How to Check a Freight Broker's MC Number, Authority, and Bond Before You Haul

Not legal advice. This is a document-preparation tool, not a law firm. Results aren't guaranteed. Verify all info with FMCSA and consult an attorney for legal questions.

Most unpaid-load problems are cheaper to prevent than to fix. Five minutes on public FMCSA records before you accept a load can tell you whether the broker is licensed, whether it has the required bond, and whether the person on the phone is really who they say they are.

Check the broker first. It's free.

See authority status, authority age, BMC-84/85 on file, and the surety name from FMCSA records.

Broker owes you? Build a demand letter + bond-claim packet for

9. What you need

The broker's MC number (sometimes called a docket number) or USDOT number. It should be on the load board posting and on the rate confirmation. If a "broker" won't give you an MC number, stop there.

Step 1: Confirm broker authority is active

Look the MC up on the FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot or the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance (L&I) system, or paste it into our free Broker Check. You're looking for broker authority specifically. A company can have motor carrier authority and no broker authority. If broker authority is inactive, revoked, or only "pending," the company isn't currently allowed to broker freight. Federal law says a person may provide interstate brokerage services as a broker only if it is registered and has met the financial security requirement (49 U.S.C. 14916 (unlawful brokerage)).

Step 2: Confirm the $75,000 bond or trust

Every broker must keep "a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect," filed as a BMC-84 (surety bond) or BMC-85 (trust fund) (49 CFR 387.307). In L&I, the active/pending insurance list shows the filing, the surety or trustee name, and the bond number. Write down the surety's name and the bond number now. If you ever need to file a claim, you'll want the filing that was in effect when you hauled.

Red flags here: no BMC-84 or BMC-85 on file, a cancellation pending, or a filing so new it was made last week.

Step 3: Check how old the authority is

The authority history shows when broker authority was granted. New authority isn't automatically a problem. Every real broker was new once. But a brand-new broker offering top-of-market rates on a hot load deserves extra checking.

Step 4: Match the contact details

This step catches impersonators. FMCSA's fraud guidance says to confirm phone numbers of brokers and carriers using SAFER, and if the number you were given doesn't match the number posted, call the number in SAFER for the company to discuss the load (FMCSA: Broker and Carrier Fraud and Identity Theft). Also compare the legal name, MC, and address on the rate con with FMCSA's record. A look-alike email domain (an extra letter, a free email service for a big company) is a classic sign of identity theft.

Step 5: Read the rate confirmation before you sign

Make sure the rate con shows the broker's legal name and MC, the agreed rate, the load number, pickup and delivery details, and the payment terms. Check for fees (quick-pay percentages, "late paperwork" deductions) and anything that makes your pay depend on someone else paying first. If terms are missing, ask for them in writing before you dispatch.

Step 6: Save your proof

Screenshot the FMCSA record with the date. It costs nothing and it's useful later. If something goes wrong, you'll be able to show what the public record said when you booked.

Warning signs worth walking away from

FMCSA lists several reasons to stop a transaction, including when a broker asks you to present yourself as a carrier of a different name, asks your driver to lie about who they work for, calls it a "blind load" when you question the destination, is quick to agree to pay you more, or offers a rate that far exceeds the current market (FMCSA: Broker and Carrier Fraud and Identity Theft). Add a few of your own:

No broker authority, or only carrier authority.
No bond or trust on file, or cancellation pending.
Phone number or email that doesn't match FMCSA records.
Pressure to dispatch before you get a rate con.
A rate con from a company name different from the one you talked to.

Make it a habit

Run the check for every new broker, and re-check brokers you haven't used in a while. Authority and bonds change. Pro members can add brokers to a watchlist and get an email when FMCSA records show a bond cancellation, revocation, or pending change. See UnpaidLoad Pro.

Related: BMC-84 vs BMC-85, broker red flags checklist, and double brokering: what to do. Keep your own filings current too: deadlines.

MC number vs. USDOT number

Brokers usually have both. The MC (docket) number ties to operating authority and insurance filings in L&I. The USDOT number ties to the company's registration data. If someone gives you only a USDOT number, use it to find the MC, then check broker authority and the bond under that MC. Our Broker Check accepts either: type "DOT" before a USDOT number.

What a clean result looks like

Broker authority: active, no pending revocation.
BMC-84 or BMC-85: on file, with a surety or trustee name and bond number.
Authority history that makes sense for the company you're dealing with.
Phone, address, and legal name that match the rate con and the person you spoke with.

If all four check out, you've done what most carriers skip. It doesn't guarantee payment, but it rules out the most common problems.

Common mistakes

Checking carrier authority instead of broker authority. They're listed separately.
Trusting a PDF "carrier packet" instead of the live FMCSA record. Documents can be faked; the public record is harder to fake.
Calling the number in the email signature. Use the one on FMCSA's record.
Checking once and never again. A broker you hauled for last year may have a new surety, or none.
Not writing down the surety. If you need it later, the filing may have changed.

Quick checklist to copy

MC number from the posting and rate con match.
Broker authority active.
BMC-84/85 on file; surety and bond # noted.
Authority age noted.
Phone/email verified against FMCSA.
Rate con terms read and saved.
Screenshot saved with today's date.

Sources

FAQ

Where do I check a broker's authority?
On FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot and the Licensing & Insurance (L&I) system. Search by MC or USDOT number and confirm broker authority is active.

What bond should a broker have?
Under 49 CFR 387.307, a broker must have a $75,000 surety bond (Form BMC-84) or trust fund (Form BMC-85) in effect.

Which phone number should I call to verify a broker?
FMCSA recommends confirming phone numbers using SAFER and calling the number posted there, not the one given to you, if they don't match.

Check the broker first. It's free.

See authority status, authority age, BMC-84/85 on file, and the surety name from FMCSA records.

Broker owes you? Build a demand letter + bond-claim packet for $19.

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Not legal advice. This is a document-preparation tool, not a law firm. Results aren't guaranteed. Verify all info with FMCSA and consult an attorney for legal questions.