Licensing, Insurance & Compliance

A USDOT number is the company's federal identity. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) assigns it once, and it stays with that company permanently. All operating safety data files are under it: trucks in the fleet, drivers employed, home base, roadside inspections, and recordable crashes. DTS gives you 1873115 before you book so you can read that history first.

An MC number is permission to haul specific freight. FMCSA calls it operating authority, the registration that "dictates the type of operation a company may run and the cargo it may carry," required of for-hire companies moving passengers or federally regulated commodities across state lines.* It describes what a company is cleared to carry, not how safely it drives.

FMCSA stopped issuing new MC numbers on October 1, 2025, and now tracks operating authority under the USDOT number. Older invoices still list MC numbers, so the number to ask any transport company for is its USDOT number. For DTS, that is 1873115.

You can run the check yourself in about two minutes through the FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot, searching either USDOT 1873115 or the legal name Dealer Transport Services LLC. The snapshot returns:

• Registration status and entity type
• Power units and drivers on file
• Physical location, listed in Odessa, Florida
• Date of the most recent MCS-150 filing
• Roadside inspection results and recordable crashes from the past 24 months

Compare what you see there with what your account manager told you. Records that match are the fastest confidence check in vehicle shipping.

DTS has been building that record since 2009 as a second-generation operation based in Odessa, in Pasco County northwest of Tampa. More than 700,000 vehicles later, the team moves inventory for franchise dealerships, auto auctions, and fleet managers, along with snowbirds heading south on I-75, students, and military families on new orders. The Better Business Bureau of West Florida lists DTS as an A+ accredited business, a second public record you can pull alongside the FMCSA file.

DTS is a carrier that runs its own trucks and drivers, and it coordinates a vetted partner network for lanes outside that footprint. Either way, one team owns your move.

That structure matters to you. When a DTS truck hauls the vehicle, accountability sits in house with the drivers the company trains. When a partner carrier runs the lane, DTS verifies that carrier's USDOT registration and active insurance first, then keeps dispatch oversight and direct communication through delivery rather than releasing your VIN onto an anonymous load board.

Verification runs in four layers, and a human completes the final one. Screening tools flag credential inconsistencies and irregular authority records before dispatch is ever confirmed.

From there, DTS confirms driver identification, reviews CDL compliance, and cross-checks carrier authority. Insurance is validated for active coverage, limits, and expiration. At pickup, the assigned driver's ID, VIN, truck USDOT number, license plate, and equipment are documented, and DTS shares those truck and driver details with your pickup contact so you know exactly who should be loading. Anything that does not align pauses the load.

Yes. Dealerships, fleets, auctions, and lending institutions can request insurance documentation before a shipment moves.

DTS carries company coverage, and carriers in the network maintain active cargo and liability insurance. For repeat dealer and auction volume, a dedicated account manager keeps current certificates on file so procurement and compliance reviews never hold up your inventory.

Credentials get a company onto your approved vendor list. How it operates day to day is what keeps it there. Six things define the DTS experience from the first quote to the final signature.

• Fully insured and licensed. DTS is licensed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and carries full cargo and liability coverage, operating to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards on every lane.
• Over-communication during transport. Regular updates come to you throughout the move, so you always know where your vehicle is and what happens next.
• Experienced and responsive management. A dedicated management team with years in vehicle logistics answers your questions directly and promptly.
• Fair and competitive pricing. Transparent quotes with no hidden fees, held for two weeks. What DTS estimates is what DTS stands behind.
• Commitment to safety and satisfaction. Every precaution, from securement to final inspection, protects the vehicle and your confidence in the move.
• A hands-off experience. From order placement through delivery, DTS manages the details so you can stay focused on what matters most to you.

That combination is why dealership groups, auctions, and fleet managers around Tampa Bay and the I-4 corridor keep routing repeat volume through DTS instead of shopping every load.