too.
Half of them don’t come back
If a suspension were only a short paperwork gap, almost every carrier would be reinstated within days. That is not what the data shows.
More than half got their authority back, usually by filing new insurance. But 423 of the 923 were still out of business as interstate carriers five weeks to four months later. For a customer, that is the scenario to avoid: you pay a deposit in July, the carrier is suspended in August, and the pickup date comes and goes.
State by state
Car haulers in some states lose authority much more often than in others. The chart compares states by the share of their interstate car haulers that lost authority in the quarter, which makes big and small states comparable. Only states with at least 1,500 such carriers are shown, so a handful of cases cannot distort the rate.
| State | Lost authority (Q3 2026) | Active car haulers | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 44 | 2,760 | 15.9 |
| Arizona | 35 | 2,234 | 15.7 |
| North Carolina | 58 | 4,197 | 13.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 74 | 5,435 | 13.6 |
| Colorado | 26 | 1,939 | 13.4 |
| Texas | 144 | 11,095 | 13.0 |
| California | 76 | 6,020 | 12.6 |
| Indiana | 31 | 2,535 | 12.2 |
| Florida | 112 | 9,466 | 11.8 |
| Massachusetts | 23 | 1,976 | 11.6 |
| United States | 1,156 | 111,286 | 10.4 |
Texas and Florida have the most cases in absolute terms (144 and 112), simply because they have the most car haulers. New Jersey and Arizona stand out because their rate is about one and a half times the national average. A high rate does not make a state’s carriers worse as a group. It does mean that if you book with a carrier there, checking its status close to pickup is especially worth the two minutes.
Another risk: new carriers that disappear before their safety audit
Operating authority is one federal check. The USDOT number is another. Every new carrier enters an 18-month new entrant period and must pass a safety audit, normally within its first 12 months. A carrier that refuses the audit, or simply cannot be reached, gets an out-of-service order on its USDOT number.
| Reason for the order (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) | Orders | Share |
|---|---|---|
| New entrant revoked: refused audit or no contact | 3,136 | 85% |
| New entrant revoked: failed safety audit | 260 | 7% |
| Denied FMCSA investigators access to records | 180 | 5% |
| Did not pay an FMCSA fine within 90 days | 75 | 2% |
| Other (intrastate, unfit rating, imminent hazard) | 31 | 1% |
| Total | 3,682 | 100% |
These orders have run between about 200 and 380 a month for the past year, with no sign of slowing. Most of these companies are young. That is one reason to treat a car hauler with only a few months of history more carefully: it has not yet shown that it can pass a federal safety audit.
Brokers are not immune either
Most car shipping bookings go through brokers, who arrange the move and hire a carrier to haul it. A broker must keep a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund on file with FMCSA, and loses its authority when that security is cancelled. In the third quarter, FMCSA suspended 184 property brokers for that reason: 116 in July, 47 in August and 21 in September. FMCSA does not record what kind of freight a broker arranges, so this count covers all property brokers, not only those that ship cars. Our guide to brokers and carriers explains why the broker’s bond does not pay for damage to your car anyway.
What this means if you are shipping a car
None of this means car shipping is unsafe. Every quarter, about 99 out of 100 car haulers keep their authority. But the one that doesn’t can still answer the phone and take a deposit. Here is how to protect yourself:
- Get the carrier’s USDOT or MC number in writing. If you book through a broker, ask which carrier will actually pick up your car, and get that carrier’s number too.
- Check it before you pay anything. Our free car shipping company lookup shows the current operating authority, insurance on file, broker bond and any out-of-service order, based on FMCSA records refreshed every night.
- Check again 24 to 48 hours before pickup. This report shows why: a carrier that was active when you booked can be suspended by the time the truck arrives.
- Ask for a certificate of insurance that lists cargo coverage. The federal filing covers liability. Damage to the car you are shipping is covered by cargo insurance, which most carriers buy but the federal rules do not require.
- Walk away if authority shows as inactive, suspended or revoked, or if the company has an out-of-service order. Do not accept “it’s just paperwork, it will be fixed tomorrow.”
For a step-by-step walkthrough of FMCSA’s new registration system, see how to check a car shipping company in FMCSA Motus, and for the full set of checks we run on every listed company, see how we verify companies.
Methodology
This report is based on public FMCSA data, which we copy every night from data.transportation.gov:
- Operating authority history from FMCSA’s Motus registration system: every status change of every MC number, with date and reason. Motus records complete status history from mid-2026, so the report covers full months from July 2026.
- Company Census: we count a company as a car hauler if its USDOT registration lists “Motor Vehicles” or “Drive/Tow away” as cargo it carries. The base for rates is the 111,286 active carriers with that cargo class and an MC number for interstate for-hire work.
- Involuntary loss means a change to inactive status for motor carrier of property authority caused by an involuntary suspension (insurance, BOC-3 or both), a revocation, or an out-of-service order. Voluntary suspensions and administrative corrections are counted separately or excluded. Each MC number is counted once per month and once in the quarterly total.
- Out-of-service orders come from FMCSA’s out-of-service orders dataset, matched to car haulers by USDOT number.
- Status after suspension is the latest Motus status on October 8, 2026.
Some general freight carriers also list motor vehicles as a cargo they carry, so our car hauler group is broader than companies that only move cars. We publish this report every month. The next update, with October figures, is due in early November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many car shipping companies lose their license?
In the third quarter of 2026, 1,156 interstate car-hauling carriers lost their FMCSA operating authority involuntarily, about 10 out of every 1,000. Most (94%) were suspended because their insurance was cancelled.
Can a suspended carrier still ship my car?
Not legally across state lines. A carrier with suspended or revoked operating authority may not haul vehicles in interstate commerce until FMCSA reinstates it, and while suspended it has no liability insurance on file for your shipment.
How do I check whether a car shipping company is still licensed?
Search its USDOT or MC number in our car shipping company lookup or in FMCSA’s Motus system. Look for active operating authority, insurance on file and no out-of-service order. Check again a day or two before pickup.
Do suspended carriers get their authority back?
Some do. Of the car haulers suspended for insurance in June to August 2026, 54% had authority again by October 8, usually after filing new insurance. The other 46% did not.