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Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-102

§503 Service of Notice and Process on Certain Motor Carriers of Migrant Workers and on Motor Private Carriers

Title 49 › SUBTITLE I — DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › CHAPTER 5 — SPECIAL AUTHORITY › SUBCHAPTER I — POWERS › § 503

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Motor carriers of migrant workers (except motor contract carriers) and motor private carriers must name a person and give a mailing address to get notices and actions from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. They must file that written name and address with the Secretary and with each State agency that regulates their highway work in that State. The carrier can change the agent the same way. Notices can be handed to the carrier or mailed to the named agent; a mailed notice is treated as served on the date it is mailed. If no agent is on file, a notice can be posted at the State agency’s office and with the Secretary. Those carriers must also name and file a person and address in each State where they operate to receive court papers in lawsuits, including when the carrier is in the U.S. while transporting between places in foreign countries. If no State agent is named, court papers may be served on any agent of the carrier in that State.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §503

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each motor carrier of migrant workers (except a motor contract carrier) and each motor private carrier shall designate an agent by name and post office address on whom service of notices in a proceeding before, and actions of, the Secretary of Transportation may be made. The designation shall be in writing and filed with the Secretary. The carrier also shall file the designation with the authority of each State in which it operates having jurisdiction to regulate transportation by motor vehicle in intrastate commerce on the highways of that State. The designation may be changed at any time in the same manner as originally made.
(b)A notice of the Secretary to a carrier under this section is served personally or by mail on that carrier or its designated agent. Service by mail on the designated agent is made at the address filed for the agent. When notice is given by mail, the date of mailing is considered to be the time when the notice is served. If the carrier does not have a designated agent, service may be made by posting a copy of the notice in the office of the secretary or clerk of the authority having jurisdiction to regulate transportation by motor vehicle in intrastate commerce on the highways of the State in which the carrier maintains headquarters and with the Secretary.
(c)Each of those carriers, including such a carrier operating in the United States while providing transportation between places in a foreign country or between a place in one foreign country and a place in another foreign country, shall designate an agent in each State in which it operates by name and post office address on whom process issued by a court with subject matter jurisdiction may be served in an action brought against that carrier. The designation shall be in writing and filed with the Secretary and with the authority of each State in which the carrier operates having jurisdiction to regulate transportation by motor vehicle in intrastate commerce on the highways of that State. If a designation under this subsection is not made, service may be made on any agent of the carrier in that State. The designation may be changed at any time in the same manner as originally made.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 50349:304(a)(3) (last sentence) (related to “Sec. 321”).Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, 24 Stat. 379, § 204(a)(3) (last sentence) (related to “Sec. 221”); added Aug. 9, 1935, ch. 498, 49 Stat. 546. 49:304(a)(3a) (last sentence) (related to “Sec. 321”).Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, 24 Stat. 379, § 204(a)(3a) (last sentence) (related to “Sec. 221”); added Aug. 3, 1956, ch. 905, § 2, 70 Stat. 958. 49:1655(e)(6)(D) (related to “Sec. 321(a), (c)”).Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89–670, § 6(e)(6)(D) (related to “Sec. 221(a), (c)”), 80 Stat. 940. The section is included because 49:1655(e)(6)(D) transferred to the Secretary of Transportation all functions, powers, and duties of the Interstate Commerce Commission under 49:321(a) and (c) to the extent those subsections relate to motor carriers of migrant workers and motor private carriers. The powers of the Commission have been codified in sub­title IV of the revised title. The comparable provisions of title 49 that are represented by the section may be found as follows: section 50349 U.S. CodeRevised Section (a), (b)321(a).10329 (c)321(c).10330 See the revision notes for the revised sections for an explanation of changes made in the text. Changes not accounted for in those revision notes are as follows: In the section, the words “motor carriers” are omitted because 49:1655(e)(6)(D) applies 49:321(a) and (c) only to motor carriers of migrant workers, other than motor contract carriers, and to motor private carriers, and 49:1655(f)(2)(B)(ii) contains no reference to 49:321. The text of 49:321(b) and (d) is not included because those provisions, while included in the enumeration in 49:304(a)(3) and (3a), are not included in the specific enumeration of 49:1655(e)(6)(D). In subsection (b), the text of 49:321(a) (less 1st–5th sentences) is omitted as not applicable to this chapter.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 503

Title 49, Transportation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102