Your authority is stuck in Motus. Diagnose the problem free — then fix it yourself.
The independent Motus problem desk · Not affiliated with FMCSA
In mid-May 2026, FMCSA replaced its registration systems with Motus — and carriers have been locked out, misfiled, and wrongly marked inactive ever since. In late September 2026, 21,400 applications sat stuck with no filings on record. The services want $45–$1,199 to fix one filing at a time. Start here instead: pick your problem, get the diagnosis, the fix owner, the first move, and the realistic wait — free.
SUSPENDED STUCK PAUSED ACTIVE — the four states your record can be in. Which one is yours?
Two questions. No account, no email, and — read this twice — this tool never asks for your Login.gov password, your USDOT PIN, or any credential. It asks what your problem is. That's all a diagnosis needs.
▮ Diagnostic console — pick your case
OUR PROMISE — We will never ask for your login. Not here, not by email, not ever. FMCSA warned on September 15, 2026 that fake Motus portals exist to steal exactly that. How to spot them →
The case files
Every problem page carries the same readout the diagnostic gives you — what it means, whose side the fix is on, the first move, what to attach, the realistic wait — plus the full step-by-step.
The claim or link button in Motus is greyed out or your USDOT number won't attach to your account. What it means, whose side the fix is on, and the exact steps.
STUCKYou signed up in Motus as a Transportation Service Provider instead of a motor carrier and now nothing works. Why you can't fix it yourself, and the ticket that fixes it.
STUCKMotus uses Idemia to verify your identity and the check keeps rejecting you. The legitimate retry paths FMCSA documents — and the official escalation when they don't work.
STUCKMotus runs on Login.gov. If you're locked out of Login.gov, you're locked out of your carrier record. How lockouts clear, and what to do when the account email isn't yours.
STUCKMotus won't claim your USDOT number because the email on the FMCSA record isn't your Login.gov email. Whose fix it is, the proof FMCSA wants, and how to file it once.
SUSPENDEDYour policy is active and paid, but Motus shows no insurance and brokers are turning you away. Where filings actually post, the three mismatch causes, and the fix order.
SUSPENDEDYour operating authority shows suspended or revoked in the records brokers check, even though you're insured and legal. The causes in order, and the fastest recovery sequence.
SUSPENDEDYour BOC-3 process agent filing vanished in the Motus migration — and with it, your authority. Why carriers can't re-file it themselves, and the one call that fixes it.
STUCKMotus shows another company's name, a wrong address, or garbled data on your record. Why a wrong name quietly breaks your insurance too, and the correction path.
STUCKYou applied for authority, the filings aren't showing, and the grant isn't coming. How the 20-day filing clock really works, where applications actually stall, and your moves.
PAUSEDFMCSA suspended biennial-update enforcement on September 10, 2026 — so do you still file your MCS-150? What the suspension covers, what it doesn't, and why filing is free insurance.
ALERTFake Motus portals and 'off-cycle update' emails are targeting carriers — FMCSA named four fraudulent sites on September 15, 2026. The checks that tell real from fake in 30 seconds.
Currency is the moat
Trade press (Overdrive, Oct 15, 2026): owner-operators still hitting lockouts and expired-application errors; waits of 6–8 weeks for supervisor review in the worst cases. FMCSA's responses to some carrier filings described as unhelpful. Direction is improvement; the queue is still real.
Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison told the NMFTA Cybersecurity Conference (reported October 2026) that user-experience improvements should arrive within weeks, with back-end stabilization taking longer — and said plainly that the system as built “wasn't working.” No feature list or date has been published. We track outcomes, not promises.
Analysis of FMCSA data (Oct 17, 2026): 21,400 authority applications had no required filings on record in late September 2026 — 19,701 of them motor carriers stopped at the insurance filing. The unfiled pool grew 28.5% since August 23, and 3,648 applications were past the 20-day + 60-day dismissal window.
Full status tracker → — updated as FMCSA moves. Last updated October 18, 2026.
The free pages diagnose. The Playbook executes: expanded walkthroughs for all 12 problems, copy-paste FMCSA ticket templates with the exact fields reviewers ask for, the ownership-proof pack checklist, phone-queue escalation scripts, the 20-day clock tracker for new carriers — and the broker-explanation letter that keeps freight moving while your record is wrong. Services charge more than this to fix one filing.
Get the Fix-It Playbook — $49 See everything in the Playbook →
Included in the $49 Fix-It Playbook — one-time payment, every problem, every template. Not a filing service: you stay in control of your own record.
New carriers
The application sequence, the 20-day filing clock, and the name-match rule that stalls more new carriers than everything else combined — the durable guide, free.
Still working on the CDL itself? Our sister site CDLPassReady covers the test side.
Scam check
FMCSA named four fake Motus portals on September 15, 2026. The phishing subject line, the fake domains, and the 30-second check — before you click anything.
No. AuthorityStuck is an independent site operated by CLEARDEAL LLC. We are not affiliated with FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation, and we cannot file, change, or expedite anything inside Motus. We publish diagnoses and fix paths; the filings stay yours.
Never — not in the diagnostic, not in the Playbook, not by email. The diagnostic asks only what your problem is and what kind of registrant you are. Anyone who asks for your Login.gov credentials, claiming to help with Motus, is running the pattern FMCSA warned about on September 15, 2026.
Done-for-you Motus help starts around $45 for a single simple filing and runs to $1,199 for full authority packages (prices read October 2026) — per problem, per filing. The Playbook is $49 once and covers all 12 problems, the ticket templates, the escalation scripts, and the broker letter.