How to Get FMCSA Passenger Carrier Authority

Getting FMCSA passenger carrier authority follows the same skeleton as property authority — an application under 49 USC §13902, a $300 fee, FMCSA review, then BOC-3 and insurance on file before the MC number activates. The application is the OP-1(P), the passenger flavor of the operating-authority filing. What sets passenger authority apart is the insurance: the public-liability minimums are several times higher than a freight carrier's, and there is a Part 387 citation trap that catches even experienced filers. This guide walks the whole path and gets the regulation numbers right.

What Passenger Carrier Authority Is

A for-hire passenger carrier is anyone who transports passengers for compensation in interstate commerce — motorcoach lines, charter and tour buses, scheduled fixed-route service, airport and hotel shuttles, and many limousine and van operations. FMCSA's own guidance is blunt about the trigger: you are a for-hire passenger carrier regardless of whether you are paid directly or indirectly, whether the passengers themselves pay, or whether you hold non-profit status. If you run a vehicle in interstate commerce carrying passengers for hire, you need operating authority— and FMCSA will not let you carry passengers across state lines until that authority is granted and active.

The authority is evidenced by an MC number, the same identifier a freight carrier carries, issued specifically for passenger carriage. Common-carrier passenger, contract-carrier passenger, charter, and scheduled service all flow through the one OP-1(P) application; you do not file a separate authority for charter versus scheduled service at the federal level.

Step 1: Register Through Motus — the OP-1(P) Caveat

The form is called the OP-1(P), but a first-timer does not download and mail one. FMCSA's OP-1(P) page carries an explicit notice: after December 12, 2015, the OP-series forms can only be used to apply for additional authorities, not for initial registration with FMCSA. A brand-new passenger operator with no prior USDOT number registers through Motus: USDOT Registration Systemat motus.dot.gov — the platform that replaced the Unified Registration System (URS) on May 14, 2026.

Inside Motus, the operator creates a Login.gov-verified user profile, opens a company account, and applies for the USDOT number and passenger operating authority in one session. Motus collects the same information the OP-1(P) form asked for — entity details, operation classification, passenger operations, and fleet — so the industry still calls it “filing the OP-1(P).” The OP-1(P) is the underlying application; Motus is the front door. (An existing carrier adding passenger authority to a property operation is the one case where the OP-1(P) form route still applies, because it is an additional authority rather than initial registration.)

Step 2: Pay the $300 FMCSA Fee

The FMCSA filing fee for passenger authority is $300, set at 49 CFR §360.3T(f)(1) — the same $300 a property carrier pays. There is no passenger surcharge on the application itself, and the fee is non-refundable once the application is submitted. A carrier seeking passenger authority alongside another authority type pays $300 for each. The real cost gap between passenger and freight authority is not the application; it is the insurance, covered next.

Step 3: The Passenger Insurance Minimums (and the §387.33T Trap)

This is where passenger authority diverges sharply from freight. A property carrier files $750,000 to $1,000,000 in public liability. A passenger carrier files far more, and the exact number turns on how many seats the vehicle has. Under the operative 49 CFR §387.33T:

• $5,000,000 — for any vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 or more passengers, including the driver (a full-size motorcoach or transit bus).
• $1,500,000 — for any vehicle with a seating capacity of 15 or fewer passengers, including the driver (a van, minibus, or small shuttle).

Two details decide the bill. First, the count includes the driver's seat— a 15-row passenger van with 15 passenger seats plus the driver is a 16-capacity vehicle and lands in the $5M tier. Second, the requirement is set by the highest-capacity vehicle in the fleet: add one 56-seat coach to a fleet of shuttle vans and the entire operation moves up to the $5,000,000 minimum.

Citation trap: Cite §387.33T, not the plain §387.33. The non-T version of §387.33 was suspendedeffective January 14, 2017 (82 FR 5307); the operative passenger minimums now live in §387.33T, set at 83 FR 22877. Filings, quotes, or guidance that cite “§387.33” as the current authority are pointing at a suspended section — the numbers happen to match, but the citation is wrong.

A handful of narrow operations are carved out of these minimums — vehicles carrying only school children and personnel to and from school, taxicab service with fewer than 7 passengers off a regular route, and a single daily round-trip commuter run carrying fewer than 16 people. For everyone running charter, tour, scheduled, or shuttle service for hire, the §387.33T limits apply in full.

Step 4: BOC-3 + Insurance on File — Then Activation

Passenger authority does not activate the moment the application is accepted. Two filings have to be on record first:

• A BOC-3 process-agent designationunder 49 CFR §366.4T — naming a legal representative in every state where the carrier operates. FastBOC3Filing handles the passenger BOC-3 the same as any other.
• The passenger insurance filing— the insurer files proof of the §387.33T coverage ($1.5M or $5M) directly with FMCSA. The authority stays in PENDING status until that filing posts.

FMCSA also runs an in-depth fitness investigation on passenger applicants — the agency states an applicant is not granted for-hire passenger authority until the entire investigative process is complete. Once review is done and both filings are on record, the MC number flips to ACTIVE in SAFER. Plan on roughly 3 to 6 weeks end to end when nothing stalls; the FMCSA publishes a new-applicant processing estimate of 20 to 25 business days, and a late BOC-3 or insurance filing is the usual cause of delay.

Step 5: The 18-Month New-Entrant Period

A new passenger carrier is a “new entrant” for its first 18 months under 49 CFR Part 385 Subpart D, the same monitoring program freight carriers run. Expect the new-entrant safety auditwithin the first 12 months: the auditor reviews driver-qualification files, hours-of-service records, the drug-and-alcohol testing program, vehicle maintenance and inspection records, the accident register, and proof of insurance. Passenger carriers carry extra baggage here — drivers need the CDL passenger (P) endorsement, and a failed audit gives passenger and hazmat carriers a tighter 45-day corrective-action window (versus 60 days for property carriers) before revocation. Pass the audit and finish the 18 months clean, and the registration becomes permanent.

Passenger vs. Property Authority at a Glance

• Application: OP-1(P) (passenger) vs. OP-1 (property) — both filed through Motus for first-timers.
• FMCSA fee: $300 either way (49 CFR §360.3T(f)(1)).
• Insurance: $1.5M / $5M under §387.33T (passenger) vs. $750K–$1M under §387.9 (property).
• BOC-3: Required for both, under 49 CFR §366.4T.
• New-entrant audit: Same 18-month program, but a 45-day corrective window for passenger carriers.

Bottom line:Passenger carrier authority is the OP-1(P) application under 49 USC §13902, filed through Motus, with the same $300 FMCSA fee as freight. The difference is the insurance — $5,000,000 for vehicles seating 16 or more (including the driver) and $1,500,000 for 15 or fewer, under the operative 49 CFR §387.33T (not the suspended §387.33). Authority activates only after the BOC-3 and insurance filings are on record, and an 18-month new-entrant period follows.

Ready to file? Our passenger MC authority serviceprepares and submits the OP-1(P) for a flat $199 plus the $300 FMCSA fee, coordinates the passenger BOC-3 and the §387.33T insurance filing, and monitors SAFER until the MC number activates. If you are still mapping the basics, start with what FMCSA operating authority is and the full operating-authority application walkthrough.