Your Right to See the Broker's Records and the Transparency Rule

Every time a broker moves your load, it keeps a record of the deal, and federal rules have given you the right to see that record since 1980. Most carriers have never used it, and many sign it away without noticing. FMCSA is now working on a rule to strengthen it. Here's what you're entitled to, how to ask, and where the proposal stands.

What the current rule says

Under 49 CFR 371.3, a broker must keep a record of each transaction that shows:

• The name and address of the consignor (the shipper)
• The name, address and registration number of the originating motor carrier
• The bill of lading or freight bill number
• The amount of compensation the broker received for the brokerage service, and who paid it
• Any non-brokerage services, what they were paid and by whom
• Any freight charges the broker collected, and the date it paid the carrier

Brokers must keep these records for three years, and the rule states that each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of that transaction. As the carrier on the load, that includes you.

Why carriers care

The record shows how much the broker was paid for your load. That tells you the broker's margin: the gap between what the shipper paid and what you were paid.

• Negotiation. Knowing typical margins on your lanes helps you push back on lowball offers.
• Disputes. If a broker says a shipper refused to pay detention or a rate change, the records can show what was actually billed.
• Choosing brokers. Brokers that are open about their records tend to be easier to work with.

It's also a check against fraud. The record should show your company as the carrier, which helps expose a load that was quietly double brokered. Compare it with your rate confirmation for the same load.

The waiver problem

In practice, the right is rarely used. Many broker-carrier agreements, the contract in the broker's setup packet, include a clause where the carrier waives its right to review transaction records. Carrier groups say this is why the 1980 rule has had little effect, and that enforcement has been rare.

Before you sign a broker packet, search it for words like "waive," "371.3" or "records." You can ask to strike the clause. Some brokers will agree. If they won't, you at least know where you stand.

If you use a factoring company, it may have its own reasons to ask for transaction records on disputed invoices. Tell your factor if a broker has refused a records request on a load it bought. Brokers tend to answer factors faster than individual carriers.

FMCSA's transparency proposal

In November 2024, FMCSA proposed updating the rule. That proposal would have required brokers to keep records electronically and to provide them within 48 hours of a request, and expanded what the records must include. Carrier groups wanted more: automatic delivery of records without a request, and a ban on waiver clauses. Broker groups opposed it.

FMCSA then prepared a revised, supplemental proposal and sent it to the White House's regulatory review office on August 27, 2026, according to CCJ. As of this post's October 2026 publish date, it hadn't been published. Once it is, there will be a public comment period, and a final rule is likely at least one more step away.

Bottom line for now: the 1980 rule is still the law. What changes, and when, depends on the final text. We'll update this post when the proposal is published.

How to request records today

1. Check your broker agreement for a waiver clause first.
2. Ask in writing, by email to the broker's carrier relations or accounting contact. Reference the load number, the pickup date and 49 CFR 371.3.
3. Be specific: ask for the transaction record for that load, including the compensation the broker received.
4. Keep it professional and save the response. If the broker refuses, note it. That's information about the broker, too.

A simple request might read: "Under 49 CFR 371.3, please send the transaction record for load [number], picked up [date], including the broker compensation received for this shipment."

What the records can and can't tell you

A transaction record is useful, but it isn't the whole picture. Keep these limits in mind before you draw conclusions from one load:

• It's one load, not a lane. A wide margin on a single load can be a broker covering losses on another. Look for patterns across many loads.
• Brokers carry real costs. Staff, software, insurance, credit risk and shippers who pay late all come out of the margin.
• Timing matters. A broker may have priced the shipper weeks ago, before the market moved.
• The record shows compensation, not intent. It tells you what was paid, not whether the broker negotiated hard on your behalf. That was never its job.

Questions to ask brokers about transparency

• Does your carrier agreement include a waiver of 49 CFR 371.3 rights? Can we strike it?
• If I request a transaction record, who do I send it to and how long does it take?
• Do you pass shipper-paid accessorials like detention and lumper fees through to the carrier in full?

Write down the answers with the broker's name and the date. Brokers that answer these easily tend to be easier to work with on everything else, too.

What to do with the information

Use it to understand your lanes, not to fight every load. A broker's margin covers its own costs and risk, and a reasonable margin isn't a scandal. What matters is the pattern:

• Which brokers consistently leave you a fair share of the rate
• Which lanes have room to negotiate harder
• Whether accessorials the shipper paid reached you

Our dispatchers negotiate every rate against what the lane is paying that week, and brokers pay you directly, so you always see your own rate. See how our owner-operator dispatch works, and how we check every broker before we book.