What is a SCAC code?
A SCAC, or Standard Carrier Alpha Code, is a unique two-to-four-letter code that identifies a transportation company. It is issued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) and has to be renewed every year. It shows up on bills of lading, customs filings, and EDI messages, and in automated systems it is the key that decides whether a load tender or status update reaches the right carrier or disappears.
Who issues a SCAC and what it costs
The NMFTA owns and maintains the SCAC system. A new code costs $110 online, and codes ending in U, which are reserved for freight containers, cost more. The code is not permanent. Every SCAC expires on June 30 and has to be renewed for the next year, currently $104 online.
Miss the renewal and the code expires automatically. It can be reinstated within three years by paying the missed years, but in the meantime anything that depends on it can fail.
Where a SCAC is required
For a trucking company, a SCAC is less a regulation than a key to other doors. It is required for U.S. Customs filings: the ACE truck e-manifest for cross-border moves, and Importer Security Filings, which list the SCAC on both the master and house bills of lading. It is required to sign the UIIA, the agreement that lets a trucker pull an ocean carrier's container, and losing a current SCAC is grounds for cancelling it. It is required for government freight. And port appointment systems like eModal use it to identify the trucker.
That is why so many small carriers get a SCAC the day they start hauling containers. Without it they cannot pull a box.
The SCAC in EDI
In EDI, the SCAC is how every message identifies the carrier. It sits in a fixed spot in each transaction: in the B2 segment of a 204 load tender, the B10 segment of a 214 status message, and the B3 segment of a 210 freight invoice. Trading partners use it to route tenders to the right carrier and to match status updates back to the right load.
That makes it one of the most common quiet failures in EDI. A tender sent under the wrong SCAC, or a status update from a carrier whose code does not match the partner's setup, is not always rejected loudly. It can simply never show up where anyone is looking.
SCAC vs container prefix: they are not the same code
Every shipping container has a four-letter prefix, like MSKU or TGHU, and it looks exactly like a SCAC. It is not one. Container prefixes are BIC codes, issued by the Bureau International des Containers in Paris under ISO 6346, and they identify who owns the box, which is often a leasing company, not the carrier moving it.
Sometimes they line up. Maersk's SCAC is MAEU, and MAEU is also one of its container prefixes, but so are MSKU, MRKU, and MRSU. Anyone who treats the container prefix as the carrier code will look up the wrong company, match the wrong tracking source, or send the wrong SCAC in an EDI message.
Carrier code, SCAC, MC, and DOT numbers
A carrier can carry several identifiers, and they do different jobs. The USDOT number is the federal safety registration. The MC number is operating authority for for-hire interstate carriers. The SCAC is the commercial identifier used on documents, in EDI, and with customs. A shipper or broker's internal carrier code is just their own shorthand, and it should map to the SCAC, not replace it.
Mixing these up is how the same carrier ends up as three records in a TMS, with loads, invoices, and status updates spread across all three.
In 2023, U.S. Customs warned carriers that SCACs not renewed by June 30 had been deactivated by the NMFTA. A lapsed four-letter code is enough to break customs filings, container interchange, and EDI routing at the same time.
Common questions
- How do I get a SCAC code?
- Apply through the NMFTA, which issues SCACs. A new code costs $110 online, and container codes ending in U cost more. Codes must be renewed every year before June 30.
- What happens if a SCAC is not renewed?
- It expires automatically on its expiration date. Expired codes can be reinstated within three years by paying the missed renewal fees, but customs systems and UIIA participation that rely on a current SCAC can be disrupted while it is lapsed.
- Is a container prefix the same as a SCAC?
- No. Container prefixes are BIC owner codes under ISO 6346, issued by the Bureau International des Containers, and identify the container's owner. A SCAC identifies the transportation company. They sometimes match, but often do not.
- Where does the SCAC go in an EDI 204?
- In the B2 segment, which carries the carrier's SCAC along with the shipment identification number. The 214 status message carries it in the B10 segment and the 210 invoice in the B3 segment.
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