Guides
How to verify a carrier before every load (checklist)
A practical carrier vetting checklist for freight brokers: USDOT/MC match, active authority, insurance on file, contact verification and red flags.
→What is an FMCSA involuntary suspension notice?What an FMCSA operating authority involuntary suspension notice means for brokers, why it happens and how much warning you get.
→BMC-91X, BMC-34, BMC-84: FMCSA insurance forms explainedPlain-English guide to the FMCSA insurance filings you see on a carrier: BMC-91/91X liability, BMC-34 cargo, BMC-84/85 broker security.
→Double brokering red flags every broker should knowWarning signs of double brokering and carrier identity theft, and how monitoring FMCSA changes helps you catch them early.
→FMCSA insurance requirements for carriers (minimums)Federal minimum liability insurance for for-hire motor carriers by cargo type, and how to check what a carrier has on file.
→Booking carriers with new MC authority: how to reduce riskWhy brokers scrutinize new MC authorities, what to check and how to monitor them after the first load.
→What is a USDOT number? (and how brokers should use it)What a USDOT number identifies, who needs one, and how to use it to verify a carrier before tendering a load.
→What is an MC number? Docket numbers explainedMC, FF and MX docket numbers: what they mean, how they relate to the USDOT number and why brokers check both.
→MCS-150 biennial update: what brokers should knowWhy the MCS-150 update date matters when vetting carriers, and how the FMCSA biennial update schedule works.
→BOC-3 process agents: what the filing meansWhat a BOC-3 filing is, why carriers and brokers need one and what a missing BOC-3 tells you.
→Driver and vehicle out-of-service rates explainedHow out-of-service (OOS) rates are calculated from roadside inspections and how to compare a carrier to the national average.
→FMCSA safety ratings: Satisfactory, Conditional, UnsatisfactoryWhat each FMCSA safety rating means, why most carriers are unrated and how brokers should treat ratings.
→CSA BASICs explained for freight brokersThe seven CSA BASIC categories, what data feeds them and what is (and isn't) public for property carriers.
→Carrier onboarding checklist for small brokeragesA simple carrier onboarding checklist: documents to collect, FMCSA checks to run and what to monitor after the first load.
→Carrier insurance cancellation: what happens nextHow carrier insurance cancellations are filed with FMCSA, how much notice there usually is and what brokers should do.
→Carrier authority revoked? What brokers should doWhat an FMCSA operating authority revocation means for loads in progress and how to handle a revoked carrier.
→Carrier identity theft: how scammers impersonate real carriersHow fraudsters impersonate legitimate carriers using their USDOT/MC numbers and the checks that catch it.
→New entrant carriers: the FMCSA new entrant programHow FMCSA monitors new carriers during their first 18 months and what that means for brokers booking them.
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