How to Check a Freight Broker Before You Take the Load

To check a freight broker, confirm in FMCSA’s public records that the company holds active broker authority and has a $75,000 BMC-84 surety bond or BMC-85 trust on file. Then contact the broker through the phone number and email listed with FMCSA, not the ones in the load offer. Most broker fraud uses a real company’s name with someone else’s contact details.

What should I check before hauling for a new broker?

Every new broker should pass four checks: active broker authority, financial security on file, contact details that match FMCSA’s records, and a rate confirmation that matches what you were told. The checklist below takes a few minutes per broker.

How do I verify broker authority and the bond?

Search the broker’s MC or USDOT number in FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot, then open the same record in FMCSA’s Licensing and Insurance system. The steps:

1. Ask the broker for its MC number and USDOT number in writing.
2. In SAFER, confirm the entity type includes Broker and the operating status is authorized. A carrier-only authority does not allow brokering.
3. In L&I, open Authority History and check that broker authority is Active, not pending, revoked or inactive.
4. Open the insurance history and look for a BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust of $75,000. Note the surety or trust provider’s name.
5. Check the pending applications and revocation sections for anything that suggests the authority is about to lapse.
6. Save a screenshot with the date. If you later need to file a claim, it shows what the record said when you booked.

Since January 16, 2026, FMCSA’s broker financial responsibility rule requires that BMC-85 trust assets be cash, irrevocable letters of credit or Treasury bonds, and lets FMCSA suspend a broker’s authority if its bond or trust falls below $75,000 and is not restored within 7 business days of notice. A broker with a recent drawdown or a pending cancellation is a risk.

What are the red flags for double brokering and identity theft?

Double brokering happens when a party takes a load and passes it to another carrier without authority, or when a fraudster poses as a real broker to book your truck. You haul the freight and the payment goes somewhere else. Warning signs:

• The email domain does not match the broker’s website, or the email is from a free webmail account while FMCSA lists a company domain.
• The phone number on the rate confirmation is not the one in FMCSA’s records.
• The broker’s contact details, address or bank information changed in the last few weeks.
• Broker authority was granted very recently and the company is offering well above the going rate for the lane.
• You are asked to pick up under another carrier’s name or MC number.
• The pickup location changes after dispatch, or you are told to deliver somewhere other than the consignee on the bill of lading.
• Pressure to dispatch immediately and skip normal paperwork.

When something is off, call the broker using the phone number listed with FMCSA and ask whether the person who contacted you works there and offered that load.

Where do I report broker fraud?

Report suspected fraud, identity theft or unauthorized brokering to FMCSA through the National Consumer Complaint Database or by calling 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238). Include the MC and USDOT numbers used, emails, phone numbers, the rate confirmation and bills of lading. If your own MC number was used by someone else, also report it to local law enforcement and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and tell your factoring company and insurer.

Federal law makes a person who brokers without authority liable for civil penalties and for all valid claims of the injured party, which gives carriers a legal basis to pursue the party that actually took the money.

What should I keep for every brokered load?

Keep the signed rate confirmation, the bill of lading with clean or noted delivery, proof of delivery, emails and texts about accessorials, and your screenshots of the broker’s FMCSA record. Under 49 CFR 371.3, each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the broker’s record of that transaction, including what the shipper paid. These papers decide whether you get paid, as explained in what a bill of lading is and what to do when a broker does not pay.

Bottom line

An active authority and a $75,000 bond tell you a broker exists and has security on file, not that the person emailing you works there. Calling the number FMCSA lists is the check that stops most fraud. The bond also covers every claim against that broker together, so a broker with many unpaid carriers may not leave enough for everyone.

FAQ

How much bond does a freight broker need?

$75,000, as a BMC-84 surety bond or a BMC-85 trust fund agreement filed with FMCSA. The amount has applied since 2013 under federal law.

Can a carrier broker loads to another carrier?

Only with separate broker authority from FMCSA. A carrier that hands a load to another carrier without broker authority is brokering illegally, which is the core of double brokering.

Is a broker with a new MC number a scam?

Not necessarily. Every broker starts new. A new authority is a reason to check contact details and payment terms more closely, not a reason to refuse on its own.

Can I see what the shipper paid the broker?

Under 49 CFR 371.3, parties to a brokered transaction have a right to review the broker’s record of it. Some broker-carrier agreements include a waiver of this right, so read the broker-carrier agreement before signing.