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Insurance lapse · BMC-91X · Operating authority

Insurance Lapse and Revoked Authority: How to Get Back On

Reviewed

Direct answer

When your insurer cancels the policy on file, FMCSA cannot let the cancellation take effect until 30 days after it receives the notice (49 CFR 387.313(d)), and it revokes your operating authority in about 33 days if no replacement filing is on record. To reinstate, have a new insurer file the replacement, keep your BOC-3 on record and request reinstatement with FMCSA's fee, listed at $80.

Your insurer files the replacement. See what FMCSA's record shows on your USDOT number today: revocation notices, cancelled BMC-91X filings, and every roadside inspection, each with its date.

Free. Your USDOT number, nothing else. Built from FMCSA's public record of your inspections, violations and out-of-service orders.

What it means for your business

Your authority
No filing on record at the required minimum means revoked authority. A revoked carrier cannot haul for hire (387.7(a)).
Your insurance
A paid premium does not stop revocation. The new insurer's filing has to be on your FMCSA record.
Your brokers
Brokers check the insurance on file before they tender. The week your filing drops, the loads stop.
Your audit
For a new entrant, running uninsured is an automatic audit failure and an early-audit trigger (385.321(b), 385.308(a)(6)).

What FileFlo does about it, today

  • If your operating authority goes inactive or your insurance filing drops, FileFlo opens an open item and closes it when the record is restored.
  • The Radar on your USDOT: one email the day your public record changes, a new inspection with violations, an out-of-service order or a rating change.
  • FileFlo reads your FMCSA record from your USDOT number every day: your inspections, violations and out-of-service orders, each kept with its source and date.
  • The Broker-Ready Share Link: one click makes a sealed link a broker or insurer opens without a login.
  • The audit packet stays ready: every requirement with its citation, and a sealed inspector link with an expiry and a log of every access.

FileFlo is your compliance department, so you never deal with the compliance headaches again. Buy it two ways.

Run it yourself: Audit-Ready Setup: $499. Then, unless you cancel, Core, $199 a month for up to 15 trucks, or Fleet, $399 a month for 16 to 50. What the Setup builds

Done for you: The FileFlo Compliance Department: $1,500 a month for up to 15 trucks, Setup included. The Compliance Department

The timeline, day by day

  1. Day 0. The insurer gives you 35 days' written notice of cancellation (49 CFR 387.7(b)(1)).
  2. The same week. The insurer files the cancellation with FMCSA on Form BMC-35. The policy cannot be cancelled until 30 days after FMCSA has it (49 CFR 387.313(d)).
  3. About 3 days later. FMCSA sends you its first notice.
  4. About 30 days after that. With no replacement filing on record, your operating authority is revoked. FMCSA calls the whole sequence a 33-day process.

Before the date: stop the revocation

  1. Call the insurer and ask why: a missed payment, an audit, or a non-renewal.
  2. Line up the replacement policy before the cancellation date, and have the new insurer file it with FMCSA.
  3. Check your FMCSA record shows the new filing.
  4. Send the new certificate to every broker you haul for.

After revocation: reinstate the authority

  1. Have the new insurer file the replacement policy with FMCSA.
  2. Make sure your BOC-3 process agent filing is still on record.
  3. Request reinstatement from FMCSA and pay the reinstatement fee, which FMCSA lists as $80 (FMCSA FAQ, May 2020). Confirm the current fee on FMCSA's site before you pay.
  4. Do not haul for hire until your record shows the authority active again.

A USDOT number placed out of service for another reason has to clear that order first. See how an out-of-service order is lifted.

Sources

Checked Written by the FileFlo compliance team

Questions

What is a BMC-91X cancellation?

The BMC-91X is the filing your insurer makes with FMCSA to show you carry the required liability coverage. When the policy is cancelled, the insurer files a cancellation notice (Form BMC-35), and the policy cannot be cancelled until 30 days after FMCSA has that notice (49 CFR 387.313(d)).

How long before my authority is revoked?

FMCSA describes revocation for an insurance cancellation as a 33-day process: a first notice to the carrier about 3 days after FMCSA learns of the cancellation, then revocation about 30 days later if no replacement filing is on record (FMCSA Licensing and Insurance Register, March 21, 2023).

How do I reinstate revoked authority?

Have the new insurer file the replacement policy with FMCSA, make sure your BOC-3 process agent filing is on record, and request reinstatement through FMCSA with the reinstatement fee, which FMCSA lists as $80 (FMCSA FAQ, May 2020; confirm the current fee on FMCSA's site before you pay).

Does a lapse fail a new entrant audit?

Yes. Operating without the required insurance (49 CFR 387.7(a)) is one of the 16 automatic failures in 385.321(b), and it is also an expedited-action trigger for a new entrant (385.308(a)(6)).

How much insurance does FMCSA require?

$750,000 for a for-hire carrier of general freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, and more for hazardous materials (49 CFR 387.9).