Law enforcement officers have recently observed several commercial drivers and vehicles with fraudulent licenses and license plates that purport to be issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Only states issue driver licenses or vehicle license plates, so the credentials from FMCSA and DOT are phony, FMCSA said in a notice. Presenting such credentials to law enforcement officers is fraudulent.
The fake licenses sometimes feature a “registrant” number, a classification FMCSA formerly used to identify people and companies that own commercial vehicles but do not carry freight or passengers, FMCSA said.
But FMCSA, a DOT agency, said it did not put “registrant” numbers on driver licenses, and it eliminated the numbers in 2012.
In an example photo of a fake license plate FMCSA attached to the notice, the plate had “US DOT” on the top and “live free or die” written along the bottom.
In addition to the federal law violations, presenting a fraudulent or self-generated license or license plate violates state laws, FMCSA said. Anybody who is aware of such credentials should report the allegations to the FBI.
