What if my BOC-3 is rejected by FMCSA?
If FMCSA rejects your filing because of an error on our side, it is refiled free, and if it still can't be fixed, we refund your package price ($75 Standard, $125 Authority Package) under our refile-or-refund guarantee. Rejections usually come from a USDOT/MC mismatch, a legal name that doesn't match FMCSA's record, or a filer without current process-agent registration; errors in information you supplied aren't covered by the guarantee.
One rejection reason is a process-agent provider whose FMCSA process-agent registration has lapsed. That registration is the upstream step the provider completes with FMCSA establishing that they are a registered process agent. It has to be current at the moment the BOC-3 is submitted; if it has expired or been revoked, every BOC-3 filed under that registration is rejected. Carriers caught in this situation switch to a different provider whose FMCSA process-agent registration is current.
Another is a USDOT/MC mismatch. The Form BOC-3 has fields for USDOT number and MC docket number; if the two don't match what FMCSA’s Motus system has on file (because the MC was issued under a different USDOT, or because the carrier transposed digits at submission), the system rejects. The fix is to verify the USDOT-MC pairing on SAFER or the Motus record and refile with corrected data.
A third is a name mismatch - the legal name on Form BOC-3 has to match the legal name on file with FMCSA exactly. A carrier doing business as a DBA may need to update its USDOT registration via Form MCS-150 first, then refile the BOC-3 with the corrected legal name. The order matters: BOC-3 cannot pre-stage a name change that hasn't been processed by FMCSA yet.
Once the underlying issue is corrected, the refiled BOC-3 is electronic and typically shows in FMCSA’s Motus public search within about one business day. The original rejection does not penalize the carrier - there is no fee for rejected filings, and there is no FMCSA-side adverse action beyond the operating-authority impact of running without a current BOC-3 (which only matters during the 20-day filing window for new authority or after a revocation event).