49 U.S.C. § 31134 — Requirement for registration and USDOT number

(a) In General. When someone applies, the Secretary must register an employer or person subject to this subchapter's safety rules, following the limits in (b) and (c). An employer or person can operate a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce only if the Secretary has registered them and they have received a USDOT number. The Secretary can also register someone who is not in interstate commerce, if they want that. Anyone subject to subchapter I of chapter 135 must apply for registration under section 13902 instead. (b) Withholding Registration. The Secretary will register an applicant only after deciding three things: that the applicant is willing and able to follow this subchapter's rules and chapter 51's rules; that, in the past three years, the applicant has not been connected — through shared ownership, management, control, or family ties — to any other applicant who, during that same period, was unfit, unwilling, or unable to comply; and that the applicant has disclosed to the Secretary any such connection to another applicant, whether or not that other applicant was unfit. (c) Revocation or Suspension of Registration. The Secretary must revoke an existing registration, after notice and a chance for a hearing, or can suspend it after giving notice, if the Secretary decides any of these is true: the employer's or person's authority to operate under chapter 139 is already subject to revocation or suspension under section 13905(d)(1) or 13905(f); the employer or person knowingly failed to meet the requirements in (b)(1); the employer or person failed to disclose a connection to another applicant that the Secretary has found was unfit, unwilling, or unable to comply; or the employer or person refused to submit to the safety review required under section 31144(g). (d) Periodic Registration Update. The Secretary can require an employer to update its registration within 30 days after a change to its address, other contact information, officers, process agent, or other information the Secretary considers essential. (e) State Authority. Nothing in this section limits a state's power to issue its own Department of Transportation number, under state law, to someone operating only within that state.