BOC-3: designating your process agents

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 6, 2026

A process agent is a representative who can be served court papers in any legal proceeding brought against a motor carrier, broker or freight forwarder. You name your agents on Form BOC-3, Designation of Agent for Service of Process. If you're applying for operating authority, your BOC-3 must be on file within 20 days after your application notice appears in the FMCSA Register. [1][3][4]

Who needs a BOC-3

Anyone applying for operating authority: for-hire carriers, brokers and freight forwarders. FMCSA's Process Agents page says that until all Unified Registration System (URS) provisions are implemented, only for-hire carriers must designate a process agent. Once they are, every motor carrier will have to. [1][3]

Which states you need agents in

A motor carrier must designate a process agent for each state it's authorized to operate in and each state it passes through. FMCSA says operating authority is nationwide, so a carrier operating in the lower 48 needs an agent in each of the 48 contiguous states. Carriers that operate only in Alaska or only in Hawaii need an agent only in that state.

A broker needs an agent in each state where it has an office or writes contracts. [2][5][6]

The form itself

Only one current BOC-3 may be on file, and it has to cover every state where you need an agent. Keep a copy at your principal place of business.

Each agent must live in or keep an office in the state it's named for, and a P.O. box isn't an acceptable agent address. You may name yourself as the agent for the state where you live, but you'd still need agents in every other required state. [4][7][8]

Blanket companies

A blanket company is an association or corporation that has filed a list of process agents for each state with FMCSA. Naming a blanket company covers all required states with one designation. FMCSA's Process Agents page listed 75 blanket companies when we checked.

These are commercial companies that, for a fee, will arrange a process agent in any state. [2][3][9]

Who can file it? FMCSA's pages disagree

FMCSA's BOC-3 form page, updated July 2026, says only a process agent can file the BOC-3 on behalf of a motor carrier, while a broker or freight forwarder without trucks may file its own.

An older FMCSA FAQ, from May 2023, says either the applicant or the process agent can file.

The newer page is the more recent statement, so if you're a motor carrier, expect your process agent or blanket company to file it for you. [8][10]

The 20-day deadline

Authority applicants must file the BOC-3 within 20 days from the date their application notice is published in the FMCSA Register, the same window as the insurance filing. If the filings aren't made in time, FMCSA serves a decision saying the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days. [1][11][12]

Keeping it valid

You must keep a valid process agent designation on file at all times for your authority to stay active. You can cancel a designation only by filing a new BOC-3. If FMCSA finds your designation isn't valid, you get 30 days from the date its order is served to file a new BOC-3 or show why the one on file is valid, or your authority can be suspended. [2]

BOC-3 and Motus

Motus didn't change the BOC-3 filing process. FMCSA said blanket companies would submit and cancel BOC-3 filings in Motus once it launched for all customers. [13][14]

Common questions