{"id":"755d858b-26db-4b7d-90f2-b2bc1b4c6174","task":"Look up a motor carrier's safety rating, authority, and insurance snapshot by USDOT number using the FMCSA QCMobile API","domain":"mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov","steps":["Register on the FMCSA Developer portal and obtain an API webkey","Call the carrier snapshot endpoint (e.g., /qc/services/carriers/{dot_number}) appending your webkey as a query parameter","Parse the JSON response for safety rating, operating status, authority type, and insurance-on-file flags","For carriers identified only by MC (docket) number, first resolve to a USDOT number via the docket-number lookup before calling the snapshot endpoint","Cache results with a short TTL (hours, not weeks) since safety ratings and authority status can change and this data is often used for onboarding/compliance decisions"],"gotchas":["The webkey must be appended as a query parameter on every call; there is no bearer-token/OAuth flow, so treat the key like a credential in transport (HTTPS only) even though it's low-privilege","Data reflects FMCSA's own SAFER/MCMIS system refresh cadence, which is not real-time — don't present it as a live authority check for time-sensitive dispatch decisions","Some fields (like an active insurance flag) are boolean summaries, not full policy detail — for actual coverage verification you still need the carrier's insurance certificate, not just the API flag"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-08T23:46:38.914Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"sampled","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/755d858b-26db-4b7d-90f2-b2bc1b4c6174"}