Virginia motor carrier statistics
Virginia ranks #28 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 25,348 active carriers — 1.1% of the U.S. total. 14,271 of them (56.3%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among Virginia's 14,271 authority holders, 7,342 (51.4%) report a single power unit and 747 (5.2%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 3,864 (27.1%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — a higher share than the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Virginia | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 25,348 | 1.1% of U.S. | rank #28 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 14,271 | 56.3% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 2,645 | 10.4% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Virginia's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 14,664 | 57.9% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 472 | 1.9% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 10,207 | 40.3% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 5 | 0.02% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Virginia.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 7,342 | 51.4% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 3,848 | 27.0% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 618 | 4.3% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 129 | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 2,334 | 16.4% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Virginia's 14,271 active authority holders. Power-unit counts are self-reported on the MCS-150 and are not validated by FMCSA; a small number of records carry implausible values, so treat the top bucket as an upper bound.
MCS-150 filing currency
| Last recorded MCS-150 update | Carriers | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 9,399 | 65.9% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 3,864 | 27.1% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 1,008 | 7.1% | 8.1% |
FMCSA requires a biennial MCS-150 update. The cutoff above is the first day of the month 24 months before this page was rendered. A stale census date is a strong signal but not proof of a missed filing — check a specific USDOT number with the MCS-150 update checker.
Related
States with similar registration counts: Iowa (26,806) · Missouri (26,705) · Tennessee (25,837) · South Carolina (25,056) · Utah (23,932) · Connecticut (21,557)
All 50 states and DC · Look up a carrier by USDOT or MC number · Check a carrier’s MCS-150 filing status
Source: FMCSA Company Census File (az4n-8mr2) on data.transportation.gov, refreshed daily. Figures computed by CarrierStat from the census snapshot dated 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC and aggregated by CarrierStat; FMCSA publishes no state-level rollup. Counts cover records with census status A (active) and a physical address in the 50 states or the District of Columbia; Canadian and Mexican registrants are excluded. Unofficial — verify any individual carrier at FMCSA SAFER.