BOC-3 process agent requirement.

What a BOC-3 is for

If a carrier is sued in a state where it has no office, the plaintiff still needs someone to hand the court papers to. The BOC-3, titled Designation of Agent for Service of Process in 49 CFR 366.2T, solves that by naming a person in each relevant state who accepts service on the carrier’s behalf. FMCSA does not treat it as optional paperwork. Its insurance filing page says that once operating authority is granted, an entity must keep proof of insurance and its designation of agents for process on file with FMCSA “to avoid revocation proceedings,” and its reinstatement row in the Registration Forms Guide lists a BOC-3 among the documents to submit.

What the rule says

Part 366 has regular sections and temporary “T” sections. The eCFR marks the regular text suspended effective 14 January 2017 and shows the T sections in force, so this page works from those. Section 366.2T says designations are made on Form BOC-3, that one copy must be retained by the carrier or broker at its principal place of business, that only one completed current form may be on file, and that the form must include all states for which agent designations are required.

Section 366.4T sets the scope. A motor carrier makes a designation for “each State in which it is authorized to operate” and for “each State traversed during such operations.” A carrier running between points in a foreign country across the United States files for each state traversed. A broker makes a designation for each state in which its offices are located or in which contracts will be written. The T text read for this page does not address freight forwarders, so the tool does not count them; check Part 366 and FMCSA. The earlier version of 366.4, shown in the eCFR as suspended, spelled out all 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia for a carrier not limited to fewer states. The T text does not use that sentence, which is why this tool counts the states you list rather than assuming a number.

How the counter works

For a motor carrier, you list the states where you are authorized to operate and the states you pass through. The tool merges the two lists, removes duplicates and counts the result. For a broker, you list the states where you have offices or write contracts, and the second list is ignored. Codes that are not one of the 50 states or DC are flagged instead of counted, so a typo does not silently change the total. The count is the number of states a designation has to cover; it is not a price.

Worked example (hypothetical carrier)

A carrier is authorized to run Ohio, Indiana and Illinois lanes and passes through Pennsylvania and New Jersey on some routes. It lists OH, IN, IL as authorized and PA, NJ as passed through. The tool reports five states: IL, IN, NJ, OH, PA. A broker with offices in Texas that writes contracts in Texas and Oklahoma lists TX and OK and gets two. A carrier whose authority covers the whole country has to list every state it is authorized for, and that is where a blanket agent’s list, which covers every state in one filing, comes in. These examples are invented for illustration.

Who files and who sends it

FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance page says insurance companies, financial institutions and BOC-3 blanket agents use Login.gov for financial responsibility filings and BOC-3 submissions. A blanket agent is a company that offers agents in every state through one list. The rule text read for this page describes the form and its scope; it does not say a carrier cannot name its own agents, and this page does not claim that. What it does say is that a designation must be on file and current. The rule text also has change-reporting requirements, so read 49 CFR Part 366 for the current ones before assuming a BOC-3 is file-once.

Common mistakes

• Listing only the state where the company is based. The rule covers each state of authority and each state traversed.
• Forgetting traversed states on a new lane.
• Filing more than one current form. Section 366.2T allows only one on file.
• Treating the filing as a price shopping exercise only. The cost is set by the agent you choose; this page has no price data.

Who this is for

New carriers and brokers working through the authority checklist, owner-operators comparing quotes from process agents, and compliance staff checking that every lane is covered.

What this page does not cover

• It does not file a BOC-3 or recommend an agent. Prices and service levels vary by provider.
• It does not cover freight forwarders, whose designation scope is not stated in the text read here.
• It does not cover the qualifications of agents. The regular 366.3 text on who may be an agent is shown as suspended in the eCFR, so confirm the current rule.
• It stores and sends nothing you type.