How to check a car shipping broker before you book

Ask for the company's USDOT number and MC number, look the USDOT number up on FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot, and confirm three things: the Operating Authority Status says AUTHORIZED FOR Broker of Property, the legal name matches the company you are dealing with, and the authority record shows an active $75,000 bond or trust fund. It takes about five minutes, and every screen is free and public.

What is the difference between a car shipping broker and a carrier?

A carrier owns or operates the truck that moves your car. A broker arranges the move and hands it to a carrier. Federal rules define a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange transportation by an authorized motor carrier (49 CFR 371.2).

Many car shipping companies you find online are brokers. That is normal. The broker prices the route and finds the truck, and the carrier does the driving. What matters is that both of them hold their own active authority with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), because you are trusting both: the broker with your money and your dates, and the carrier with the car itself.

The two kinds of authority are not interchangeable. A broker cannot haul your car on its own authority, and a carrier with only carrier authority cannot legally hand your car to another company's truck for a fee.

How do I look up a car shipping company on FMCSA SAFER?

1. Go to the SAFER Company Snapshot.
2. Choose USDOT Number, MC/MX Number or Name, type the value and search. Searching by number is more reliable than by name, because many companies have similar names.
3. Read the USDOT INFORMATION and OPERATING AUTHORITY INFORMATION blocks at the top of the result.

The fields that matter for a broker:

• Entity Type. Should include BROKER. A company that holds several kinds of registration shows them together, for example CARRIER/SHIPPER/BROKER.
• USDOT Status. Should read ACTIVE.
• Operating Authority Status. Should read AUTHORIZED FOR followed by Broker of Property (Except Household Goods). NOT AUTHORIZED means the company has no authority to operate interstate for hire. OUT-OF-SERVICE means it is under an out-of-service order.
• MC/MX/FF Number(s). Should include the MC number the company gave you.
• Legal Name and DBA Name. Should match the name on the company's website, quote and contract.

How do I check a broker's bond and process agent?

SAFER shows whether authority is active. The filings behind it, meaning the bond and the process agent, sit in FMCSA's registration system, Motus, which took over registration from the older Licensing and Insurance system in May 2026.

1. On the SAFER result, find the line that reads "To find out if this entity has a pending insurance cancellation, please click here" and follow the link. It opens the company's public Customer Account page on motus.dot.gov.
2. Scroll to OPERATING AUTHORITY REGISTRATION(S). Each row shows Operating Authority Type, Operating Authority # and Current Status.
3. Click the authority type, for example Broker of Property (Except Household Goods), to open its detail page.
4. Read Current Status, Status Reason and Minimum Insurance Required, then the three tabs below them: Insurance Details, Process Agent (BOC-3) Details and Operating Authority History.

What a broker should show:

• Minimum Insurance Required: Bond: $75,000.00. Federal rules require every property broker to keep a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund in effect, and FMCSA will not register a broker until it is (49 CFR 387.307). A surety bond is filed on Form BMC-84. A trust fund is filed on Form BMC-85. Broker registration stays in effect only as long as the bond or trust fund does.
• Insurance Details. One filing on form BMC-84 or BMC-85, for $75,000.00, with Status Active and no Cancellation Date. A cancellation date in the future means the bond is being cancelled and the authority will lapse with it unless it is replaced.
• Process Agent (BOC-3) Details. An active filing. Form BOC-3 names the agents who can accept legal papers for the company in each state (49 CFR part 366). Most companies use a blanket filing by a process agent company, which shows as Blanket Coverage.

A clean record reads Current Status Active, with a Status Reason and an Operating Authority History that show when the authority became active and whether it has ever been revoked or reinstated. A company that has been through a revocation is not automatically one to avoid, since authority can lapse over a missed filing, but it is fair to ask what happened.

What are the red flags when checking a car shipping company?

• No MC number, or reluctance to give one. A licensed broker or carrier has one and should put it on its website and quote.
• An MC number registered to a different name. Search the number, not the name. If SAFER returns a company with a different legal name and no DBA linking the two, you are not dealing with the holder of that authority.
• Operating Authority Status reads NOT AUTHORIZED or OUT-OF-SERVICE. Do not book.
• A bond filing with a cancellation date, or no bond at all. Without the bond, broker authority does not stay in effect.
• Authority granted very recently. Operating Authority History shows the dates. A short record is not proof of a problem, but there is less history to judge, so ask how long the company has been operating and check reviews from before that date.
• A request to pay before the price, the payment terms and the cancellation terms are in writing. Get all three on the quote or the booking confirmation first. It is also reasonable to ask what happens to a deposit if no truck is found for your dates.
• A quote far below every other quote for the same route and dates. Carriers pick the loads that pay. A price below what carriers accept on that route can sit with no truck assigned, and the next call you get may be a request for more money.

What should I ask for once a carrier is assigned?

The broker should give you the carrier's company name and the driver's contact details at dispatch. Ask for two more things.

• The carrier's own USDOT and MC numbers. Run them through SAFER the same way. A carrier should show AUTHORIZED FOR followed by Property, a USDOT Status of ACTIVE, and Motor Vehicles under Cargo Carried.
• The carrier's certificate of insurance. Check that the named insured matches the carrier's legal name on SAFER, the policy dates cover your pickup and delivery dates, and the certificate lists cargo coverage as well as auto liability. Federal rules set a minimum of $750,000 in public liability for a for-hire property carrier with a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more (49 CFR 387.9). That covers damage the truck does to other people. Damage to your car is a cargo claim, so the cargo line is the one you care about.

We check active FMCSA operating authority and cargo insurance on file for every carrier before a vehicle is dispatched, and you can ask us for the assigned carrier's certificate of insurance at any point. When you want a quote, send the route and the vehicle.