Verify a household-goods mover's USDOT registration by DOT number via the FMCSA QCMobile API

Steps

1. Create or sign in to a Login.gov account from the FMCSA Developer site (mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/QCDevsite/logingovInfo) to get an active developer account.
2. In the FMCSA Developer portal, open 'My WebKeys' and select 'Get a new WebKey'; fill in application name, application type (commercial/non-commercial/academic), estimated user count, a description, and a client secret, then submit to generate the WebKey.
3. Call GET https://mobile.fmcsa.dot.gov/qc/services/carriers/{dotNumber}?webKey=YOUR_WEB_KEY, substituting the mover's USDOT number for {dotNumber}.
4. Parse the JSON response for legal name, DBA name, and registration status to confirm the company is a DOT-registered motor carrier before booking or onboarding it.
5. If authentication fails, the API returns an Authentication Failure JSON body (not an HTTP redirect) — recheck the webKey value rather than assuming the DOT number is invalid.